Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

This is a paw-some first in a new series that captivated me from the start. It is also a new favorite series for me! Kari is the ultimate protagonist and amateur sleuth. Meeting Queenie, an abandoned kitten, opened new doors of possibility for Kari. I truly enjoyed the “good guys”, the setting, and the animal sanctuary. The characters are well designed, and we learn just the right amount about each one. The mystery itself is more complex than first thought and brings edge-of-the-seat intrigue.

It started with a spur-of-the-moment purchase of a lottery ticket when she went to the store for cat litter. Kari did two things that many pet lovers want to do. First, she had the winning lottery ticket. She continued to work as a waitress until she decided what she would do. When looking for a place to take the adorable kitten, as she is at the pet limit in her apartment, she learns the fate of abandoned pets in this lovely community. Second, she bought a failing animal sanctuary on a huge plot of land that the owner has to get out from under. Kari has the money to do the necessary refurbishments to the shelter and the house on the property that Daisy, the woman who opened and ran Serenity Sanctuary on a shoestring, ran out of funds to do.

One of the challenges they face is that the dog warden claims Buster, the sweetest Pittie Daisy has ever had in her care, seriously bit someone when he got out under the fence recently. She has to go to court and face possibly having Buster euthanized. Daisy is heartbroken but plans to stay in town to see the fight for the dog through. She will take whatever time she can afford to explain to Kari what she will need to do and what the various regulations that apply to the rescue.

Bill, the dog warden, didn’t bring what was needed to court, including the man who was bitten or a written testimony from him. Not even a name. He didn’t bring any bills showing where and when the anonymous person was treated as in the photo, it looks as though stitches were needed. The judge rescheduled for the following week.

In the parking lot afterward, Bill did his best to aggravate Kari, suggesting that she sell the sanctuary to him now before she loses it. She had a few words to share with him, too. Thankfully, she didn’t threaten him, as the judge and a few other people overheard them. Kari had allowed bullies, including those in her family, to run her life far too long, and she refuses to live that way any longer.

Later that night, Queenie woke Kari up; the dogs in the kennel were howling. She found Bill, dead. It looks like he had been digging under the fence when someone strangled him with a tool of their trade. The main suspect, according to the sheriff and Deputy Carter, is Kari! Daisy is a close second, as both women had something to lose as long as he was alive. Daisy can’t leave town, so her pregnant sister, who is expecting her to come help out, will impatiently wait for the sheriff to make an arrest or eliminate her as a suspect.

Sara, one of the volunteers at the shelter, is Kari’s now-retired English teacher. Between them, they make plans to ask questions and see who else might have had to surrender dogs for false claims or had other troubles with Bill. They find there is no shortage of suspects.

The author designed her characters with care. Kari is a delightful young woman who is intelligent and talented. She likes her hometown and being back with her best friend. As those at the shelter see her heart and hard work, they are ready to do whatever it takes to help her and the animals. Kari, Sara, and Georgia, a woman whose dog was taken from her are my favorite characters.

I can almost picture Lakeview in upstate New York, so beautifully is it described. There are sufficient plot twists and turns to keep the reader guessing! The premise of the shelter, Kari’s new kitten Queenie, and her staff and volunteers work together to make this a memorable tale. There was no simple solution to the murder; I was very surprised to see the full resolution to the crimes. I am very impressed with this author’s first cozy mystery, and I highly recommend it!

This is a fantastic book! I'm a sucker when it comes to rescue animals and this book is full of rescue animals. Wonderfully written, very entertaining, and a group of awesome characters. Enjoy!!!

I received an ARC from Netgalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

