Oh to win the lottery and do good with the money! That's what Kari does when she buys an animal sanctuary in the Catskills. She's been sort of down - her marriage fell apart and she's been working as a waitress while caring for her pets- but this windfall, well, it's terrific. That's until she finds herself in a loud argument with the dog warden and then- of course, this being a cozy- he's found dead just outside the shelter. Geez. Now Kari, new to town, finds herself dealing with a skeptical Sheriff Richardson, but luckily she's made friends who help her out, including Angus the local vet. Then there's Bryn, her employee who is a pain but I suspect there's more there that will come out in future installments. It's a fun cozy for those who like animals. The characters are good and I like the setting. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A nice debut that has me eagerly awaiting the next one.

This is a the first in a new series called the Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery series. Kari Stuart has found and adorable little kitten around her apartment and catches her and tries to take her to a local shelter. The shelter is full and she asks about a pet shelter on the edge of town and she is told it is about to close unless someone with more money than brains buys it… Well Kari up and puts an offer on the pet sanctuary and we learn that Kari won the lottery and has been trying to figure out what to do with her life, she is divorced and working at a waitress job she does not like. She is also keeping the new kitten whom she names Queenie. What she does not know is the local animal warden has it in for the shelter and is trying to get one of the dogs there destroyed for being aggressive. The former owner Daisy is staying in town until the court date and volunteers Sara (former teacher), Bryn (a vet tech) and her best friend Suz (dog groomer) and working with her to get the place spruced up when she her neighbor Mr. Lee calls her about the dogs barking. She goes to check and finds the dead body of the dog warden. The sheriff’s deputy who arrives assumes since she found the body she is the number one suspect. Kari is not going to let the bully of a deputy put her in jail and she begins to dig up dirt on the dead warden. The shelter is vandalized a couple of times, her brother arrives in town as well as she meets a new cute vet who has volunteered at the shelter (possible love interest down the road). This was a good mystery that was not so simple as the victim was mean and had a lot of enemies. There were a couple of mysteries that needed to be solved before the ultimate culprit could be uncovered. This kept me engaged and I finished the book in one night (ha ha lost some sleep). I can’t wait to read the next installment and what is in store for Kari and her friends. I also love how Queenie played a role in pointing out some clues.

This is a the first in a new series called the Catskills Pet Rescue Mystery series. Kari Stuart has found and adorable little kitten around her apartment and catches her and tries to take her to a local shelter. The shelter is full and she asks about a pet shelter on the edge of town and she is told it is about to close unless someone with more money than brains buys it… Well Kari up and puts an offer on the pet sanctuary and we learn that Kari won the lottery and has been trying to figure out what to do with her life, she is divorced and working at a waitress job she does not like. She is also keeping the new kitten whom she names Queenie. What she does not know is the local animal warden has it in for the shelter and is trying to get one of the dogs there destroyed for being aggressive. The former owner Daisy is staying in town until the court date and volunteers Sara (former teacher), Bryn (a vet tech) and her best friend Suz (dog groomer) and working with her to get the place spruced up when she her neighbor Mr. Lee calls her about the dogs barking. She goes to check and finds the dead body of the dog warden. The sheriff’s deputy who arrives assumes since she found the body she is the number one suspect. Kari is not going to let the bully of a deputy put her in jail and she begins to dig up dirt on the dead warden. The shelter is vandalized a couple of times, her brother arrives in town as well as she meets a new cute vet who has volunteered at the shelter (possible love interest down the road). This was a good mystery that was not so simple as the victim was mean and had a lot of enemies. There were a couple of mysteries that needed to be solved before the ultimate culprit could be uncovered. This kept me engaged and I finished the book in one night (ha ha lost some sleep). I can’t wait to read the next installment and what is in store for Kari and her friends. I also love how Queenie played a role in pointing out some clues.

This is an awesome first book in the series. The setting is a small quaint town in the Catskills where every body knows every body and their business! The MC, Kari was down on her luck when she stopped at a gas station to buy a bag of cat litter and ended up with a $5 million winning lottery ticket. Instead of going out and buying a flashy new car or huge house, Kari decides to wait and think about what she wants to spend the money on. A tiny ball of kitten helps her make that decision when she adopts herself in to Kari's life. Kari takes the kitten to a shelter, but the shelter is full. It is through them that Kari learns about The Sanctuary. A shelter in town that is being shut down, resulting in even more homeless animals. Kari decides to put her winnings to good use and buys the Sanctuary.

Unfortunately, along with soon to be homeless animals, Kari also inherits a dirty and deceptive animal control officer. When that animal control officer is found bludgeoned to death while trying to "set up" one of the shelter dogs, Kari becomes the prime suspect. Kari, along with the quirky characters at The Sanctuary decide to prove their innocence and find the real killer. I loved the characters and the small town and the nice twist that this story took. I am really looking forward to the next one!

