This series is fun! I particularly enjoy reading about the restoration and goings on a the second hand store but the mystery was good and I do like Charlotte's Angels, the group of senior sleuths :)

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

Secondhand shop owner Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis, sniff out the suspect in this new, delightful Second Chance Cat Mystery from New York Times bestselling author, Sofie Ryan. In Fur Love or Money, a dead body is linked to a man thought to already be dead.

I’ve always enjoyed the premise of this series (a secondhand shop) and it’s fun to revisit Sarah Grayson in Fur Love or Money. This series is set in North Harbor, Maine and features a great cast of characters. I particularly enjoy that though Sarah is the narrator of the books, her grandmother’s friends are the primary detectives in the stories calling themselves Charlotte’s Angels (Rose is my favorite and also the most prominent).

In the latest mystery, Sarah and Rose are delivering dog treats to Ashley and her dog Casey (Casey had been involved with saving Rose in a previous book). When Casey starts whimpering, the three women follow him to see what he’s bothered by. Casey leads them to a rental property and over to the storm cellar, where Sarah hears a puppy stuck inside. She climbs down a suspicious ladder and rescues the puppy, but before she can climb back up she realizes that what she thought was a bag of garbage is actually a dead body!

It takes a few days before Sarah and Rose learn the identity of the body, and they’re surprised when they hear the victim is Ian Stone. Three years earlier Ian went missing in Ireland after a fall and was presumed dead when his body wasn’t recovered. Of course, the lack of a body and word of an investigation that had been looking into a Ponzi scheme Ian was thought to be involved with led to rumors that he faked his death and his wife Victoria helped him. The money he was thought to have taken was never found, nor was his body (until now).

It appears Ian had been alive all that time and returned to North Harbor for some reason. His wife Victoria had recently remarried, thinking he was dead. Meanwhile the rental property where he was found turns out to have been rented out to a man named Dan Cooper. This is presumably the alias Ian had been living under, and he had false documents to support it. When the owner of the property and longtime friend of Rose is accused of knowingly helping Ian hide out at his rental property, Sarah and Rose become determined to find the real killer.

One thing that I enjoy about Sofie Ryan’s books (and the ones she publishes under the name Sofie Kelly) are that she branches out with her victims and what is being solved. In particular, this is not the first time that she has used a cold case (or at least a victim linked to a cold case) as the central mystery to solve. I was immediately intrigued as soon as I found out that Ian Stone was presumed to be dead.

The investigation is seeking to find the killer, but part of that meant finding out where Ian had been the past three years, who might have helped him disappear (or known about it), and why he would return to North Harbor where he is sure to be recognized by someone. Ryan also drops in fun tidbits, including the assumed name that Ian was using (Dan Cooper) being a nod to the famous D. B. Cooper case. If you haven’t heard of that case I highly recommend looking it up! But clear your afternoon because you will fall down the rabbit hole of theories about the mysterious hijacker who vanished with the money and has never been located.

The mystery kept me hooked and I liked the twists and turns it took as Sarah and Rose hunted for answers. In particular, there is a nugget of information about the killer that narrows down the suspect pool quite a bit. I enjoyed how that tied in at the end of the book when the culprit is caught. The killer is unmasked and the curious cast of Ian Stone is finally closed, with plenty of answers about where he had been and why he came back.

A great mystery that can easily be read as a standalone book (though I recommend checking out the Second Chance Cat Mystery series)!

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

This cozy mystery series has several elements that keep me coming back for more. The characters’ ages span from late teens through young seniors. They are engaging, entertaining, people I would welcome as neighbors. The setting in North Harbor, Maine, sounds gorgeous, and is a popular tour bus destination. There is always humor, but not at another’s expense.

Sarah is the owner of the Second Chance, a popular repurpose shop I’d like to visit. Several of her grandmother’s friends opened their private investigations firm, Charlotte’s Angels, and their office has a permanent space in her shop. In part, she likes to keep an eye on them so they don’t get into trouble, and a couple of the ladies help out in the shop regularly. Sarah also helps them with their cases.