If you are an animal lover like I am I'll bet that you sometimes wish you could win a big pot of lottery money and get really involved with saving animals. Well Kari Stuart knows first hand and she is now the proud owner of a rather run down animal rescue sanctuary. Thanks to a little black kitten, Kari finds out that there is no more room anyplace for homeless animals in her neck of the woods. The kitten, now named Queenie, has set her on her new path in life. With her $5 million dollars in winnings she decides to buy the soon to be closed sanctuary and give it a new lease on life to help animals in need of furrever homes. Too bad not everybody is onboard with her plans. The local dog catcher is a nasty piece of work and he wastes no time making it clear that she isn't wanted and that he will fight to get her out. After a confrontation in the local court room over a dog biting incident which has not a shred of proof, the dog catcher is found dead at the sanctuary and Kari becomes a suspect.
One minute spent within ten feet of the dead man and it's clear that there were lots of people who will not be shedding a tear over his demise. The list of suspects is really long. Kari and the ladies who work at the sanctuary set to work to unmask the killer and at the same time get the place ready for full time business. Queenie picked the right human to adopt her and Kari is finding her new purpose in life. Much better than being a waitress and living in a cramped, dismal apartment.
This is not only the first entry in this delightful new series but it is the first mystery by a well established writer of non fiction as well as the Baba Yaga series. That carries over to this series. She writes very well and has crafted a well plotted and complex puzzle that kept me guessing. Kari and the rest of the cast well well defined and I'm going to add this series to my TBR list.
My thanks to the publisher Berkley and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Kari Stuart had been working as a waitress in a town in the Catskills until she won the lottery. She’s not quite sure what she is going to do with her winnings until she hears about an animal sanctuary on the edge of town that is for sale. Impulsively she buys it and sets about getting it ready to reopen. Unfortunately, that’s also when she runs across Bill Myers, the local dog warden, who seems to have targeted the sanctuary. After Kari finds Bill dead just outside the sanctuary’s fence in the middle of the night, she becomes the police’s prime suspect. Can she figure out what really happened?

I started to hear some early buzz about this book, so I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. This may be the first in the series, but I already love the characters. Kari leads a great cast, and there are just as many charming four-legged characters as there are humans. The plot is inventive, with plenty to keep us engaged over the course of the story. Yet everything Kari uncovered helps make for a satisfying resolution when we reached the end. While this is Deborah Blake’s first mystery, she has written quite a few other books, and that shows through in the writing. If you are looking for a promising new mystery series, adopt this book right away.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I understand this is her first cozy. She did an excellent job. I loved it. When I win the lottery, I would love to have a place similar to Serenity Sanctuary, minus some of the goings on of course. The story was wonderful and the characters are awesome. I felt like I was right there with them and was feeling their joys and frustrations. I hope there will be another book so I can go back and visit with my new friends. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Kari is a lottery winner and she spends some of her winnings savings a pet sanctuary, she has a run in with the dog warden and he ends up found dead on her property. As with any good cozy mystery, Kari sets out to solve the mystery. This book is full of likeable characters and even more lovable animals. This was the first book in a new series and I cannot wait for book 2 to come out!

First in a new cozy mystery series and I vote to keep em coming!! When you don’t want to put a book down that’s a good thing. Turn off the distractions and settle in for a spell to read a book you’ll enjoy.

Furbidden Fatality by Deborah Blake is the first (and hopefully more are coming) book about a rundown animal sanctuary, lots of engaging rescued animals, and of course a good murder mystery to solve. A wonderful addition to the cozy family.

A lottery win and a spur-of-the-moment purchase of an animal rescue shelter put Kari Stuart in the crosshairs of the town dog warden. He is doing his best to ticket the shelter out of business - probably because he wants the property for himself - and isn't happy that Kari now owns the property. Kari becomes the prime suspect when she finds him dead on her property. Never mind that he is such a detestable person most of the animal owners hate him and have more reasons to have killed him than Kari. The book is a little slow in getting started, but I liked the characters and I am looking forward to the next in the series.

I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher and/or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An extremely enjoyable murder cozy that went beyond the "formula" many authors use. An impulse purchase of a lottery ticket while buying a bag of cat food made Kari Stuart an instant $5,000,000 winner! Yes, five million dollars! A stroke of good luck disguised as someone else's misfortune caused the winning ticket information to be buried in the local newspaper, thus allowing Kari to keep her new found wealth a secret to most. When she rescues a kitten and tries to find a shelter to take it, she comes across a shelter that is badly in need of rescue. And thus a purpose is created in her life with a chance to use her winnings for a great cause.

Continue reading to meet a wide range of characters from funny, sweet, and sincere to slimy and nefarious individuals. Characters that are woven together to make the reclamation of the shelter and the murder investigation interesting, and pulsing towards their ultimate conclusions.
For once we have a main female character who is capable of making and following through on her own decisions. There may be a couple of hints of romantic possibilities, but Kari doesn't stray the course of her shelter or sleuthing.

