by Molly Fitz
“Can I borrow an outfit from you today?” she asked with a frown. “I think I’m letting Nan down with my color choices.”
I laughed. “Don’t worry about Nan. I let her down constantly. She still loves us both, though.”
“She offered to let me wear something from her wardrobe, but Angie—” Mags dropped her voice to a whisper and motioned for me to lean closer. “Everything’s hot pink!”
We broke apart in giggles.
“Seriously, though, please help a cousin out,” she begged, joining her hands in front of her and shaking them at me.
I skipped toward the closet, loving every minute of having my long-lost cousin here. I couldn’t believe we had less than a week left together. I was going to miss her so much when she went back home.
“How’s this?” I asked, tossing a Santa-print party dress at her. It was the same one I’d worn when we took the pets to get their pictures done with Santa at the pet shop in Dewdrop Springs. While it was one of my favorites, I had tons of holiday wear that hadn’t made it out of the closet yet this year.
That was the thing about doing most of my shopping at Good Will: everything was so cheap and went toward a good cause, so I had zero issue indulging my addiction. Today I wore a pair of jeans with the ugliest Christmas sweater I owned—it had giant pom-poms stuck in a huge ring to form a three-dimensional Christmas wreath, complete with jingle bells and a giant satin ribbon.
It was wretched, and I adored it.
“This is perfect,” Mags said after a quick appraisal of the dress.
“Goes good with pigtails,” I said.
She turned crimson. “I think that’s perhaps a little too much for today.”
Octo-Cat trotted in with Paisley following close behind.
“Mommy, you look gorgeous!” the Chihuahua cried.
“One day that sweater will be mine,” my tabby swore. “You can’t tell me that’s not meant to be a cat toy. Look at all those mischievous floofs!”
Well, he had me there.
“Mommy, can I come, too?” Paisley asked, her tail wagging so fast that it was little more than a black blur.
“She can’t talk to us in front of Mags, genius,” Octo-Cat said, looking bored with the whole thing.
Mags smiled at me, probably wondering why I had suddenly stopped talking when the animals entered. Let’s just say it was incredibly hard to keep my secret from her, especially considering she was family. Still, the fewer people who knew, the better. And I didn’t know if she would even believe me. I didn’t want to send her screaming back to Georgia and ruin our relationship with the rest of the family before we even got the chance to meet them.
Just one more week to go. I could keep my secret for that long…
Um, right?
Pre-order to save! HOPPY HOLIDAY HOMICIDE is just $2.99 until it releases on December 12.
Get your copy here!
mollymysteries.com/HoppyHolidayH
What’s After That?
A new year means a new mayor in the sleepy seaside town of Glendale. Unfortunately, not everyone’s happy about his election. In fact, someone’s so unhappy that they kidnap his beloved golden retriever and leave a ransom note claiming they’ll only return the dog when the man resigns his position.
Enter Angie and Octo-Cat with their first official paying case. Little does the mayor know that while they work to safely recover his ransomed retriever, they’ll also be investigating his past to figure out why someone would go so far to keep him out of office.
Can a talking cat find a missing dog? Will he even want to? Find out in the latest adventure of Pet Whisperer P.I.
Pre-order to save! RETRIEVER RANSOM is just $2.99 until it releases on January 15.
Get your copy here!
mollymysteries.com/RetrieverR
More from Blueberry Bay
Welcome to Blueberry Bay, a scenic region of Maine peppered with quaint small towns and home to a shocking number of mysteries. If you loved this book, then make sure to check out its sister series from other talented Cozy Mystery authors…
Pet Whisperer P.I.
By Molly Fitz
Glendale is home to Blueberry Bay’s first ever talking cat detective. Along with his ragtag gang of human and animal helpers, Octo-Cat is determined to save the day… so long as it doesn’t interfere with his schedule. Start with book one, Kitty Confidential, which is now available to buy or borrow! Visit Visit www.QuirkyCozy.com/PetWhisperer for more.
Little Dog Diner
By Emmie Lyn
Misty Harbor boasts the best lobster rolls in all of Blueberry Bay. There’s another thing that’s always on the menu, too. Murder! Dani and her little terrier, Pip, have a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time… which often lands them smack in the middle of a fresh, new murder mystery and in the crosshairs of one cunning criminal after the next. Start with book one, Mixing Up Murder, which is now available to buy or borrow! Visit www.QuirkyCozy.com/LittleDog for more.
