Title: A Taste Fur Murder
Author: Dixie Lyle
Genre/Audience: Cozy mystery, adult
Publication: St. Martin’s, 2014
Source: Library
Deirdre Lancaster, AKA “Foxtrot,” works as a personal assistant and all-around house manager for an eccentric old millionaire, Zelda Zoransky (“ZZ”). After Foxtrot spots a terrifying and huge animal-like ghost in ZZ’s on-property pet cemetery, things take a turn for the weird… and spooky! Suddenly, her dead cat, Tango, appears… and she’s talking. Along with Tango is a talking, ectoplasmic dog, Tiny, who can also change breeds on a moment’s notice. When one of Foxtrot’s coworkers dies under suspicious circumstances at the mansion, Foxtrot and her new ghostly animal companions are on a mission to solve the case before anyone else gets hurt. They are helped along the way by a variety of other animal spirits that Foxtrot can now see and communicate with in the pet cemetery.
I liked this mystery, but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed all of the talking animals and spirits, and found that they added both a spooky and humorous factor to the story. At the same time, I tend to struggle with paranormal stories on occasion, as I find myself to be a bigger fan of contemporary and realistic fiction. I think that was the main thing that prevented me from loving this story, to be honest, and I had a slightly difficult time getting into it as a result. Despite that, the mystery was well written and not easy to solve, and the characters were interesting. I do plan on continuing on to the next book in the series because I did find the book to be enjoyable, but it bored me at times and could drag. Again, just my personal feelings. Sometimes I’ll find myself really loving a paranormal book if I can get into it properly, but at times I just struggle with the unrealistic aspect of it all. That was kind of the case here.
My Rating: 3/5
