Marked Fur Murder by Dixie Lyle Published by St. Martin's Press on March 31st 2015
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Paranormal mystery
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Source: the publisher
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Also in this series: A Taste Fur Murder, To Die Fur
Also by this author: A Taste Fur Murder, To Die Fur
Deirdre "Foxtrot" Lancaster is fed up with all the goings-on at wacky billionaire Zelda Zoransky's mansion. Running around like a chicken with her head cut off, she's got a laundry-list of things to do. ZZ is hosting yet another one of her famous salons. Her nutty guests have more than their fair share of odd requests and strange demands. And now, friend Ben's estranged sister has been found dead in Zelda's pool, an apparent suicide, with a hairdryer floating beside her.
Yet Foxtrot doesn't buy it. Being a Thunderbird runs in Ben's family, and as the old saying goes, "you can't kill a Thunderbird with lightening." It's clear someone is trying to disguise a murder, but which of the guests could it be? Is it the renowned psychic who works with a painting dog? The slightly-schizophrenic transsexual writer of mysteries and children's books? And if it's the weather expert, what could the motive possibly be? It's a tall task, but with her fuzzy, slinky sleuths and a little bit of luck, Foxtrot might just solve her biggest mystery yet…
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
Review
Marked Fur Murder is the third mystery in Dixie Lyle’s unusual paranormal cozy series featuring personal assistant Foxtrot and her supernatural animal companions, Whiskey and Tango. (Yes, their initials are indeed WTF.)
This time around, murder hits close to home: the victim, Anna, is the sister of Foxtrot’s boyfriend Ben. Like Ben, Anna is – or rather, was – a Thunderbird, able to sense and control the weather. It appears that an ancient enemy may be trying to eliminate the Thunderbirds. Throw in a large rainbow-colored snake that may or may not be real, a predatory activist with her eye firmly on Ben, Anna’s grieving but unfaithful husband, a schizophrenic writer with a pair of imaginary friends, an artistic dog and her psychic handler, and a secondary mystery involving marbles left on cats’ graves, and you’ve got the sort of wild and wacky mystery that could only come from the pen of Dixie Lyle. The dialogue and Foxtrot’s narration are full of the word play and humor I’ve come to expect from this series, but they don’t detract from the mystery’s tension and excitement, nor from the real and growing feelings between Foxtrot and Ben.
Like the previous books, this one requires a stronger-than-usual “willing suspension of disbelief”, but if you can set aside your skepticism for a few hours, I think you’ll enjoy the ride.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- Cruisin' Thru the Cozies 2015
Bea @Bea's Book Nook
WTF, really? HAH, love it. 😀 And there’s more word play? I really need to read these books. I have the first on my library wish list. Maybe I’ll push it up the list.
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Lark_Bookwyrm
Yes, that made me laugh when I figured it out!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
I’ve been curious about this series as I’ve seen it listed on a few lists of exceptions to the no talking animals rule by a few people who don’t love talking animals. It does look like it requires serious suspension of belief but still looks like a fun read. I’ll have to check out this series.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…My Cookbook Wishlist
Lark_Bookwyrm
Yes, major suspension of disbelief required, but it’s also a lot of fun!