Let me start by saying, cozy mysteries are my all time favorite genre. This book is the first in a new series and I’m certain I will read the rest as they come out. I loved the main character and I especially loved the idea of owning a pet shop. The mystery was fun to solve with lots of red herrings thrown in. Just an all around good cozy read!

When Hollywood actress Shell McMillan’s tv show is cancelled, she doesn’t fret too much. Right after, she finds out that her aunt has left her all her money, her mansion, and her pet store. Shell pack up her life and moves to Fox Hollow, to begin her new life.
Once there, Shelle’s adopted by her aunt’s cat, a one eyed Persian named Purrday, and she settles in to get the pet store and her new home in shape. But quickly things go south. After a public argument on the town square with the woman that runs the museum board, the same board who refused the loan of Cary Grant movie posts, some signed by Mr. Grant himself, we find out that the woman (Amelia) is murdered and Shell is the one who finds her body. The police detective has placed Shell on his list of people to look at, along with many others.
Shell and her new found friends decide to help the investigation along, realizing that if Shell is a person of interest in Amanda’s murder, she’ll not be able to be able to get her store open. With lots of red herrings, and lots of suspects, it takes a long time for the author to get us readers to the end so we find out the why.
I did figure out early on the who in this who-dun-it. I couldn’t figure out the why though. Honestly though, there was a lot of filler to get through in this story. I’ve read other books by this author, but I don’t remember this much filler to get to the end. This story was just a little lackluster, it seemed to be missing something for me. I’m usually a devourer of cozy fiction, but I just couldn’t get invested in the characters or the story.
**I received an ARC of this story from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

The Time For Murder Is Meow
Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries #1

By: T.C. LoTempio

Beyond the Page Publishing

Mystery & Thrillers

Publish Date June 9, 2021

#TheTimeforMurderIsMeow#NetGalley

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This is a new cozy mystery series. I am glad I was able to receive the e-arc and given the chance to read and review it. This was a great read and I enjoyed myself.

This book is about an actress who has lost her aunt and has received an estate of a store and home from her. She also inherits her Cat. Shell was a very popular actress for a hit series that wasn't renewed and decides that with the death of her aunt she can restart a new life in a small town with her own cat.

Her shop is the Urban Pet Shop that everyone in the town misses since the death of the aunt. The aunt also has a great collection of movie items and Shell has offered to display some at the local museum for an up coming event. The board members have decline this and Shell is curious for the reason since it was a close vote.

Come to find out the head member has a lot of power or should I say secrets on everyone to be able to force the other members to vote her way.

This head board member is found dead one Sunday and found by no other then Shell. The story goes on from there with a lot twist and turns. I unfortunately I figured out who the murderer was in the first 1/4 of the book but it didn't take away my interest in the book.

I will be continuing the series. I just love the two cats in this book.

The Time For Murder Is Meow is the first book in TC LoTempio's A Purr n Bark Mystery Series. Win her cable show, Spy Anyone, is canceled after 10 years on the air, Shell McMillan decides to retire from acting and move to Fox Hollow and operate the pet store her recently deceased Aunt left her. Her aunt also left Shell her collection of movie memorabilia. A local theater is hosting a Cary Grant festival. Shell offers to loan the local history museum several items autographed by Grant. The museum board turns down the offer which confuses Shell until she learns of a feud between her aunt and a woman that runs the board. Shell becomes the main suspect in the woman's murder when she discovers the woman's body in museum. New friends and old help her find the murderer and clear her name.

Before I finish the first chapter in this book, I regretted that I didn't have the second book in the series. Considering that this is a new series, I'm going to be in for a long wait. I like the Shell is fine with her cable series being canceled after 10 years. She is looking at this as an opportunity to retire at the age of 38 from acting and work with small animals. Gary Presser, her friend and former co-star, shows up to talk her into returning to Hollywood and a reboot of their series. He stays to help her solve the case. If he doesn't become a part of the Purr n Bark series, Gary needs his own series. He about stole the show.

