Hey there! I’m Christy Bailey. I recently moved from Philadelphia to tiny Green Meadow, Indiana, when my aunt Betty begged me to come help her run her bookstore, Words to Read By. I jumped at the chance, ready to get away from a thieving ex-boyfriend. But I didn’t travel all that way alone. My two cats, Milton and Pearl, came with me. Aside from their usual cat antics – pouncing on shadows, getting puffy tails when there’s a strong breeze, or having cat-spats over the smelliest catnip toy, Milton and Pearl are also the stars of my children’s mystery book series.

In the stories, the cats work together to solve crimes. I’d assumed their behavior was purely fictional, I mean, I did write the stories after all. But when we arrived in Green Meadow to find a dead body in my aunt’s apartment, Milton and Pearl acted like real furry detectives! They had to make room for me, though, in the murder investigation. No way I’d let them do that on their own. A cat-mom’s work is never done.

Plus, my friend, Janie, who I reconnected with my first day back, – she literally knocked me sideways with an enthusiastic hug – is on the prowl for clues as well.

Along with that, an interesting – make that a handsomely interesting ER doc, Micah – has made my journey back to Indiana full of surprises.

To add an uncomfortable wrinkle in the murder mystery, my aunt’s new love-interest is on my list of possible suspects. But I won’t tell that to Aunt Betty until I find out who the real culprit is. Well, I’d better go now – Milton and Pearl are acting flaky – a sure sign they’re ready to pounce on more clues.

Wish us luck!

Dial M for Meow, A Bookshop Kitties Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: January 2023
Format: Digital
Purchase Link

From author Ruth J. Hartman comes a purrrrfect new cozy mystery series…

When children’s book author, Christy Bailey, receives a call from her aunt Betty to help out at her bookshop, she drops everything to go. Christy packs up her two cats—Milton and Pearl, the stars of her children’s mystery books—and leaves busy Philadelphia for tiny Green Meadow, Indiana. The timing of the call is perfect, as Christy’s letch of an ex-boyfriend has just cleaned out her savings, leaving Christy with a pile of unpaid bills and a desire to start over. And what better place to do that than a charming small town in Middle America?

But when Christy reaches her aunt’s bookshop, instead of small town hospitality she finds a dead body! Even worse, her aunt is passed out in the corner, hands covered in blood. The dead woman is an old frenemy of her Aunt Betty, and while Christy knows her aunt is innocent, the local detective isn’t so sure. With Milton and Pearl prowling for clues, Christy is determined to find the real killer and clear her aunt’s name… before her story ends in tragedy!

Meet the author
Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. Her husband reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and adores her even though all her books must have at least one cat in them. Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who find trouble without even trying. Follow updates about her mysteries at Ruthjhartman.com.

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