The cat sitter's whiskers

Dixie Hemingway, a pet sitter on Siesta Key, off Sarasota, starts her day early to beat the midday heat. She knows Levi Radcliff, the newspaper delivery man and an old school friend, will be up early, too, but his car shouldn't be parked on her route. Thinking it odd, she goes on to feed Barney Feldman, the Maine coon cat who lives with the Kellers. Mrs. Keller collects antique masks, and on this ill-fated morning one of the masks, which Dixie has dubbed Dick Cheney, shields an intruder, who attacks Dixie. After she comes to, calls the police, and gets checked out by the paramedics, Dixie goes to the local café, where everyone is complaining about the lack of a morning newspaper. Remembering Radcliff's car parked in the wrong place, Dixie goes to check on her friend but finds him dead. The connection between Levi's murder and the subsequent murder of the dealer who sold Mrs. Keller Dick Cheney evolves and shifts throughout this nicely plotted mystery. As with earlier entries in this cozy series, pet lovers will embrace Dixie for her determined focus on her charges.--Muller, Karen Copyright 2015 Booklist

The appealing 10th Dixie Hemingway mystery (after 2014's The Cat Sitter's Nine Lives and the third written by Blaize Clement's son, John, after her death in 2011) finds the former sheriff's deputy and professional pet sitter heading off to feed her clients early one morning in Siesta Key, Fla. Dixie's first customer is an eight-year-old Maine Coon cat, whose owners, the Kellers, have left him at their art-filled ranch house while they're away. After a trip to the garage, Dixie returns inside and comes face-to-face with an intruder wearing a Tibetan mask, from Mrs. Keller's collection, that reminds her of Dick Cheney. The man knocks her out with a stone figurine. When Dixie regains consciousness, she calls the police. Oddly, no valuables are missing, nor is there any sign that someone broke into the house. With its sunny Florida setting, this cozy is sure to banish the winter doldrums. Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.