I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher and/or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

New author for me. Loved reading this book and new series for me. If you haven't read it yet. I highly recommend doing so. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

The Time for Murder is Meow is the first in a cozy mystery series by T.C. LoTempio.
Shell McMillan has retired from her Hollywood career and is ready to jump into her new life living in the beautiful house her late Aunt left her along with her charming pet store.
Shell arrives in Fox Hollow, Connecticut ready for a fresh start. Most of her new neighbors seem welcoming, but almost immediately she runs into trouble with Amelia Witherspoon, who seems to make trouble for everyone in town. Shell soon finds herself involved in a murder investigation.

I loved the setting and cast of characters, including local shop owners, an handsome detective, two loveable cats, and even an appearance by Shell's former costar. It is a fun read with a clever mystery, and I'm already looking forward to the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Midnight Ink Publishing for a digital review copy.

Great start to this series! I liked the characters,, storyline and settings. Looking forward to future books.
Thanks to #NetGalley and TheTimeForMurderIsMeow for an advanced digital copy.

The Time For Murder is Meow is the wonderful debut of a new cozy mystery series by Toni LoTempio. Crishell (Shell) McMillan was an actress whose series was cancelled and her Aunt Matilda left Shell her house and pet store so Shell relocates to Fox Hollow. While Shell is at the local park, she meets Josh, who she later learns is a police detective. Her former costar, Gary shows up to see why Shell won.'t return to LA. Olivia, Rita, and Ron own shops near her pet store, Purr N' Bark and they quickly become friends. Shell finds an unpopular town resident dead after they had a public disagreement and she needs to clear her name so she can reopen her pet store. Shell has a cat Kahlua and she inherits her aunt's cat Purrday. The characters are likable, there is a romantic interest, and the cozy mystery kept me guessing until the end. Very enjoyable! #NetGalley #BeyondThePagePublishing #TheTimeForMurderIsMeow

The Time for Murder is Meow
Crishell “shell” McMillan find out she inherited her Aunts pet shop just waiting for TV show was canceled. So she decides to go to take over her aunts pet shop. While she’s is getting the shop ready she ends up finding Some Cary Grant posters which she decides to loan to the local museum for a exhibit. That’s when things change for the worst. A woman who her aunt had a long time disagreement with and she is just seen arguing with turns up murdered and she becomes suspect number one. So shell, Kahlua and purrday her new kitty sidekicks set out to go find who the real murder is. Tag along with them to find out if they do find the real murder

This is the first in a series that has been republished as the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries. It was first published by Midnight Ink in 2019. Beyond the Page publishing has recovered this book with an adorable and inviting cozy scene. I liked that the story reminded me of older lighter styled whodunits.
Typical cozy set up, cheated on woman, moves across the country to a new city, Fox Hollow, Connecticut and takes over a relative’s business, Aunt Tilley’s pet shop. Finds body, accused of murder, must prove herself innocent.

The amateur sleuth is Chrishell McMillan, aka Shell, a retired actress at the age of 38. The deceased old biddy is Amelia Witherspoon.

The other main characters are: Olivia, Rita, and Ron, former co-star Gary Presser, and Detective Josh Bloodgood. Other key players are: Shell’s cat Kahlua, a beautiful Seal Point Siamese cat and Tillie’s cat Purrday, a one-eyed, white Persian. Together they play a key role in solving the mystery.

There are plenty of suspects, lots of twists and a good resolution. I hope Gary sticks around but that is still to be determined.

I don’t know how I missed it when it first was published but I really happy to have found this series.

It was entertaining and I’m adding it to my sought after series. Looking forward to more stories. I was given an advanced copy by Netgalley and am not required to leave a positive review.

Title: The Time for Murder Is Meow
Author: T. C. LoTempio
Genre: cozy mystery
Rating: 3 out of 5

When her TV series is canceled, struggling actress Shell McMillan considers it a blessing in disguise. A beloved aunt who recently died left her a pet shop in her will, and she sees it as the perfect chance to walk away from Hollywood and make a fresh start in the sleepy town of Fox Hollow.

But adjusting to small-town life won’t be easy, as Shell realizes when the head of the museum board is found murdered not long after Shell had a very public argument with her. And when the new kid in town is fingered for the crime, she’ll have to rely on her own wit and pluck and the kindness of strangers to get herself off the hook.

Desperate to exonerate herself and catch the real culprit, Shell begins digging into the lives of the local residents, and she quickly discovers that the victim had no shortage of enemies. As the suspect list grows and time runs short, Shell and her cats will have to claw their way out of danger—and it’s meow or never . . .

