I always approach the first book of a new series with a little hesitation. I wanted to enjoy this book way more than I did. The characters need some back story, it was hard for me to form a connection with them. Templeton, the cat, was my favorite character. The premise seemed promising but for me all the cars and costume were a little over the top. It's not a bad book, I just don't think it's my cup of tea.

Cat cozies are usually high on the list of enjoyable books for me. This one wasn’t a spectacular read but that doesn’t mean it was a bad read.

While I generally liked the characters, I didn’t think they were well flashed out. Enjoyable enough protagonist but I think I just wanted to know more. Same thing with the mystery, there wasn’t a lot of depth and I tend to like mysteries that make me guess at the whodunit.

All in all, it’s not that it was a bad book, it just left me wishing there was more to the story.

Hairballs & Homicides is the first book in a new series by Ruth J. Hartman. Ellie Warren owns the Kitty Beret Cafe, a coffee shop where customers can enjoy a cup of coffee and a pastry in the company of some adorable cats. But thing take a turn when a particularly nasty customer is found dead behind the cafe. With the help of Detective Simon and her cat Templeton, Ellie will have to find the culprit before she’s the next victim.

I love a cozy mystery with a kitty sidekick. The characters are engaging and the setting well developed. The story has a lot of promise but falls completely flat.

The characters, while engaging, lack a backstory. There is nothing to suggest a past the reader should be excited to learn about. The story was ok at best. There was little build up to important clues, quick buildup to suspects but they were quickly cleared. The most disappointing part is that Ellie played little difference in the solving of the mystery. Her cat found the clues and she handed them over to the detective. The police handled the investigation with minor assistance from the cat. The main characteristic of a cozy mystery was missing.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Are you a crazy cat person and do you enjoy reading cozy mysteries? Then this book is definitely for you!
Set in a cat café called the Kitty Beret Café, there are cats crawling all over the place while customers enjoy their hot drinks and treats.
The drinks have cutesy cat inspired names such as Saucer of Milk Latte, Mocha Meow & Kalua Kitty Cup. The back room of the café is called the “ Purr Pen”, and the owner Ellie Warren, enjoys making cute costumes for each of the kittens to wear in the hopes that the customers will fall in love with one of the furballs & adopt him or her.

Strange things begin happening to Ellie when an odd woman, who definitely isn’t a fan of cats or the Kitty Beret Café, wanders in and began spouting about how much she hates cats, and how revolting it is to have live animals in a place where people eat & drink. She, of course, ends up murdered. One character even claims that the cats had murdered the odd angry woman....Hah!

And then there’s the obligatory romantic interest. For those who don’t like romance in their cozies, there’s a lot of daisy petal; he loves me, he loves me not, pulling here.
It all adds up to a light, easy breezy summer cozy that many will enjoy.

I wish I could have rated this book higher, but while it does have its moments, for the most part it was an eye-roller for me. I love cats to bits but this story involves too much minutiae about cat costumes, cat related events held at the café & not enough mystery. What really disappointed me was that the main character Ellie never actually investigates the murder or what’s happening to her. At one point someone breaks into her apartment & leaves a message on the wall that says “ leave this investigation alone or you’ll die next!”
This had me chuckling as Ellie wasn’t investigating anything....she left it all to the cops.

Ellie has all sorts of “private” & personal conversations (incl with the police) in the café, while customers are seated close by, and then wonders how people found out about her situation so quickly......guess she’s never cottoned on to using her office to discuss personal business?
The final headshaker is that strangers were forever walking into the café, berating Ellie, her business & threatening the cats. Ellie is mystified as to why this is all happening, but does absolutely nothing about it except wonder, why me?

My favourite character by far was Templeton, Ellie’s gray short-haired winking cat. That bumped my rating from a solid fair upwards towards good.
2.5 ⭐️s

A big thanks to Ruth J. Hartman and NetGalley for an advance copy.

Hairballs and Homicide by Ruth Hartman is the 1st book in the Kitty Beret Cafe Mystery, and my first book by this author. I loved this book, can't wait for the next one. Ellie Warren owns Kitty Beret Cafe, which is a cafe and cat rescue in one. One day a women came into the cafe yelling about the cats and how horrible they are, the next thing you know she is found dead behind the cafe. I really enjoyed this book, but there were a bunch of people who hated cats and wanted them all dead. Honestly that really bothered me, are there people really like that? I highly recommend this book, if you enjoy cozy mysteries like I do.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I would have liked to review this book however it did not download at all. I got one page with a picture of a cat.

This was a light cozy mystery with an interesting premise.
The characters were entertaining and I look forward to reading the next one.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.