If only I didn’t stay at the party for that second glass of wine. Maybe if I hadn’t worn my new stilettos, I could have passed the field sobriety test. And flirting with the cop who objected to my rolling stop was definitely the wrong move.

My name is DeeLo Myer, and I’m not an alcoholic. I just made a mistake that changed my life.

I recently moved from Los Angeles to Pecan Point, Georgia, a southern suburb of Atlanta. After divorcing my lying, cheating husband, and soaking him for a good settlement, I tried to start my thirties with a clean slate.

Why Pecan Point? Mostly because of Barry Barton, my new boyfriend. Not only did Barry help me find a memory care home in Pecan Point for my mother, who has Alzheimer’s, but he gave me a job at his family law firm. Even though I have no legal background. However, my recent experiences with divorce and conservatorship have taught me more about the law than I ever wanted to know.

Not everyone is thrilled to have me at the firm, where I’m privy to the business of Pecan Point’s most prominent residents. Barry’s ex-wife and ex-partner, Victoria, can’t stay away from our office. Even though she dumped him for one of the Pecan County commissioners, she doesn’t want Barry moving on with me. And Jane, our receptionist, remains loyal to Victoria and gives me the evil eye whenever she sees me with Barry. Luckily, I have the boss on my side.

So far, Barry’s the only one who knows about my little brush with the law. And tonight, I start my court-ordered community service with the Pecan Point Humane Society. I picked that charity because I’ve always loved animals. Playing with furry pets seemed more appealing than picking up trash along the highway.

But instead of cuddling cute kittens and puppies, I’ve been assigned to the TNVR program that helps control the overpopulation of stray and feral cats. TNVR stands for Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Return the cat to the location where it was humanely caught. At the spay/neuter clinic where we take them, the veterinarian clips the cat’s left ear so we know it’s already been fixed. Saves everyone a lot of time if the cat ever wanders into a trap again.

The woman I’m helping, Catherine Foster, is a real piece of work. She likes feral cats a lot more than human beings, and she doesn’t hide her disdain for my status as a “community service volunteer.”

The run-down shopping center where we’re trapping is creepy at night. I nearly jump out of my skin when an ear-tipped cat rubs against my leg.

Catherine recognizes him as Manny, the bookstore cat. But what’s he doing out? The bookstore closed hours ago. Wait… is the back door open? As we move to check it out, I’m getting a very bad feeling.

Trap, Neuter, Die, A DeeLo Myer Mystery Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: October 2024
Format: Digital (Print to follow)
Purchase Link

DeeLo Myer, newly transplanted from Los Angeles to Pecan Point, Georgia, gets sentenced to community service with the county’s humane society. She’s paired with the judgmental Catherine Foster, a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) guru who prefers feral cats to people. During DeeLo’s first night on duty, she and Catherine are led to the strangled body of a local bookstore owner by the victim’s cat.

The cop who investigates seems less concerned with solving a homicide than with Catherine’s violation of an antiquated animal ordinance rendering TNVR illegal. The following evening, when he arrests Catherine for violating the said ordinance, and then holds her as a suspect in the murder, DeeLo vows to prove Catherine’s innocence and get the ridiculous law changed. How hard could it be? She enlists her boyfriend/boss and the resources of his law office. Her quest for justice and legislative change leads her to high-profile members of the community, some of whom have motives for murder.

About the author
Sharon Marchisello is the author of the DeeLo Myer cat rescue cozy mystery series from Level Best Books. Trap, Neuter, Die, the first in the series, was a Killer Nashville Claymore finalist. Her first two mysteries were published by Sunbury Press: Going Home (2014) and Secrets of the Galapagos (2019). She has also written a nonfiction book, travel articles, a blog, book reviews, and short stories. She earned a Master’s in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is active in Sisters in Crime, the Atlanta Writers Club, and the Hometown Novel Writers Association. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, and does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society.