This book was fun and refreshing to read in spite of the difficulties presented to Kari and the shelter. You don't have to be a big animal lover to enjoy the book, but if you are, you will enjoy meeting some of the four legged characters that help make the book a success. A terrific start to a new series!

I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy of the book. The review given expresses my personal thoughts and opinions.

I have read other books by Deborah Blake, but this is a new genre for this wonderful writer and I was thrilled. A favorite author and one of my favorite genres, I just had to read this book. I was not disappointed. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed every page.

Furbidden Fatality: A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery
By Deborah Blake
Berkley
March 2021

Review by Cynthia Chow

Maybe buying a pet shelter – spur of the moment, sight unseen - wasn’t the best idea. But Kari Stuart had recently gotten out of a bad marriage, was about to turn thirty, and oh yes, had just won a five-million-dollar lottery. At a loss what to do next in her life, it took finding a stray kitten and discovering that all of the local pet shelters were overflowing their capacities to propel her into to making such an impulsive decision. Now the owner of the languishing Serenity Sanctuary in Lakeview, New York, Kari finds herself responsible for much-needed repairs and skeptical volunteers. Even worse is Bill Myers, the town dog warden who has filed yet another complaint against the Sanctuary. This time he is accusing one of their pit bulls of escaping and biting a man, something that neither the shelter staff nor Kari can believe. Especially since Queenie, the kitten who spurred the sanctuary purchase and adopted Kari as her human, finds sitting on top of Buster’s head a very cozy, comfortable, and safe place to nap.

Before Kari and her new sanctuary friends are able to gather evidence disputing the dog warden’s claims, Kari has the misfortune of finding Bill Myers’ body at the rescue, strangled to death with a snare pole. It’s not a huge leap for the Sheriff to see Kari or one of the pet shelter staff as probable suspects, despite the dog warden’s detestable personality and proclivity for citing and confiscating pets. Having lived her life being bullied and bossed around, a newly determined – and wealthy – Kari rallies her forces to make their way through the labyrinth of small-town bureaucracy and furious pet owners. Not even misspelled graffiti or acts of vandalism at Kari’s new home/sanctuary will keep her from her mission to protect her animals and human friends.

This first in a new series is a fun and often hilarious mystery that introduces a naïve, but intelligent and determined heroine. A political scandal kept the news of Kari’s initial win from hitting the headlines, but the murder and her implication in it quickly ends that. The subsequent arrival of her rehab-hopping brother is the first of her estranged family to arrive in town, but readers should be reassured that Kari is no doormat when it comes to standing up for her herself or her ideals. A meeting with the handsome Princess Bride-loving veterinarian hints of impending romance in Kari’s future, but it’s the bonds she makes with the sanctuary staff and her prospective adoptees that are at the heart of this novel. Acerbic law enforcement officers, snarky banter, and a jaded staffer prevent this from being a saccharine-sweet cozy mystery, which balances the affection for pets with delightful humor and practical investigations. It will be an entertaining thrill to watch Kari and her pet rescue develop and land them in their next animal-centric escapade.

Furbidden Fatality is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Deborah Blake. Due out 23rd Feb 2021 from Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 288 pages (print edition) and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an engaging and undemanding read. The plucky protagonist is a waitress turned millionaire lottery winner who buys a dilapidated animal sanctuary threatened with closure. She finds herself unwillingly involved in a murder investigation when the local animal control officer is found strangled on her property after a public contretemps.

This is a promising start to a new cozy series by an established author, and it ticks a lot of boxes: funny and down to earth protagonist, lots of animals, twists and red herrings blended into the plot, decently written dialogue that isn't clunky, and a satisfying denouement and resolution. I enjoyed it as a fun and enjoyable clean cozy mystery. The language is "PG" rated, a few hells and damns but nothing worse. The crimes occur off-page and there's no graphic content. There is some mention of illicit drugs, but nothing egregious or triggering (in my opinion).

Four stars. It'll be fun to see how this one develops. (Especially recommended to fans of cozy mysteries featuring animals).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

*I received a free ARC of Furbidden Fatality in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.*

Last spring and summer when everyone else was baking bread and comparing sourdough starters under a stay-at-home order, I was bingeing BritBox. There are 21 seasons of Midsomer Murders, and I watched them all.

