When I read the Dead End Job mystery series, I feel like I've taken a mini-vacation to south Florida. This was especially enjoyable during a recent stretch of bitter cold winter days. In Catnapped! Helen and Phil suddenly have two crimes to solve. The clock starts ticking on the chance to solve a murder. And there are lots of cats. ( )

I LOVE cats so I am not sure why I didn't love this book. Well, yes I do-too much detail, not enough action. I was very disappointed in this book. ( )

It all starts with a catnapping and a nasty divorce. At the end Helen and Phil have solved 3 murders and the catnapping. Solid entry, Helen still makes rookie mistakes but is getting better. ( )

Catnapped is the thirteenth book in the Dead-End Job Mystery series.

Helen Hawthorne and Phil Sagemont have been hired by Nanci Hays to find Trish Barrymore's valuable show cat, January's Jubilee Justine. The Barrymore's are going through a very messy divorce and the only thing they can agree on is that Justine has the very best of everything. They have joint custody of the cat and when Mort Barrymore fails to return Justine at the appointed time. Trish's lawyer, Nanci Hays, rings Helen and Phil and gives them the case of the missing show cat. Upon arriving at Mort's mansion they find that Mort has been killed. Mort had a reputation of being “ladies man” and a player, so Helen goes undercover and get a job at a cattery. Hoping to get more information about his personal life and maybe learn who might have been jealous enough to do him in.

Meanwhile, there are interesting times at the Coronado, where Helen and Phil live and have their office. The building is starting to show damage done by the salty sea air and Margery is in a turmoil as what about it. Adding to this, Zach Flaz her ex, who see hasn't seen in some 50 or so years, shows up and wants to pick up where they left off. Margery quickly becomes a “person of interest, so now Helen and Phil have a second case to work on. This was a quiet humorous segment of the book, as life with Margery always is.

Will be watching for the next book in the series. ( )

Unlucky number 13? Not with this thirteenth book in the Dead-End Jobs Mysteries!

While I’ve read a few books in author Elaine Viet’s Mystery Shopper series, CATNAPPED is the first I have read in her Dead-End Jobs series. I could tell from the very beginning that this was going to be a fun book, and it was!

I love the character Helen and Phil, a husband and wife PI team, and Nancie, they lawyer for the firm they work for. Helene and Phil have a great relationship. I love the way they interact with each other. And Nancie, well, she’s a real piece of work. ;-)

I started laughing during the first chapter and kept laughing until the end. Ms. Viets has a wonderful sense of humor. But the humor in her writing didn’t diminish the wonderful mystery aspect of this story at all. It was tight and well plotted with plenty of twists in the story to keep me guessing. A real page turned that kept my brain working on the answer even when I was reading!

Because of CATNAPPED, I now have a new to me series that I will be adding to my TBR. ( )