This was an okay read, the beginning to a series I won’t be reading any more of. I’ve read some enjoyable cozy mysteries featuring pets, but this one…well, for one thing, the cats are too humanized. I’ve had cats my entire life, and I have yet to have one point at something. Repeatedly. Talk back, yes, but actually point at things? No.

The characters were also just so-so to me. Shell has a tendency to completely overreact to things, and that she got so angry at the museum board for not wanting to sue her aunt’s memorabilia was a little too over-the-top to me. This just wasn’t a good fit for me.

T. C. LoTempio lives in New Jersey. The Time for Murder is Meow is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Beyond the Page Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 6/9.)

This was a fun cozy mystery. As a crazy cat lady, I gravitate toward the cat mysteries and am so glad I was able to read this one. The cats were adorable, especially Purrday. I really liked the premise of an actress retiring from Hollywood to run her deceased aunt's pet shop and then her co-star follows. A lot of fun banter between these two characters. I really liked the other characters as well. The mystery was interesting with a lot of suspects and red herrings. I definitely recommend this book to fans of cozies.

I love cozy mysteries and this was such a cute read! I'm not a big cat person and I usually am drawn to books that have dogs in them but I thought this book was so cute! I was hooked from the first page to the last and can't wait to read more by this author!

Shell's Aunt died and Shell has returned home with the intention of reopening her Aunt's Pet store. Shell is an actress that has decided she wants a slower life than what she had in Hollywood. She returns to her Aunt's place and then finds herself in the middle of a murder to solve. She enlists the help from her friends and her Aunt's cat to help her.

A really good book..

The Time for Murder is Meow is a fun and entertaining book. The characters are well developed and pull you in right away. Their conversations and interactions are natural and the story line flows smoothly. Shell is an actress that has had her television series cancelled. Her aunt passed away and left Shell her house and pet supply business. Shell decides she is ready for a change in her life, but before she can get settled in to her new life, there is a murder. She argued with the victim the day before and becomes a person of interest. With the help of her new friends and a former costar, she works to clear her name so she can get on with her new life. The evidence keeps building against her. Will she be able to clear her name? One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book is that Shell would talk to her cats and they seemed to understand and even talk back to her sometimes. The cats even had their own personalities and I loved it. As a pet owner myself, that rang true. Sometimes it feels like your pets understand what you say. I laughed many times while reading this book. As soon as I finished, I went to order the next book and realized that it wasn't out yet. I will be waiting anxiously for it. I want to get to know Shell and her friends a lot more. I love a book that makes me laugh.

Television star Shell is retiring for a quieter life in small town Fox Hollow. The trouble is shortly after arriving she finds a dead body and is now a person of interest in the case. To clear her name Shell starts asking questions but as she narrows the suspect list she worries that soon she'll be the only one left on the list.

An enjoyable mystery with a wide range of characters. Gary, Shell's former costar, really livens up the story and cats Purrday and Kahlua add a nice dose of humor. Thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

This is a wonderful start to a new series. It was well written and will keep you guessing until the end. It's a fun cozy mystery that will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. Thank you Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book that starts a new series by T.C. LoTempio. It's engrossing, entertaining and full of potential.
It's a light, well written and fun to read story, with a lovely setting and a cast of fleshed out and likeable characters.
I think that Ms LoTempio does an excellent work in developing cat characters and those in this book are no exceptions as they're realistic and lovely at the same time.
The mystery was good, it kept me guessing till the end and had no "too stupid to live" situations.
I hope this series will continue as it's full of potential and could become one of my favourite.
It's highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I tried to post this to Goodreads, but it stated that it was "Unable to find book with ISBN "9781954717183" on Goodreads, so the link is below.

As a cat lover and a fan of mystery, I assumed I would enjoy a cozy mystery combining the two! However, I was a bit disappointed and thought it was a slow read. I appreciate the feeling of suspense from the mystery genre and I didn't have the same anticipation. While it was an otherwise "cute" read, it seemed like a story for an older generation (although I can't quite place the very reason for that). Although I enjoyed the premise, I did not fall in love with the story itself. Despite my thoughts on the book, thank you to NetGalley, publisher, and author for letting me read this edition early!