Elvis, Sarah’s black cat, just finished a photo shoot for a cat food company that wanted to use him in an advertisement. He knows he is handsome, and the scar across his nose gives him a rakish look. Elvis had been found by the harbor a few years ago by an old friend of Sarah’s family. Before gifting him to Sarah, Sam named him Elvis because he liked the music of the king. Elvis is a wonderful companion, very opinionated, and a feline lie detector. If someone is petting him and speaking or being questioned, he can tell in a moment if they are telling the truth.

Rose, one of the Angels, had made dog treats for Casey, a dog who rescued her after she was attacked several months ago. They were now good friends with Casey’s owners, Ashley and Keenan, who are expecting their first baby. When Rose and Sarah took the treats to Ashley, Casey was whimpering and looking towards the nearby water. Rose, Sarah, and Ashley took a walk with Casey to see what was upsetting him. He led them to a rental property, then took Sarah to a storm cellar. She could hear a puppy inside, and found a way down to get it. Just before getting out of the cellar, something made her look in the garbage bag tucked beneath a tarp in a corner. The good news was that the pup looked like one that a missing flyer had just gone out for. The bad news was, the body of a man was in the bag, and it looked like he had been murdered.

It was a couple of days before they learned about the murder victim. When his body was not recovered after a fall in Ireland three years ago, Ian Stone was thought to be dead. He was about to be investigated for suspicion of running a huge Ponzi scheme. None of the money was ever found, and his wife, certain he was dead, had recently remarried.

The cottage was owned by Channing, a long-time friend of Angels Rose and Liz. Channing was also a friend of Ian’s father and had known Ian since he was a boy. He didn’t know Ian was renting the cottage as a property management company handled everything. Despite that, Channing was suspected of hiding Ian for the three years since his death was apparently faked. The Angels are determined to find who killed Ian, as whoever killed him may have been the person who helped him hide, freeing Channing from the accusations.

Each character is designed with care. The regulars are vibrant people who love the lives they have, help others, and demonstrate that one doesn’t have to be related by blood to be family. I like how Sarah and Mac, and Rose and Mr. Peterson are both couples, each couple from different generations, as is Sarah’s grandmother, who remarried after being widowed for many years. None of the relationships take top billing over the mysteries, and each couple is adorable in their own way.

This complex mystery is energized by startling plot twists that open or closed doors to potential suspects or motives. The Angels eliminated suspects based on one very specific clue about the killer, which deterred me from the person I was almost certain was the bad guy. The killer was finally revealed, and any open concerns were tidily handled. I am already eagerly awaiting the next in series! I highly recommend both this mystery and the series!

I really enjoy this series. The town would be a great place to live. I love the relationship between all the characters. And of course Elvis is the best.

I hope for many more in the series.

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

Fur Love or Money brings us the amazingly wonderful crew of Sarah Graves's secondhand and upcycle shop, Second Chance, and other great friends who surround them and back them up as they face the changes of investigating murder. Spending time with this delightful group is like visiting friends I have known forever. The Second Chance Cat Mysteries always provide in perplexing murder with and intelligent group who lead us to the villain while keeping us laughing that the friending exchanges. The journey in this 11th book in the series is as amazing and fun as the earlier books. I love, love, this series, and this book.
My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to read an ARC of Fur Love or Money, another outstanding book in the Second Chance Cat Mystery series. Sofie Ryan is one of my favorite authors in any genre. I read the ARC in December but had to read it again why my preordered copy landed on my ereader.
#Netgalley #Berkley #SecondChanceCatMystery #SofieRyan

I really enjoy this series and this was a fun one! When Sarah and Rose stumble onto a body who ends up having a very sketchy history they're quickly pulled into the investigation - once they have a client of course.