Shelf Indulgence
By S.E. Babin
Dewdrop Springs is home to Tattered Pages, a popular bookshop specializing in rare editions, a grumpy Persian cat named Poppy, and some of the most suspicious characters you’ll ever meet. And poor Dakota Adair has just inherited it all. She’ll need to make peace with her new cat and use all her book smarts to catch a killer or she might be the next to wind up dead in the stacks. Start with book one, Hardback Homicide, which is now available to buy or borrow! Visit www.QuirkyCozy.com/ShelfIndulgence for more.
Haunted Housekeeping
By R.A. Muth
Cooper's Cove is home to Blueberry Bay's premier estate cleaning service. Tori and Hazel, the ill-fated proprietors of Bubbles and Troubles, are prepared to uncover a few skeletons. But when a real one turns up, they'll have to solve the mystery quickly if they're going to save their reputations—and their lives. Book one, The Squeaky Clean Skeleton, will be coming soon. Keep an eye on www.QuirkyCozy.com/HauntedHousekeeping for more.
The Cursed Cat of Caraway
By F.M. Storm
Quiet, secluded, and most importantly, far away from his annoying magical family, Guy couldn’t wait to start a new life on Caraway Island. Unfortunately, he hadn’t counted on his four-year-old daughter coming into her own witchy powers early… or on her accidentally murdering one of the PTO moms. Oops! Book one, The Kindergarten Coven, will be coming soon. Keep an eye on www.QuirkyCozy.com/CursedCat for more.
More Mags!
Mags McAllister enjoys her work as a candlestick maker in the historic district of Larkhaven, Georgia—never asking for anything more from her simple life. Then, one day, a white cat with mismatched eyes shows up outside her shop and refuses to leave—not for rain, not for tourists, not for anything.
Mags reluctantly takes him home, only to find that his presence changes everything inside her echoing plantation-style home. Nothing looks changed, but whenever Shadow is near, she can hear voices and sounds that shouldn’t be there. Even worse, the next time she enters her family’s candle shop, she meets a disembodied voice who shares her name and claims Mags will also share her fate if they can’t solve the mystery that’s haunted this location since 1781… and quickly, because she won’t be able to maintain her strength for long.
Talk about a cold case!
Can the twenty-first-century Mags finally free her eighteenth-century counterpart, or has Shadow just signed her death warrant by opening her ears to the supernatural secrets that surround her normally sleepy small town?
To be notified when SECRETS OF THE SPECTER (the first in Mag’s new series) goes live, make sure you sign up for Molly’s newsletter at mollymysteries.com/subscribe
You definitely don’t want to miss what happens next!
ABOUT MOLLY FITZ
While USA Today bestselling author Molly Fitz can't technically talk to animals, she and her doggie best friend, Sky Princess, have deep and very animated conversations as they navigate their days. Add to that, five
more dogs, a snarky feline, comedian husband, and diva daughter, and you can pretty much imagine how life looks at the Casa de Fitz.
Molly lives in a house on a high hill in the Michigan woods and occasionally ventures out for good food, great coffee, or to meet new animal friends.
Writing her quirky, cozy animal mysteries is pretty much a dream come true, but she also goes by the name Melissa Storm (also a USA Today bestselling author, yay!) and writes a very different kind of story.
Learn more, grab the free app, or sign up for her newsletter at www.MollyMysteries.com!
MORE FROM MOLLY
If you’re ready to dive right in to more Pet Whisperer P.I., then you can even order the other books right now by clicking below:
Kitty Confidential
Terrier Transgressions
Hairless Harassment
Dog-Eared Delinquent
The Cat Caper
Chihuahua Conspiracy
Raccoon Racketeer
Himalayan Hazard
Hoppy Holiday Homicide
Retriever Ransom
Lawless Litter
Legal Seagull
Scheming Sphynx
Deer Duplicity
Persian Penalty
Grizzly Grievance
Pet Whisperer P.I. Books 1-3
CONNECT WITH MOLLY
Sign up for Molly’s newsletter for book updates and cat pics: mollymysteries.com/subscribe
Download Molly’s app for cool bonus content: mollymysteries.com/app
Join Molly’s reader group on Facebook to make new friends: mollymysteries.com/group