Hairless Hassles

Mobile Cat Groomer Mysteries, #3

by

Ruth J. Hartman

Mystery and murder return to Whitewater Valley!

Hairless Hassles is the third book in author Ruth J. Hartman’s great Mobile Cat Groomer Mysteries, which features intrepid cat-mom Molly Stewart, and her feline family, Jasper and Percival. When elderly and very quirky clients, next-door neighbors Florence Makes and Lottie Campbell, become the main suspects in a murder, Molly can’t sit back and watch. She’s compelled to look deeper into the case and clear her friends’ names. 

Molly Stewart, cat groomer extraordinaire and successful amateur sleuth, is once again at the right place at the right time for her cats to find the body of the latest victim of murder in the small town of Whitewater Valley, Indiana. The plot gets down to business straight away with the discovery of the victim occurring in the very first chapter. As the body is found in between the two octogenarians’ homes, the sheriff soon narrows his investigation to these two elderly ladies. While a highly doubtful conclusion from the start, the victim, Carlotta Sykes, also has a reputation for being unpleasant and was involved in a couple of nasty altercations in the days leading up to her death, so there are a few more plausible suspects to consider besides. Also, Florence and Lottie have provided some wonderfully reliable comic relief in this series from the start, and it would have been a sad day for them to have been the culprits. I went back and forth on some others, though, and it took the suspenseful confrontation between Molly and the real perpetrator to reveal the actual murderer. 

As with the previous books, there is a plethora of locals dropping in and out of the story throughout, and there is nice teamwork between Molly and her friends to investigate and cross the red herrings off their list of possible suspects. There are plenty of cats to ooh and ahh over, including the Sphynx kitties, Eleanor and Helga, which are referenced in the book’s title. Readers new to the series should have no trouble jumping in on this story as each one reads as a standalone. 

With its engaging characters, both human and feline, and interesting and quickly evolving plot, I recommend HAIRLESS HASSLES to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy cat-themed stories. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.