Murder She Pets: A Fetchingly Fatal Cozy Mystery

by Cora Finch

The leash was hers. The body wasn’t.

In Riverbend, Montana, pet-sitter Bonnie Reed had expected a day of wagging tails and homemade dog treats at the Bark in the Park festival. Instead, she tripped over the body of Lance Hartford, the town’s resident blackmailer—dead, face-down in mustard, and clutching one of her missing leashes.

With suspicion closing in, her only backup was Ziggy—her sharp-eyed, sharp-attitude dachshund with a nose for trouble. Suspects included Cassie, the prize-winning trainer that Lance had accused of rigging wins; Misty, the groomer he had blackmailed over a buried past; and an unknown figure delivering anonymous threats straight to her door.

Every clue uncovered another layer of small-town deceit, and every step put Bonnie closer to a killer determined to keep their secrets buried. If she couldn’t collar the culprit fast, she’d be the one going down.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Absolutely charming. The detective sleuth dog is so cute, but Bonnie Reed keeps you on the edge of who did the deadly deed. The author blends mystery, humor, and intrigue into her story. Love it!"

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was filled with humor and great characters. The pets were quite the drama queens, which added to the humor. So hope to see more of these stories."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Love the characters and good story setting. Good twists and clues that kept me guessing. I was hooked from the start and can't wait for the next book."

315 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2025

Reviews

[Linda Langford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good debut cozy. Interesting mystery. Lots of dog characters, but especially the brave doxie!

[Merry Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a laugh out loud murder mystery with a great main character in Bonnie Reed who is a pet sitter and her very smart, clue finder dog, Ziggy. While walking Ziggy through the Bark in the Park Festival accident prone, clutzy, Bonnie trips over Lance Hartford, dead holding one of her missing leashes in his hand. He was not the most liked person in town, prone to blackmail among other nasty things. With Bonnie being a suspect, she and Ziggy have to investigate to clear her name. When Ziggy starts digging up clues, Bonnie shares them with the Sheriff. Digging deep into Lance Hartford, Bonnie find no lack of potential suspects. There are so many laugh out loud moments and you just keep turning pages to see what's going to happen next. I highly recommend this book if you like fun, page turning books that keeps you guessing even through laughs. I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Mrs K.Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder She Pets is a great story about Bonnie Reed a Dog Walker who is very accident prone and her clever, sleuthing dog Ziggy who loves digging for clues. They were out walking at Bark in the Park when Bonnie trips and finds a body. Bonnie starts to look into the puzzle of what happened. There are many possible pieces but which ones will fit? The pieces she finds are given to Sheriff Brent Cordell. They begin to work together and what else will they discover along the way.
I love the relationship between Bonnie and her Aunt Marion who she asks for advice.
Excellent story that I highly recommend that you read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Chere Gruver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful start of a new series!

This time, Cora Finch has a very clumsy pet sitter as her main character, who also happens to have a clue finding dachshund. When Bonnie trips over a dead body at the Bark in the Park Festival, she ends up as a suspect, especially since the victim is holding one of her leashes. This story had me laughing out loud picturing different scenes when Bonnie is running after a suspect, chasing down clues or just being herself. The plot just keeps moving along at a good pace and the characters were all very interesting, to say the least. What a wonderful way to spend a few hours!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun story about Bonnie the pet sitter and her Dachshund Ziggy who literally fall into a murder scene and then have to find all the answers. Lance, the victim, was blackmailing most of their small town and Bonnie had to do the sleuthing with Ziggy digging up clues. Cute story and fun characters!
I received an arc and this is my review.

[Dot Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about Bonnie the pet sitter and her Dachshund Ziggy who literally fall into a murder scene. The chase is on to find the killer and the clues keep stacking up. The plot thickens as the suspects add up with all kinds of characters that were interesting.
A great read and funny, throw in Stan that has a sense of humor of conspiracy.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonnie never expected to find a dead man at the Bark In The Park festival. Who was the killer of Lance Hartford? There are so many suspects.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

[Skater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun chaotic romp.

Meet Bonnie, and her dog Ziggy. Bonnie’s a dog walker, and pet sitter, smarter than she thinks, with two left feet that lead her into trouble. Although some of the escapades are chaotic, the plot is well conceived and written. Fun introduction.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming read but I couldn’t relate to Bonnie at all (can anyone be that clumsy?) so I did find it hard going, Stan was funny though lol.

[Douvonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful read! The protagonists (note plural) are a dog walker and her dog. A dog protagonist was all I needed. The small town setting is a character in and of itself. It’s a fun adventure with great prose, its share of twists, and a little bit silly — perfect for these times. Cora Finch, take me away! I’m looking forward to reading more of your books.