by Debra H. Goldstein

The pets in Debra’s Sarah Blair series share their thoughts on the books.

RahRah: Cats rule the world of cozy mysteries – especially if they are Siamese cats like me.

Fluffy: You know I don’t usually disagree with you, but dogs have a place in cozy mysteries, too.

RahRah: A secondary role. If you didn’t notice, I’m on the cover of One Taste Too Many, Two Bites Too Many, Three Treats Too Many, and Four Cuts Too Many, which was released yesterday. You only share the cover with me on the second book in Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series – and that’s probably because a part of the story deals with when you were rescued and later had to come live with us.

Fluffy: But, the fact that Sarah took me in is important. Think about it. Sarah was married at eighteen, divorced at twenty-eight, and all she got out of the marriage was you. She traded her luxury lifestyle for an efficiency apartment…

RahRah: Which I’ve remedied by owning the carriage house we all live in now.

Fluffy: True. But think back to that time. Unlike her twin sister, Emily, who always knew she wanted to be a chef, Sarah was lost. You’ve told me she was scared, had no skills, and lacked confidence in herself. She was just lucky Harlan Endicott created a job for her as the secretary/receptionist for his law office and that he was patient when she made mistakes. Tell me, how many nights did she cry herself to sleep or simply cuddle you for comfort?

RahRah: That wasn’t a great time for Sarah. But look how she stepped up to the plate when Emily was accused of killing Sarah’s ex-husband with a taste of Emily’s award-winning rhubarb crisp. Sarah proved that family loyalty comes first for her.

Fluffy: She also demonstrated that, even though she finds the kitchen more frightening than murder, in a pinch, she can come through there, too.

RahRah: How hard do you think making Jell-O in a Can is?

Fluffy: For Sarah?

RahRah: Point taken. I’ll grant you Sarah hasn’t grown much in the culinary department, but she proved she’s made of some fine stuff when she organized Yip Yeow Day to raise funds for the animal shelter and managed to prove her mother didn’t kill the head of the city council/bank president when the police chief had Maybelle in his sights as his primary suspect.

Fluffy: Maybelle’s a fine southern belle, but Sarah wasn’t going to sit back until she proved her mother innocent. Sarah was the same way when her friend, Jacob, was accused of killing the vegan chef from Jane’s Place.

RahRah: Hiss! Don’t mention Jane’s Place or Jane Clark to me. You may think that bimbo, who broke up Sarah’s marriage and has gone out of her way to make trouble for Emily and Sarah, is Sarah’s greatest nemesis, but I’m in line ahead of Sarah. That’s one woman who makes me arch my back at even the sound of her name.

Fluffy: Got it. She shall not be named again. Of course, I don’t know how we talk about Four Cuts Too Many without mentioning her name.

RahRah: It’s easy. The way I describe Four Cuts Too Many is that Sarah has no desire to learn knife skills from her friend, sous chef and community college adjunct instructor Grace Winston, but Sarah gets an education in slicing and dicing when Grace’s department chair is found dead with one of Grace’s knives in his neck. Sarah soon finds that there’s no time to mince words when it comes to finding the real killer.

Fluffy: Solving murder is Sarah’s forte, but her passion has become loving us.

RahRah: It’s ironic, isn’t it? Sarah never dreamed she’d have one pet, let alone inherit two. But the thing that is apparent throughout the series is that Sarah can’t imagine a life without us.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. A new episode just went up. There will be a couple of episodes featuring short stories by Debra going up this summer.

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Judge Debra H. Goldstein writes Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series (Four Cuts Too Many, Three Treats Too Many, Two Bites Too Many, One Taste Too Many). She also authored Should Have Played Poker and IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her short stories and novels have been named as Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Silver Falchion finalists. Debra serves on the national board of Mystery Writers of America and is president of SEMWA. She previously was on Sisters in Crime’s national board and president of SinC’s Guppy Chapter. Find out more about Debra at DebraHGoldstein.com.

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