Book Review | ARC Review | Dog Treats and Death (Heywood Hounds Cozy Mystery: Book One) by Carly Winter | CONTAINS SPOILERS
October 26, 2023
Entry Way Built Ins | Day 4
October 26, 2023
Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping
My Rating:
Step into the captivating world of Anna Romano, a best-selling author, devoted cat lover, and culinary virtuoso renowned for her sumptuous Italian cuisine.
Nestled in the heart of a charming New Jersey community, Anna’s life is the embodiment of cozy contentment. When she’s not crafting the next gripping murder mystery or planning star-studded book signings, you’ll find her immersed in the art of perfecting her Italian recipes. However, Anna encounters trouble quite frequently, and her life stories are bound to have you on the edge of your seat.
In book one, Anna’s serene existence takes a hairpin turn when a relentless stalker, harboring sinister intentions, infiltrates her idyllic sanctuary. In this spine-tingling amateur sleuth cozy mystery, Anna is forced into a heart-pounding quest for survival, all while battling an irresistible attraction to the detective entrusted with safeguarding her.
Uncover secrets, navigate danger, and revel in the forbidden allure of love in the face of peril. Don’t miss out on this immersive journey, where suspense, culinary delights, and the unconditional love of feline companions converge. Dive into the pages today and experience the pulse-pounding intrigue that has cozy mystery enthusiasts raving.
Trigger Warnings:
Major (large part of the plot): Murder
Minor (small mentions): Mention of cadavers of kids!
Characters
- Anna Romano – Author of murder mysteries, has 7 cats
- Frederick Tallon – kidnapper
- Detective Sollis – ends up assigned to Anna’s case
- Billing – Sollis’s partner
My Review
This book alternated between 3 points of view: the detective, the kidnapper, and Anna, the cat loving mystery author. The way this was done worked well since we could get in each of their heads.
Seven cats!! Oooft. You go girl if you can manage all of that poop! And the detective eating a couple of cannolis and falling asleep at her house? The relationship between these two just didn’t seem realistic – maybe if there were more interactions or build up of the romance, but it fell a little flat.
Very quick cozy mystery for cat lovers! The narration was decent, you could tell between the characters, which is always a plus. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.
Spoilers/Summary
Frederick Tallon had previously murdered his first wife using digitoxin. Anna’s book seemed to detail how he did it.
Frederick kidnaps Anna with the intent of murdering her in a boat explosion. He also has 2 cadavers of young kids that he has acquired somehow (!!!) and is going to have those go down in the boat as well to make it look like his whole family died so he could collect the insurance money. Frederick had gotten into the hole with his gambling so needed money fast.
His wife knew about it all when she found journals that his first wife had written and died the next days that implicated him.
Anna gets away, Frederick almost dies in the boat explosion. Anna and Detective Sollis date.