Review: A Mythical Case of Murder by Melissa Erin Jackson

A Mythical Case of Murder (A Mythical Pet Sitting Mystery #2)
by Melissa Erin Jackson

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
Job hunting is a deadly sport.

Deandra “Dee” Hendricks is settling into her new life in Axia. She’s got her trusty baby dragon, Havoc, by her side; is sharing an apartment with her best friend and roommate, Wendy; and even has her first pet-sitting client. Things are looking up!

Shortly after launching her new website, Dee receives an invitation to a pet-sitter happy hour where she meets Sarah, the owner of Axia’s largest pet-sitting operation. Other attendees include sole proprietors, like Dee, and a few of Sarah’s employees. Everyone is welcoming and willing to share advice—mainly to steer clear of their notorious fellow sitter, Lydia Monroe.

They accuse Lydia of everything—from magically manipulating her animal charges and poaching clients from Sarah to making false claims about possessing “zoolingual” abilities. The sticking point is Lydia’s questionable acquisition of a lucrative gig offered by Oleander Basnet, a yeti whose son needs one-on-one care. Sarah’s company fought hard for the opportunity, only to have yet another job snatched away by Lydia.

The peaceful get-together is interrupted when a late arrival informs the group that Lydia has been found murdered. Worse still, the time of death doesn’t exonerate anyone at the event. Dee fears she’s just shared discounted appetizers with a murderer.

Later that night, a job offer from Oleander hits Dee’s inbox. Dee’s wallet desperately wants her to take the job, but could there be someone in town so desperate to beat the competition that they murdered Lydia? And could Dee be next?

My Review

I received a free copy from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was really looking forward to book 2. Once I received a copy it didn’t take me long to start reading. I had so much fun reading about Deandra, seeing her become more at home in Axia and work with two new pet sitting clients she acquired. And ofcourse there’s another mystery.

I really enjoyed this book. Every element is so well done and it all blends together so well. Deandra has now moved to Axia and is starting a pet sitting business. I liked seeing how that went and seeing how she handled the mythical pet and yeti she was taking care of, they are a handful, but also sweet in their own ways. Then there is her romance with Cruz that’s progressing and he helps with the mystery as well. There’s more of her friend Wendy and her cute dragon Havoc as well. I really like the characters, the romance, the paranormal elements as well as the mystery. It’s an awesome read all around.

The mystery was a good one and it kept me guessing. I was thinking in the right direction, but without some of the later revealed clues it will be hard to figure it out. I especially liked how Deandra is the one to figure out who had done it. The way the clues and hints come to light and the mystery progresses throughout the book was really well done. I like how some clues that were revealed early on turned out to be important ones and then seeing it all come together when Deandra and Wendy uncover some more clues toward the end was great to see. The mystery has a clear sense of progression. The wrap up was well done and I like how it all made sense.

Another thing I really like about this series is the paranormal element. There’s so much magic and mythical creatures and pets throughout the story. The town of Axia really feels alive and I like how much the paranormal element is part of the whole book. The mystery also involves the paranormal and I just appreciate how much it is part of everything. Reading about the mythical creatures and pets that Deandra works with was great to see as well and I like how they all feel real.

The characters are all interesting. Deandra is a likable main character and I enjoy reading about her and seeing how the handles everything. I like how she gets involved in the mysteries and wants to help. I also like her caring for the pets and yeti she works with. Her friend Wendy and their interactions are great too. And I really liked seeing her romance with Cruz develop and how he helps out with the mystery as well. They are so cute together and I look forward to seeing more of them.

To summarize: This was such a great read! It’s already one of my favorite paranormal cozy mystery series. The author balances all the different elements well and the story is well written and interesting. Deandra is a likable and caring main character and I enjoy reading about her. The side characters are interesting too and I like Deandra’s romance with Cruz and seeing that develop. The paranormal element is very present throughout the story and is part of the mystery as well. The mystery was very well written, it kept me guessing and some important clues come to light both at the start and end. I like the way it progresses and Deandra is the one to figure it out. All in all I am really enjoying this series and am looking forward to the next book!

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.