But my gateway drug to BritBox was ITV's Agatha Christie's Marple (filmed in the 2000s and starring Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie) which then sent me backtracking to the BBC's Miss Marple series from the 1980s that starred Joan Hickson.

I do love me a good British murder mystery. (See my much earlier review of Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King as evidence.)

And while the cozy mystery at hand, Furbidden Fatality by Deborah Blake, is set in the New York Catskills instead of Great Britain, the main character, Kari Stuart (we shall forgive her for misspelling the world's best name) is compared to Miss Marple more than once throughout the story. While Kari is noticeably younger and significantly less interested in knitting than Miss Marple, she does manage to discover a dead body and solve the murder before the local police. She also works with one of her former teachers who has Miss Marple's long memory for the residents of the local community and who offers character insight by comparing the characters under suspicion to people she knew long ago.
(I always wondered how Miss Marple's tiny village of St. Mary Mead could fit so many shady characters and still be a tiny village, but I digress.)

When the book begins, Kari is at a crossroads. She's recently won $5 million on a lottery ticket, and she's trying to decide what to do with her winnings and her life. Before she can come to any conclusions, she discovers a black kitten near her apartment and tries to to find an animal shelter to take in the stray cat. Her efforts to find a home for the kitten actually lead to Kari finding her own new home and, maybe, her vocation, when she impulsively buys a failing animal sanctuary and its nearby rundown farmhouse.

The animal sanctuary has a couple of strikes against it. One of its resident pit bulls has been accused of escaping his kennel and biting someone, and the local dog warden seems determined to shut the sanctuary down.

The situation only gets worse when Kari discovers a dead body in the fenced-in dog run.

Kari must work to try and save the pittie from being euthanized, save the sanctuary from a cease-and-desist order, and save herself from suspicion of murder. Happily she has good staff at the sanctuary, good friends in town, and a new black kitten with an eye (or paw, perhaps) for finding clues.

This is a fun and entertaining read that is exactly like what cozy mysteries are supposed to be--an amateur sleuth trying to unravel a conundrum without direct police access and absent a lot of gore. I am SO glad I read it. Cozy mysteries (like the books of Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie, Donna Andrews, and Diane Mott Davidson) should not be confused with police procedurals or crime dramas (like the books of Patricia Cornwell or Kathy Reichs).

And after the year we've had, I think everyone should cuddle up with a cozy mystery. You've earned some entertainment that challenges the mind and provides characters to root for without making your heart ache.

This is also a great book for animal lovers. I'm not personally a fan of animal stories per se. Please keep your Call of the Wild and Black Beauty far from me. But . . . I do love Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow books which always feature a variety animals. And, at one point, I had read most of the Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries where the main character, Mrs. Murphy, is a cat. So Kari's new kitten, Queenie, fits in a long tradition of clever animals in cozy mysteries, and if your heart warms at the idea of a heroine who is saving animals while she's saving herself, this is a must-read for you.

I absolutely love the cozy mystery genre and this one does not disappoint! This story follows Kari, a recent lottery winner who decides to purchase an animal shelter that needs a little TLC and a reprieve from the local dog warden who wants to shut them down. But when Kari finds him murdered in her backyard, she finds herself the prime suspect! With the help of her friends, can she clear her name AND fix up the shelter?
I loved the characters, especially the animals! This story was a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend it to mystery and animal lovers alike!

A charming and engaging cozy mystery. It contains all the typical things in a cozy, such as an innocent protagonist, pets, crusty law officer, and a bevy of friends. Nice daydream for us readers as to winning the lottery and doing something good with the money. Of course our adorable leading lady does have to trip over a dead body. There is a spark of romance, too. Yep, all cozy bases covered. I am ready to read the next one in this new series.

Title: Furbidden Fatality
Author: Deborah Blake
Genre: Cozy mystery
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Kari Stuart's life is going nowhere--until she unexpectedly wins the lottery. The twenty-nine-year-old instant multimillionaire is still mulling plans for her winnings when trying to rescue a bossy black kitten leads her to a semiabandoned animal shelter. They need the cash--Kari needs a purpose.

