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Dixie Hemingway now lives and works in Siesta Key, Florida. She used to be a sheriff's deputy in Sarasota, but when her husband and daughter were killed in an auto accident, she buried herself in a bottle and left the force. Now sober, she earns her living taking care of people's pets when they go on vacation. One of her clients, Marilee Doering, is leaving town but she has changed her locks, so Dixie stops by to pick up the new key. The next morning, Dixie realizes that she doesn't have an updated contact for Ghost, the silver-blue Abyssinian, but she figures that the old one should do. When she gets to Marilee's house, Hemingway can't find Ghost, but she does find a dead man, face down in the cat's water bowl. Other clues, such as a very disordered bedroom, make her wonder if Marilee is in trouble or if the house has been burgled, or both. The next door neighbors are no help. They do not approve of Marilee's lifestyle, but though they hate cats, agree to cat sit for a few hours while Dixie gets involved in the start of the police investigation. She hasn't lost all her detecting skills. Meanwhile, she has to continue with her pet-sitting duties. She gets to walk dogs and take care of cats. She grooms her charges daily as well as feeding and watering them. The pets are all well cared for and no animal gets hurt during this book, only people. Aside from the silly title, Hemingway isn't the one who gets killed after all. The book is one of the darker cozies. Even though the murders are committed offstage, we do get rather graphic descriptions of the corpses. There are also subplots involving the neighbors and the so-called emergency contact, which are very well done. The writing is very self-assured for a first novel.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, January 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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