Crossing the Lion: A Reigning Cats & Dogs Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Cynthia Baxter (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Reigning Cats & Dogs Mystery | Publication Date: August 31, 2010

CAN A SMALL-TOWN PET DETECTIVE HUNT DOWN A BEAST OF A KILLER IN ITS OWN LAIR?
 
Veterinarian Jessica Popper is still basking in newlywedded bliss when neighbors Betty and Winston beg her to investigate the suspicious death of Linus Merrywood, king of the corporate jungle. On stormy Solitude Island, the Merrywoods have enjoyed the lion’s share of wealth for generations. But from the suspects to the surroundings, Jess feels as if she’s walked straight into an old-fashioned game of Clue—except here the stakes are life and death.

 There’s the butler named Jives, a sexy assistant named Scarlett, teatime in the conservatory, and a house with secret passageways, moving walls, and a wailing aunt locked in the attic. With a storm raging around the island and Jess’s least favorite police detective assigned to the case, things are looking dire until Jess’s lionhearted husband, Nick, braves his way to Solitude to rescue her. Now it’s the two of them against a family steeped in secrets—and a killer on the prowl who’s ferociously determined to protect the biggest family secret of all. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A very entertaining series with a menagerie of colorful human and animal characters.”
—Mystery Lovers Bookshop News
                    
“Five paws up for Cynthia Baxter’s Reigning Cats & Dogs series!”
—Carolyn Hart, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity award-winner

About the Author

Cynthia Baxter is a native of Long Island, New York. She currently lives on the island’s North Shore, where she is at work on her next mystery.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (August 31, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553592386
• ISBN-13: 978-0553592382
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cynthia Baxter is a native of Long Island, New York. She is the author of the Reigning Cats & Dogs mystery series, featuring vet-turned-sleuth Jessie Popper, and the Murder Packs a Suitcase mystery series, featuring travel writer Mallory Marlowe. Baxter currently resides on the North Shore, where she is at work on her next mysteries in both series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars life and death game of Clue inside of Ten Little Indians, September 2, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crossing the Lion: A Reigning Cats & Dogs Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Veterinarian Jessica Popper has a unique practice in Reigning Cats and Dogs. Instead of having a concrete building, she makes house calls using her vet-mobile to visit her clients around Long island. Her friends Betty and Winston Farnsworth ask Jessica and her husband Nick to accompany them to Solitude Island where Linus Merrywood, the owner of a Fortune 500 company, died a few days ago; just before his death he called Winston and said someone was out to kill him.

Since Jessica solved several murder cases (see Murder Had a Little Lamb and Monkey See, Monkey Die), they ask her to nose around and see if her investigation can find out who killed Linus, who died from an allergic shock because he ate eggs disguised in a cake. Everyone in the house, friends, family and business associates knew of his allergy and all had a reason to kill him. Detective Falcone asks Jessica to snoop around much to her shock because she is already doing so with the suspects in the house. However, as she begins to piece together the homicide, Jessica needs to be careful because the final answer places her in the most difficult position of her life.

The newlywed protagonist is playing a life and death game of Clue inside of Ten Little Indians with the last one standing most likely the killer. For the most part, Jessica likes the suspects and wants none of them to be guilty. One of the main characters is the house itself which adds a gothic haunting feel to the whodunit as it contains secret passages that lead upstairs to a room where a "crazy" aunt resides avoiding her family. The investigation is entertaining as Cynthia Baxter's provides another fun amateur sleuth mystery that is not "Reigning Cats and Dogs, but instead reigning corpses.

Harriet Klausner

3.0 out of 5 stars JESSICA THE VET, October 11, 2010

By 

LC6287 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crossing the Lion: A Reigning Cats & Dogs Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

THIS DID NOT HAVE JESSICA PERFORMING HER VETERINARIAN DUTIES. I MISSED HER INTERACTION WITH THE ANIMALS. IT WAS TOO MUCH LIKE THE BOARD GAME OF "CLUE" JUST LIKE SHE OBSERVED. IT WAS A GOOD MYSTERY, BUT NOT THE USUAL FUN THAT WE ARE USED TO WITH JESSICA AND HER REPORTER FRIEND.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crossing the Lion, November 8, 2010

By 

doc - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crossing the Lion: A Reigning Cats & Dogs Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

the book came very quickly,even before it was supposed to come and was in really great shape.