BOOK REVIEW: Mimi Lee Gets a Clue by Jennifer Chow @berkleypub #bookreview #mimileegetsaclue

Mimi Lee Gets a Clue is the first in a new cozy mystery series by Jennifer Chow. It’s a cute, cozy mystery that is lighter on the mystery and heavy on the fun and puns! I love the premise for this book, and Mimi Lee is a fun character. I totally fell in love with Marshmallow—who doesn’t kind of love knowing the deep thoughts of their pet??

About the Book

Mimi Lee is in over her head. There’s her new Los Angeles pet grooming shop to run, her matchmaking mother to thwart, her talking cat Marshmallow to tend to—oh, and the murder of a local breeder to solve…now if only Mimi hadn’t landed herself on top of the suspect list.

Mimi Lee hoped to give Los Angeles animal lovers something to talk about with her pet grooming shop, Hollywoof. She never imagined that the first cat she said hello to would talk back or be quite so, well, catty—especially about those disastrous dates Mimi’s mother keeps setting up.

When Marshmallow exposes local breeder Russ Nolan for mistreating Chihuahuas, Mimi steals some of her cat’s attitude to tell Russ off. The next day the police show up at Hollywoof. Russ has been found dead, and Mimi’s shouting match with him has secured her top billing as the main suspect.

Hoping to clear her name and save the pups Russ left behind, Mimi enlists help from her dreamy lawyer neighbor Josh. But even with Josh on board, it’ll take Mimi and Marshmallow a lot of sleuthing and more than a little sass to get back to the pet-grooming life—and off the murder scene.

Reflection

You know you are in a cozy mystery when you begin a book and the setting is a cute business owned by the lead character with a punny-name—in this case, an LA pet grooming business named Hollywoof! Mim’s sister (who I loved—Mimi’s family were all great characters!) drops off a cat for Mimi, though she considers herself more of a dog person. Marshmallow isn’t just any cat though, he is an excellent communicator. This was such a fun part of the book!

The mystery itself wasn’t really forefront, since we spent quite a bit of time learning about Mimi, her family, the dates her mother sets her up on, and of course a love interest she happens to meet in her building’s laundry room. Mimi’s mother is a delight—such a fantastic character and really added great moments to the story.

When a string of injured chihuahua’s keep showing up at the groomer, Mimi suspects something is going on. All of the dogs came from the same breeder. But after she goes to confront him, the police show up. The breeder has been murdered and Mimi is a prime suspect! Luckily for Mimi, the hottie that lives in her building happens to be a lawyer and she enlists his help, while also getting to know him on a personal level.

This book is lighthearted and fun, definitely on the light side for cozy mysteries and one that is just a great escape the heaviness of life read! I loved learning more about Mimi and her family. Mimi is Malaysian-American which was something a bit different for the genre. I loved the diversity and seeing more about how her family’s culture blended together.

A fun refreshing voice in the genre, that readers will love! I would have liked a bit more emphasis on the mystery, but that is a personal preference. I loved that the abuse in dog breeding was a topic. This is something that I think has gotten more national attention in recent years, and felt timely and relevant. It is a critical issue and one that can go unnoticed for a long time.

A fun and fresh mystery that will certainly help you escape life into sunny California for a day!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.