Sarah, Mac, Avery and the Angels are busy with the investigation and Sarah's shop and I think I enjoy both aspects of the story equally. Avery especially is becoming one of my favorite characters. While she's still a teenager with plenty of attitude she is growing in confidence and finding her footing. I always enjoy seeing Sarah interact with Rose, Charlotte and Mr. P and I'm quite sure when I grow up I want to be just like Liz. My only real issue with the characters is that while I love Mac his and Sarah's relationship just doesn't quite click for me. I feel like the author is still leaving the door a bit open for Nick and I'm hoping that's not the case.

I really enjoyed the mystery. The victim definitely had a number of people who wanted him dead but there were some real questions as to just who had the opportunity. I did guess most of what happened before Sarah did but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to the reveal.

This series has a lot of characters and while each mystery is standalone it is probably best read in order to make it easier to keep track of who is who.

Sarah, Elvis, and the Charlotte's Angel find themselves once again solving a murder to clear a pal in this latest installment in a series where each one is perfectly enjoyable as a standalone. This time out, the victim had been bilking investors- but who was believed to be dead. Not. This is classic cozy territory with several suspects (and a few red herrings). I like the series not only for the mysteries but also for a peek at life in Sarah's second hand shop, the mature and genial Charlottes, and most of all for Elvis. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to the next one!

It wasn’t as good as the rest of this series but it’s still an enjoyable read. The regular characters are as fun to hang out with as usual. They’re intelligent and kind without being too perfect. The plot is solid and very believable. And there’s just enough everyday life in the resale shop mixed in for the reader to feel like they’re part of the story. Sofie Ryan/Kelly writes both of my favorite cozy mystery series of all time.

There were a couple of small places where the story felt rushed (one “section” in a chapter consisted of only one sentence) but I assume it’s because I read an advanced reader’s copy of the novel and that’ll be fixed before release. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Fur Love or Money" is a cozy mystery. Unfortunately, the ending was confusing in several ways. We had the mystery of the murder but also of what happened to the stolen money. The main characters went around interviewing potential suspects, mostly people who lost their money and wanted it back. Then whodunit is caught in a lie, and Sarah explained to Rose what she thought happened. Only she gave one explanation, then another, and I'm going, "um, that sounds contradictory." I had to re-read it to realize she'd given events out of order and guessed some things based on no evidence (and these things were never confirmed, either).

Sarah wanted to tell her ideas to her detective friend, but Rose insisted they go back to the murder scene (and not tell anyone). Of course, whodunit happened to show up for a reason not explained (as the area had clearly already been searched for evidence and treasure). Whodunit never confessed to murder, never explained why the victim was killed at that location and before giving up the location of the money. It's implied that the money was found but this was never clearly stated. We're just suddenly told it would be returned to the rightful owners. So much wasn't clearly explained. Not a satisfying ending.

The main characters were nice, engaging people, but the clues were a mess. So Sarah can be sure that soil is an exact match just by looking at it? And, BTW, someone with frozen shoulder can't lift their arm without intense pain. They aren't going to spend money on expensive lawn equipment, they're going to hire someone to take care of their lawn. Quite a lot just didn't seem believable.

This is the 11th book in the series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one. This book didn't spoil any of the previous mysteries. There were no sex scenes. There was only one use of bad language.

I love these characters, and this book doesn't disappoint. I wish there was more Elvis (the cat) in the storyline, but I know you can only do that so many times throughout the book series. Good number of regular characters in the story (to love and grow) and also new ones. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a "whodunnit" with a lovely cast characters and a cat named Elvis.

Low-key entry in the Second Chance Cat series of cozy mysteries. Sarah stumbles upon yet another body, and her geriatric buddies investigate. For once I spotted the villain before the denouement. And Sarah was written as being entirely too reckless and obtuse--and was smacked down for it.

Slight but enjoyable.

Another great book in the second chance series. If you like older sleuths and cats that can tell when you're lying this is definitely a series you want to read.

I’m not a huge cat person and it’s obviously a very cat focused book. Stopping after chapter 1. That said, cat lovers will surely rejoice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.