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Introducing Kendra Ballantyne... Former high-powered litigator (temporarily on the outs) Hollywood pet-sitter (desperately in need of cash) Crime-Solver (currently at wit's end)
Canned from her L.A. law firm, Kendra Ballantyne is now a freelance pet-sitter. When her clients start getting knocked off one by one, Kendra fears she's being set up. Aided by sexy detective Jeff Hubbard, she's got to find out why, and fast. This killer's animal instincts are downright dangerous.
I usually love cozies. I didn't love this one. It was boring. I actually fell asleep a couple of times while reading. (Which I almost NEVER do!)
I was frusterated with the story and just wished that I knew who did it already! I didn't enjoy the ride. What little it told about the police investigation led me to believe that there was none and that Kendra had to do her own investigating for there to be any at all. Speaking of Kendra, I didn't like her. I had no connection with her, nothing in common with her, and I found her very annoying.
Since series firsts are usually my least favorite of the bunch, I will probably read the next one. This first one wasn't so bad that I won't try again.
Had a weekend to myself so I picked this up thinking it would be a fun, cute, quick read...the writing style and superficial character development made this boring mystery almost impossible to get through. The romantic develpment falls flat as soon as it begins, it doesn't fit seamlessly into the story and seems random and unnatural; the main character, Kendra, is supposed to be an ex-litigator but comes off as more of a bimbo, using terminology such as "nasties" and "poopy" while making stupid decisions and assessments; and for a short novel, the story moves incredibly slow, with multiple murders, the second doesn't happen until you are halfway through the book, when still no real sleuthing has even occured. This is a debut novel, so perhaps the writer has honed her skils, but I don't think I will be looking into that first-hand.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Meet Kendra Ballantyne & Lexie her adorable tricolor Cavalier King Charles spaniel.Kendra Ballantyne can no longer practice law. She was accused of providing a strategy memo to opposing counsel's client. The client then killed the CEO of the corporation she was suing.Kendra insists that she in innocent, but she was forced to resign from her law firm and her law license was suspended for three months.As Kendra's finances started mounting she had to file for bankruptcy. Fortuitously, she was able to hold onto the old family home.Unfortunately, she can't afford to live in it. She's rented out the house and is living in the cottage in back.Kendra's friend Darryl Nestler who runs Doggy Indulgence Day Resort talks her into dog sitting for Jeff Hubbard's Akita. She accepts because she is allowed to live in his house while he's gone and she won't have to see her mansion being lived in by strangers.Slowly she accepts additional pet sitting jobs, not always of the dog variety. She is able to juggle the many schedules and still have time with her dogs as well.The fact that Jeff is quite a looker and sexy is an added bonus. Everything is flourishing until she finds one of her clients murdered in his home when she arrives to take care of his dog.Unfortunately the detective believes Kendra is guilty of the murder. Before Kendra can prove that she didn't perpetrate murder, she stumbles upon another dead client, also murdered.When in town, Jeff, a private detective and security expert, gives her advice on proving her innocence.Kendra is intent on finding the killer, but will she survive?
