In Merryville, Minnesota, Izzy is opening her Trendy Tails Pet Botique. Though Izzy majored in fashion for adults, her pet fashions are cute and practical in the cold Minnesota weather. Unfortunately, the town's environmentally, eccentric, perpetual protester, Sherry, has decided that animals should not wear clothes, and spends the opening day protesting in front of the store. Unfortunate for Sherry, she's found dead behind the store on the same day. Solving the murder sends Izzy throughout the town finding clues to keep her best friend out of the policeman's sight as the number one suspect.Love all the characters in this book, including a group of personable dogs, a bossy cat, a sneaky guinea pig, and a thieving ferret. The friendship between the three main human characters is different and done really well too. They were best friends through their teen years, then circumstances separated them for a number of years. Solving this murder brought back good and difficult memories that added a lot to the story. The mystery had me stumped, bringing me in as more and more clues were revealed. Definitely looking forward to reading more in this new Pet Boutique Mystery. Izzy McHale is opening her new pet boutique, Trendy Tails. Izzy designs and makes clothes for pets and her best friend Rena bakes healthy pet treats. As they open the doors for the grand opening, wealthy activist Sherry Harper (who doesn’t think it is natural for animals to wear clothing), decides to picket out front. As the party wraps up and the cleaning begins, Izzy takes the trash to her dumpster and discovers Sherry's lifeless body. Unfortunately, it is soon discovered that Rena left the store about the time Sherry was killed, making Rena the prime suspect. Izzy has to enlist the help of local lawyer, and her old high school sweetheart, in order to find the real killer. Izzy is a strong and intelligent protagonist, who knows she needs help with the case. Her love for animals is palatable and the animal antics are on track. Cute story, good mystery and lots of animal hi-jinx.
