I enjoyed this second book in the Paws and Claws series a bit more than the first, but that might be more due to my adjusted expectations than to any real difference in quality. With my vast experience of a single book in the cozy mystery genre, I have a good idea what to expect, and this book met expectations admirably. It’s a cute story, with uncomplicated characters, and not only does this book add on to the DOGGIES(!) from the first book, it has more KITTIES(!). Seriously, who cares why an unlikeable character drowns under mysterious conditions when there are doggies and kitties galore? The solution to the mystery is almost an aside, for me.

Audiobook, borrowed from my public library via Overdrive. Jeanie Kanaley’s narration is just as bad as it was in the first book. I had to laugh aloud every time the main character says or thinks “ugh” (which is lamentably often), because Ms. Kanaley actually pronounces the word, rather than verbalizing that guttural grunt of disgust that it represents. Yes, she actually says, “Ugg,” like she’s referring to trendy footwear.

And yes, I’ve already put the 3rd book in the series, Murder Most Howl, on hold at the library, because in spite of all the flaws, DOGGIES!

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Not as good as I'd hoped, but it's ok ( )

Paws and Claws just isn't for me. I will stick to A Domestic Diva Mystery Series and Pen & Ink Mysteries Series. ( )

It's Halloween in Wagtail, VA and the Sugar Maple Inn is hosting a group of ghost hunters. Holly Miller doesn't believe in ghosts, but she knows the Apparition Apprehenders and their proposed television series will bring tourists and money to Wagtail. Just as the spooky festivities for humans and pets alike are ramping up, one of the inn's guests is found dead in the bathhouse of a reportedly haunted old hotel in town. How did someone drown in two feet of water? And is there a murderer lurking in Wagtail?

The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer is the second book in this series. There are currently five books in the Paws & Claws series, with a new book, The Dog Who Knew Too Much, coming out in November 2019.

Holly is putting her life back together after breaking off a relationship, leaving her job, and moving back to Wagtail to help her grandmother run the Sugar Maple Inn. She hasn't even unpacked her stuff...boxes are everywhere in her apartment at the inn. I had to sympathize with her....I hate moving. I hate unpacking. I would be sitting there amidst a huge stack of boxes too. Holly is an intelligent and interesting main character....but I really, really wish The Ben would just go away. Some former boyfriends just don't know when to disappear and not come back. The Ben makes an appearance in The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer, and I kept wanting desperately to magically hop into the book just long enough to tell Holly to boot his butt out of the inn and move on. And she's pining over her long-time friend who is engaged to someone else. That causes just as many eye-rolls for me as The Ben. The romance part of this series just annoys me. Please, please, please just let Holly figure out what she wants.....and don't form any love triangles. Too many cozy series try that bit..... No, Holly....please no. Please, please No. :)

Fun, entertaining read. I love Halloween so I enjoyed the background theme of fall festivities in Wagtail. The murder mystery interwoven in with ghost hunters really made this a fun book to read. There were plenty of suspects.....an interesting side plot.....and some nice character development.

I listened to the audio version (Tantor Audio) of this book. Narrated by Jeanie Kanaley, the audio is just a bit over 10 hours long. Kanaley reads at a nice even pace, although it took me awhile to get used to her reading style and voice. At times she seemed to be over-enunciating her words just a bit with a constant high pitch to her voice....like she was reading a cutesie children's book to elementary kids rather than reading an adult cozy mystery, if that makes sense. After I got an hour or so into the story, it stopped annoying me....but I really had problems getting into the book at first because of the narrator's reading.

Great story! I have a review copy of the new book coming out this fall waiting for me....so on to book 3, Murder Most Howl! ( )

Ghost hunters descend upon Holly's grandmother's inn in Wagtail. (Wagtail is a pet-friendly town relying on tourism.) When an unpopular woman dressed as a legendary local ghost drowns in two feet of water, Officer Dave and Holly suspect someone helped her. The author included some successful red herrings. The dogs and cats sense things before humans. It's a cute Halloween book. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jeanie Kanaley. The narrator sometimes read without emotion and often reminded me of a car's GPS which often mispronounces place names. However, Kanaley mispronounced commonplace words. ( )