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I love mystery novels especially when they have a a mix of romance in the plot so when I won an autographed copy of one of Linda O. Johnston's Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mystery I knew I had to get all of them to read. I also thought this series was very intriguing because it involved animals which even though I've never had any pets of my own I've got family who have had dogs and cats as pets. There are 6 books in this series so far but the 7th book in the series called Never Say Sty is going to be coming out on Tuesday, April 7th which is a day I look forward to because it is going to be good. Sit, Stay, Slay is the first book in the series and the book that captured me from the very beginning to the very exciting life of Kendra Ballantyne. Kendra was one a litigator with a high-powered L.A. law firm until scandal forced her resignation and when at wit's end, desperate, and broke, she's now had to rent her Hollywood home to strangers. <BR/><BR/><BR/>So she's had to move into the maid's quarters above her garage for a place to live and even jumped at a new job offer as a freelance pet-sitter. Her life has gone to the dogs and who'd have guessed it would be so dangerous when Kendra finds one of her first pet-sitting clients stabbed to death in his upscale Toluca Lake home. The only witness to the apparent break-in is a mutt in mourning but when another client suffers the same fate, Kendra fears she¿s being set up to take the rap. With the help of sexy detective Jeff Hubbard, she¿s got to find out why¿and she¿d better do it fast because this killer¿s bite is a lot worse than his bark. Jeff is her first pet-siting client and a very sexy P.I. who has an adorable Akita named Odin and he happens to travel a lot and Kendra stays at his house to pet-sit since her current apartment over her home's garage isn't exactly the place she wants to be living at right now with her license suspended. <BR/><BR/><BR/>I really enjoyed reading this novel very much even though it's in the first person and I always try to stay away from those types of novels since they are limited to the characters point of views. So it was nice to find out that it was just as good as a third person novel and I couldn't put the book down until I found out who was the murderer framing Kendra. I finished the novel very quickly and I immediately picked up the second book in the series because I had to find out more about Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter and mystery solving genius.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 29, 2005
This is the first book in a new series. Kendra Ballantyne cannot practice law. She was accused of providing a strategy memo to opposing counsel¿s client. The client then killed the CEO of the corporation she was suing. Kendra insists that she in innocent, but she was forced to resign from her law firm and her law license was suspended for three months. She had to file for bankruptcy. Luckily she was able to hold onto the old family home. Not that she can afford to live in it. She is living in the cottage in back. She¿s rented out the house. Her friend Darryl Nestler who runs Doggy Indulgence Day Resort talks her into dog sitting for Jeff Hubbard¿s Akita. She accepts because she is allowed to live in his house while he¿s gone. That way she won¿t have to see her mansion being lived in by others. Slowly she accepts additional pet sitting jobs, not always of dogs. She is able to juggle the many schedules and still have time with her dogs as well. Doesn¿t hurt that Jeff is sexy and easy on the eyes when he is in town. All is going well until she finds one of her clients murdered in his home when she arrives to take care of his dog. Unfortunately the detective believes Kendra is guilty of the murder. Before she can prove that she didn¿t do that, she walks in on another dead client, also murdered. Jeff, a private detective and security expert, gives her advice on proving her innocence. When he is in town, he tries to help her. Kendra is determined to find the killer, but will she survive? This is a fun, quick cozy to read. I loved it. Kendra is a great character. She takes on pet sitting with gusto and yet some fear. She is open to new experiences. Once she starts investigating, she finds she has a knack for it, along with a little help from Jeff. I can¿t wait for the next book. I highly recommend this book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Kendra Ballantyne was a first rate litigator until she was accused of giving a strategy memo to opposing counsel¿s client. When the client got the memo, she went berserk and killed the CEO of the corporation she was suing. Although Kendra insisted she never sent that memo, she was forced to resign from the firm, her law license was suspended for three months and she filed for bankruptcy................. Darryl Nestler, her friend of Doggy Indulgence Day Resort where Kendra used to bring her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, convinces her to dog sit for sexy Jeff Hubbard¿s Akita. She accepts because she is renting out her mansion and doesn¿t want to see others living there. Gradually, Darryl gives her more assignments taking care of the pets of the rich and famous; she is reasonably content until she walks into a client¿s home and finds him dead, the murder weapon next to him. The lead detective believes Kendra is a viable suspect and that conviction is strengthened when she walks in on another murdered client. Jeff, a private detective and security expert, wants to help her but she¿s determined to find out who is out to get her although she may get killed in the process...................... SIT, STRAY, SLAY is a very funny and exciting mystery. Although Linda O. Johnston has written many novels, this is her best tale worthy of an award nomination because it entertains yet shows the audience what happens when an innocent person¿s life spins out of control and how that person copes with the changes forced upon her. The romance in this novel adds spice to a very clever crime thriller................ Harriet Klausner
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Overview
Introducing Kendra Ballantyne... Former high-powered litigator (temporarily on the outs) Hollywood pet-sitter (desperately in need of cash) Crime-Solver (currently at wit's end)
Canned from her L.A. law firm, Kendra Ballantyne is now a freelance pet-sitter. When her clients start getting knocked off one by one, Kendra fears she's being set up. Aided by sexy detective Jeff Hubbard, she's got to find out why, and fast. This killer's animal ...