Title: Belinda Blake and the Snake in the Grass (An Exotic Pet-Sitter Mystery #1)
Author: Heather Day Gilbert
Pages: 194
Year: 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Kensington Books / Lyrical Underground
Format: eBook (also available in paperback)
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.
About the book:
When exotic pet-sitter Belinda Blake moves into a carriage house in tony Greenwich, Connecticut, she’s hoping to find some new clients. Instead she discovers a corpse in the garden—and a knack for solving murders . . .
Pet-sitter Belinda Blake doesn’t rattle easily, but move-in day has been eventful, to say the least. They python in her care tried to slither to freedom—just as she met Stone Carrington V, her landlords’ disarmingly handsome son. With the constrictor back in its cage, she heads out to the garden, only to discover a designer shoe poking out of the boxwood hedge—attached to a woman’s dead body.
The victim, Margo Fenton, was a Carrington family friend, and no one in their circle seems above suspicion. Between client trips to Manhattan and visits to her family in upstate New York, Belinda begins to put the pieces together. But though she’s falling for Stone’s numerous charms, Belinda wonders if she’s cozying up to a killer. And soon, daily contact with a deadly reptile might be the least dangerous part of her life . . .
My review:
This is a great cozy mystery.
I had a lot of trouble getting into the book. My only problem was with how much of the early part of the book was talking about clothing and style simply by what seemed to me to be designer names. Since I don’t know what any of them are I was lost.
Once we had reached a point that Belinda had been thoroughly introduced this way and the mystery took over I quickly became caught up in the story. The mystery was very intricately woven and definitely kept my attention.
Belinda is a very different character. Both of her jobs are very unusual. I was equal parts fascinated and grossed out by all of the descriptions of how a ball python is cared for.
There are a lot of very strange characters in this story. Many of them had me guessing as to whether they could have been the killer.
Here on my own blog I have the freedom to rate this book with 4 1/2 stars. I do recommend it for the excellence of the mystery.
Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*
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