Hey, everyone!

I’m Dorey Cameron. I’ve recently been adopted by a stray cat, who’s decided I’m going to be his person. I love cats, so not a problem, but the feline who I’ve named Weatherby, is… well, I guess the best way to describe him is sneaky. If he were a person, he’d probably be a pick-pocket. He’s also loving and affectionate when it’s his idea, but he does have his bad-boy side too. You wouldn’t believe the things he brings home for me to check out. Most of them, I don’t want any part of. But one day, the items he dragged home for me started to make sense.

See, recently, I found something stuck down in a dental chair in the office where I work. It was a ring. A gorgeous turquoise one. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but that piece of jewelry took me on a wild, dangerous ride I wasn’t sure I’d get out of.

My boss, Harry, who is related only because his brother married my sister, told me to keep the ring and wear it. I love it, don’t get me wrong. And I have been wearing it. But ever since I found it, crazy things have been happening. Also, I’ve known Harry most of my life ever since my sister started dating Harry’s brother. I have to admit, part of me wishes he didn’t always see me as the little girl who followed him around all the time.

Along with some mysterious phone calls at my home and work, I’ve also gotten weird messages, and a few scary “gifts” left at my apartment door. Even some of Weatherby’s treasures had to have been placed there on my steps by someone else first, because they were too off base even for my thieving cat to have discovered on his own.

As for the turquoise ring, as soon as I started wearing it, my coworkers, and even some of my patients, asked questions about it. Most of them admired it. Some wanted to buy it from me. One man even accused me of stealing it. Of all the nerve! The reason I love it so much is because my grandmother gave me one when I was a teenager, but I’d lost it. I have my own reason for liking it, but why does everyone else have so much interest in it as well?

Then, things escalated. Much more happened than weird messages and strange items showing up at my apartment. Mugging, theft, and, yes, even murder! Unfortunately, the police have been giving me the eye for all of it!

I’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise. I have Weatherby, after all, who’s the slyest cat I know. Between us, we’ll figure out who’s behind all the mayhem that has taken over my life.

Oh, Weatherby just crawled through my apartment cat-door and has something in his mouth. Uh-oh. Better go check it out!

RING OF DEATH — A Dorey Cameron Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Dorey Cameron has a problem. Make that two. Her sneaky cat, Weatherby, drags home odd items that Dorey has no clue what to do with. Then a mysterious caller leaves threatening messages at her home and the dental office where she works. Are Weatherby’s strange treasures connected to her current troubles? The cat’s out of the bag when vandalism, mugging, and murder have the police pointing the finger at Dorey. Is something in her possession worth killing for?

Dorey must figure out the mystery and end the game of cat and mouse with the mysterious caller, or she and Weatherby are in for a serious catastrophe!

(Previously published by Scrivenings Press)

About 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 www.Ruthjhartman.com.