But the dilapidated rescue is literally going to the dogs with a pending lawsuit, hard to adopt animals, and too much suspicious attention from the town's dog warden. When the warden turns up dead outside the shelter's dog kennels, Kari finds herself up a creek without a pooper-scooper.

With the help of some dedicated volunteers, a cute vet, and a kitten who mysteriously shows up just when she needs it, Kari must prove her innocence all while trying to save a dog on death row. Now she just needs to hope that her string of unexpected luck isn't about to run out.

This was a cute cozy mystery to start off a new series. There were several moments I thought the main characters was a little too naïve or oblivious—I’m sorry, but if I knew there were bears around, I would not go wandering around at night unarmed and alone when the dogs started barking, nor would I ever venture outside at night alone after finding a dead body and repeated vandalism. So, no, she’s not the brightest light in the room, but she’s likable enough, and the background characters are quirky and fun. The hint of romance isn’t overdone, either, so that/s nice. I’d definitely read more of this series.

Deborah Blake lives in New York. Furbidden Fatality is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Berkley in exchange for an honest review.)

Blog link live 2/22.

This was a fun start to a series! Kari is a waitress just scraping by when she buys a lottery ticket on a whim and wins. She doesn't make any changes at first because she doesn't make any rash decisions. All of that good reasonable thinking gets turned on its ear when she ends up buying a failing animal shelter. I was a little worried about the whole vengeful dog warden setup as I'm incredibly sensitive when it comes to anything even resembling an animal in harms way but I really didn't need to worry. While the dog warden is definitely awful (I was not too sad when he met his end - and that feeling continued throughout the book. He's really the worst) there are no mentions of animal cruelty and nothing bad happens to an animal during the book.

I liked Kari, Sara, Suz, and Angus as well as the host of animal characters though Queenie (Kari's little black kitten) is definitely the star of the show. The mystery kept me guessing and I enjoyed the pacing and the writing style. I found this to be a quick read and enjoyed how the reveal played out. This is definitely a series that I will be following in the future and if you enjoy an animal cozy then this is one you shouldn't miss!

Furbidden Fatality is the first book in the A Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery series by Deborah Blake.

Kari Stuart recently won the lottery and is now a multi-millionaire. She’s still working as a waitress at a local diner until she decides what she wants to do with her life. One day she sees, what appears to be a three-month-old kitten, and she catches it. As Kari already has two cats and a dog and living in a small apartment, another animal is out of the question. Kari learns from her friend, Suz, a groomer, of an animal shelter, and when she goes there, they inform her that they are packed and not accepting any dogs or cats. Once a lawsuit on a pitbull is settled, she will close the shelter unless she can find someone who has more money than sense. The shelter’s property also has a small home that Kari has moved into the house. Late one night, Kari awakened by her phone ringing, learn from a neighbor across the street that the shelter dogs are barking continuously, and to do something about it, or he will call the police. Kari heads to the shelter, hoping none of the dogs have gotten, only to find they are all in their cages. She then heads out to inspect the exercise area. Kari notices a shovel leaning against the fence, which wasn’t there earlier in the day. As she arrives at the fence, she finds the body of the dog warden, Bill Myers. Having had words at a hearing for the pitbull with Myers, Kari will become a person of interest for his murder. With the volunteers’ help at the shelter and the handsome new vet, Kari will begin to clear her name. Kari will learn that Myers was very zealous with ticketing and taking into custody dogs for various charges and that some might not have been euthanized as claimed.

This book is an excellent start to an interesting new series. The story is well-written and plotted. I felt the characters are well-developed, engaging, and believable. I would like to learn more about the community and learn more about the Kari and the animal shelter staff.

I will be watching for the next book in the series.

Loved this cozy mystery - one of the best cozies I've read! Kari is a very relatable sleuth and one you really want to root for- she's used her lottery winnings to buy an animal shelter on the brink of shutting down, after all! After she finds the dead body of the dog warden on her property - a man she's just been seen in public fighting with - she becomes the primary suspect in his murder. But you want her to be able to solve the crime not only to prove her innocence but so she can focus on saving the animals in the shelter, as well as find the dogs the warden has condemned to death. All of the characters, including the animals, are endearing and real people the reader can totally relate to. The mystery has lots of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages. Excellent mystery!