Forbidden Fatality is an entertaining and well written cozy mystery. Great plot and character dynamics. Mystery fans will love this book. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

I like this new series by Deborah Blake. I learned many things about dog rescue and found this to be a good theme for the series. The mystery was good and I liked the characters. I think the author left ideas that may be visited in future books. I look forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a well written book that holds your attention. This book has it all: drama, suspense, a murder to solve and of course rescue animals. Wonderful start to a new series! Thank you Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Anyone who would take their lottery winnings and bail out a run-down animal rescue shelter is a-ok in my book! Kari might not exactly know what she's gotten herself into, but she's smart and not too naive. And when vandalism escalates to murder, she does what she needs to to look after the animals and the shelter. A good cause, a likeable main character, an interesting cast, and good plotting make this book a pleasure to read. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series!

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this first book in the series. There was a lot going on (not too much to confuse someone, however) I liked the main character and her friends. There is some tension with her family and a possible love interest is introduced. I look forward to others in the series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When lottery winner Kari finds a stray kitten she tries to take it to a local shelter only to find it full. So she decides to buy a rundown shelter of her own.. when she find the bully of a dog warden at the shelter she becomes the number one suspect. Now she must investigate to find the real killer. Such a great first book in a new series. I can't wait to see where the next book goes.

It's difficult for me to review this book. The writing was decent though wordy, which slowed things down a lot. There wasn't much action and too many characters, most of whom I found to be kind of offensive. When this book started out with a rescue dog getting loose and the main characters refusing to believe that the dog could have hurt anyone while it was running around unsupervised, I had flashbacks to my own experience, my dog mauled and bleeding as someone looked on and insisted that the dog they were fostering would never have done such a thing. Just like that person, the main characters in this book took no responsibility, immediately victim-shaming before they had any of the facts. The characters also complained about the dogs in their rescue barking all day, but they thought the neighbors were being jerks for complaining about the dogs barking at night. I love dogs, I love books about dogs, especially rescue dogs, but the rescue animals only provide a soundtrack for this book, they play almost no role in the story and the characters just weren't likable to me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

The first thing I noticed about this book was the adorable cover, then when I read the synopsis I knew I had to request it.. A story about a girl who wins the lottery, and thanks to a stray kitten ends up buying a run down animal shelter.. I mean thats is like my dream if I ever won the lottery.

Of course I wouln't want to deal with all of the other things that Kara Stuart has had to deal with..A dog warden who wants to take away one of the residents a wonderful dog named Buster, a dead guy on her property, turns out its the same guy she argued with the day before so of course she ends up as suspect number 1.Thank goodness he was not a great guy and lots and lots of people had motive to want him dead.. People vandilizing her shelter not once but multiple times.. a couple cops that don't seem to want to help, and all this while she is trying to do her best to open up the shelter..
Thank goodness for her friend Suz and the other women that are voluntering and working at the shelter. They are all helping her look for other suspects, and figure out what on earth is going on in this town.

It was easy to fall in love with the characters and all of the animals in the story.. it had a great mystery that I ended up having no idea who the killer was until the end when it was revealed..

I absolutley loved this book, and will definitely be reading more of this series when its released.

Great Book,I love these cozy mysteries. About a shelter for animals. A murderer is happening and the owner and her Friends help to solve the case..

First title in a series about the owner of an animal sanctuary who had recently won the lottery. Fun, fast read.

Introduction to a new series that I really liked. The characters can grow so much. This is a story of someone that hit the lottery for $5m (what would you do with that money) . It has everything. You fall in love with the characters because they are just like you and I. Do good for others and others will do good by you. I can't wait until the next installment.

Kari wins the lottery and decides to help a struggling animal shelter. The animals need her just as much as she needs them. This book was sweet and clever. The characters are realistic . I got caught up in the story in the first chapter. I read it in one sitting. I really liked it.

I shared my review in an email and posted my review to Facebook, Amazon, and Goodreads and I posted my review to my library site.

This is a first book that has the potential to be a great cozy mystery series. Kari has won the lottery and she impulsively buys an animal shelter because the kitten she found was turned away at another shelter. The book has good characters, the mystery is okay, and of course there’s the love of animals from everyone who works there.

A fresh new series about a woman who uses her lottery winnings to spontaneously buy an animal shelter that’s under threat of closing. Unfortunately, the dog catcher who is trying to shut it down and buy the property himself is found dead and she immediately becomes a suspect.
The lottery winning premise is well done as the heroine is interested in making the money work long term and being cautious with it. Kari is no stranger to hard work, and she’s got a lot ahead with having to learn how to run the shelter while working with weary/cynical volunteers, moving, and dealing with the mystery on top of it all. It does have a rural setting that feels realistic - the heroine doesn’t know everyone in town, but enough to help her meet others in her search for clues. The mystery was well done and pacing was fantastic. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

I love a good pet-themed cozy mystery and this one truly was charming. I especially loved the atmosphere of the pet sanctuary, which is so important for a cozy. This first in the series got me hooked, and I can't wait for more!