Fun animal mysteries

Polly Parrett Pet-Sitter Cozy Mysteries Collection by Liz Dodwell contains five cozy mysteries featuring Polly Parrett and the animals in her life.

We first meet Polly in Doggone Christmas, where Polly is dealing with trying to help her mother, made a paraplegic in a horse jumping accident and left so bitter that she drove her husband away. Polly is in the process of trying to relocate her mother, Edwina, from her 10-acre property to a more manageable home when she meets the attractive Tyler, the realtor helping with her case. Together they discover a homeless veteran who seems to be framed for a murder. Rooster has not been able to make use of homeless or veterans' facilities because they will not allow his beloved pit bull, his best friend, to join him. With Elaine scheduled to be euthanized, the pressure is on for Polly to find the true killer and save Elaine's life. The book concludes with Edwina's deciding to turn her large property into a halfway house for veterans that welcomes all pets, and Rooster comes on as manager of the facility.

In The Christmas Kitten, a tiny kitten wearing a gold bracelet as a necklace shows up at the doorstep of Welcome Home, the home for veterans Edwina, Polly, Tyler, and Rooster have established. Then they find two scared little girls, daughters of an active member of the special forces, with the girls thinking they may have killed their stepmother, who epitomizes the image of "evil stepmother." But someone is after the girls too. Polly and company must find the truth behind the stepmother's death and whoever is after the girls to hurt them.

In Bird Brain, Polly Parrett is giving a bequest of Polly the parrot. With the bird comes the home of the bird's owner, and one of the residents of Welcome Home takes over the care of Polly the parrot, who revives amazingly under his care. But someone seems to be looking for something in the house, and the bird helps them find a valuable piece in the house.

Seeing Red features another murder mystery for Polly when the reaction of the Irish setter, Red, makes Polly certain that his owner's death was murder, not an accident as the police think. There seems to be some mysterious connection to the 30-year-old disappearance of a young child. Further, Welcome Home faces challenges as the inspector from the VA keeps giving them a hard time with their renovation of the barns to dorms for the residents, causing them to lose their funding from the VA. The book has unique intrigue to it.

In the final book, The Christmas Puppy, the little bulldog puppy Mule, seeking warmth, accidentally sets off the train, and the man dressed as Santa Claus sitting in it is found to be murdered. And he turns out to be the man who tried to drive Welcome Home out of business in order to get their land instead of the man supposed to be playing Santa. The open house gets closed until they can find the murderer, and for once, Edwina announces that she intends for the people from Welcome Home to track down the killer rather than let the police do it. Will they have a merry Christmas or live in fear of a murderer in their midst?

This compilation was a true delight to listen to, with plenty of fun details about animals. It is obvious that Dodwell loves animals herself and knows their fun quirks well. Besides loving the elements of the animals, I especially appreciated the way the book honors this country's veterans, many of whom have been ill-treated by the country for whom they have suffered. It reminds us that we need to do more for such heroes and also points out the problems that homeless are frequently not welcomed into shelters if they have pets, despite the way pets so often prove to be people's tie to sanity and love.

Jennifer Fournier narrates the audiobook of this compilation and adds to its enjoyment. She voices the animals ably and seems suited to this particular book, which is gentle and sweet.

The Polly Barrett Pet-Sitter Cozy Mystery Collection is a great cozy mystery suitable for all ages. It is entirely clean so appropriate for children, who will enjoy all the animal stories along with the mysteries. And adults will appreciate the fun elements of the mysteries and the celebration of veterans who have given their lives, their limbs (there is a one-legged man with a parrot on his shoulder), and their sanity to this country. This book is well-written and deserves five stars!

3 people found this helpful

christmas fun

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Its a fun read with several stories right around Christmas

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It held my interest

What about Jennifer Fournier’s performance did you like?

it was fun

2 people found this helpful

Main character seems to be very whiney

Story is ok but the main character sounds lije,a,whiney 8 yr old. Narrators vouces don't seem to vary much

2 people found this helpful

Pleasant diversion

Is there anything you would change about this book?

These stories definitely fall into the "cozy" category. They are not anything super thought provoking, but are a nice diversion when commuting or doing other tasks.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

They're good for what they are--cozy stories. With pets. Cute pets.

What about Jennifer Fournier’s performance did you like?

I thought the narrator did a terrific job. She has a pleasant voice--soothing, but not monotonous.

Was Polly Parrett Pet-Sitter Cozy Mysteries Collection (5-Books-in-1): Doggone Christmas, The Christmas Kitten, Bird Brain, Seeing Red, The Christmas Puppy worth the listening time?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

A nice value for your credit if you're looking for a pleasant read (with pets).

1 person found this helpful

Great Book!

This is a great set that is written by Liz Dodwell and Narrated by Jennifer Fournier. This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises. The narrator did a wonderful job with this book. She did a great job with the different voices of each character in this book. It was very easy to listen to and I didn’t want to stop listening until the end. If you are looking for a great book with well-developed characters then you need to listen to this book. I am looking forward to listening to the next book by this author and narrator.

1 person found this helpful

Quirky and Fun!

These story are cute and funny. The main character, Polly, is quirky and unusual and it was enjoyable to just sit back and listen to her perspective on everything. They are true cozy mysteries, so if you are looking for a serious mystery that keeps you guessing until the end, these aren't the stories for you. A few of them caught me by surprise, but most of them I had figured out before the story wrapped up. Regardless, they were a fun listen.

The Narrator, Jennifer Fournier, reads the story perfectly. She has a way of expressing Polly's unusual personality and thoughts that comes across just right for the character. I quite enjoyed her and will look for other books by the narrator. She was easy to listen to and the changes in her voice when expressing Polly's joy, sadness or happiness were just perfect and suited Polly's personality just right.

This is a great series if you are looking for just light, fun mysteries.

1 person found this helpful

Polly Wanna What?

Narrator isn't the greatest, but is tolerable because of the storyline. Original approach with vets, kids, animals and schmaltz. Right up my alley and I loved it. The main character, Polly, can be too exasperating with her over active exuberance, but when Tyler enters the picture he manages to level her out. A fun listen with laughs and puns. Light, short and a good escape. Just needs a different reader. Thanks!

Not a Fan

Ugh! I was all set to LOVE this series, and not long into it Polly Parrett is looking at a young guy's butt (a** in her words) and talking about how tight it was . . . and sympathizing with her father over the break up of her parents' thirty year marriage because of her mother's whininess. Of all the things . . . Not my idea of a good book in the least. Its not cute, its not nice, and its just sad in my opinion. :(

Lots of fun.

Fun series of short cozy mysteries with a cast of quirky small town Maine characters. Narrator Jennifer Fournier gives a cheery and often funny performance. Recommended!

A fun cozy mystery collection

This is a fun collection of the first five stories in the Polly Parrett Pet-Sitter Cozy Mysteries series. Each story is stand alone, but they definitely follow a timeline. I'd recommend listening or reading them in order.

Liz Dodwell has done a great job of developing Polly into quite the quirky individual. I found myself chuckling out load at some of the situations she got into.

It was so easy to get drawn into the stories with Jennifer Fournier narrating. She really brought Polly (and all the other characters) to life with just the right level of emotion and expressions.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the narrator, author or publisher.