My name is Shell McMillan, but people know me best as Shell Marlowe, one of the stars of the cable series, Spy Anyone? When my show got cancelled I looked on it as a new lease on life, a blessing in disguise, and you know what? It was. My beloved Aunt Tillie passed away around the same time, and left me her pet shop in Connecticut. I wasted no time in relocating and making plans to re-open the “Purr n’ Bark” and to start my new life!

Of course, this new life didn’t come without complications. For one thing, I found myself the proud owner of a one-eyed Persian cat, Purrday. He’d been my Aunt Tillie’s cat, so I couldn’t exactly throw him out on his rear, even though the sparks did fly between him and my Siamese, Kahlua at first. Now the two of them are fast friends.

My aunt Tillie was a big movie memorabilia collector. She had an extensive collection of Cary Grant memorabilia (her favorite actor) and I was approached by the local museum to loan the posters out for an upcoming exhibit. I was thrilled – until I learned that one of the board members, who had a grudge against my aunt, voted it down! I was pretty darn angry, so much so that I went to the other board members and tried to get them to reconsider. No luck- until, of course, I happened to run across the offending board member dead in the museum. Guess who was pegged as the number one suspect?

That’s right. Me.

Good thing (I guess) that my former co-star, Gary Presser, came to town. At first he came hoping to talk me into dong a reboot of our old series, but when he learned of my plight, he donned deerstalker cap to rescue me! (Gary always did take his role as a spy seriously). His presence didn’t sit too well with Joshua, the handsome detective assigned to the case, but then again, the relationship between Gary and myself has always been more of a brother –sister type than a romantic fling! Now a romance with Joshua. . .that I could definitely handle! I’m hoping that’s in the cards!

Needless to say, Gary and I had our work cut out for us, playing detective! I’d fill you in with more details but I’ve got to run. The kitties need to be fed, after all! And I do have a pet shop to re-open. . .

You can read more about Shell in The Time for Murder is Meow, the first book in the NEW “Purr N’ Bark Pet Shop” cozy mystery series, released August 8, 2019.

Shell and her two furry sidekicks must cat-ch a killer to save their pet shop

Crishell “Shell” McMillan sees the cancellation of her TV series as a blessing in disguise. The former actress can now take over her late aunt’s pet shop, the Purr N’ Bark, and do something she loves.

While getting the shop ready for re-opening, Shell is asked to loan her aunt’s Cary Grant posters to the local museum for an exhibit. She finds the prospect exciting—until a museum board member, who had a long-standing feud with Shell’s aunt, votes against it. When she discovers the board member dead in the museum, Shell becomes suspect number one. Can she, her Siamese cat Kahlua, and her new sidekick—her aunt’s Persian Purrday—find the real culprit, or will her latest career go up in kitty litter?

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About the author
While Toni LoTempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she has no trouble doing it on paper. Her lifelong love of mysteries began early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age 10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She and her cat pen the Nick and Nora mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime and the Cat Rescue series from Crooked Lane. Her latest, the Pet Shop Mysteries, makes its debut August 8 with The Time for Murder is Meow.

You can cat-ch up with them at ROCCO’s blog at catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com or her website at tclotempio.net.

All comments are welcomed.