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The Pampered Pets Series
A fun and entertaining mystery series is unleashed... The Pampered Pets Mystery Series In posh Laguna Beach things have gone to the dogs with misbehaving pooches, misleading stories, and…murder. It’s up to Texas cousins and former beauty queens, Caro Lamont and Mel Langston, to find out whodunit in the wacky world of precious pedigrees, pampered pets and secrets. Caro and Mel would join forces and work together if they were speaking, but they’re not.
Author Genre: Mystery, Crime, Humor And Comedy
Website: Sparkle Abbey - pampered pet mysteries
Author's Blog: Sparkle Abbey
Twitter: @sparkleabbey
E-Mail: SparkleAbbey@gmail.com
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Author Description:
Our author picture is a shot of us with the real Sparkle and the real Abbey. Don't you love the stare down? Our real names are Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter. We write the Pampered Pets mystery series together. We're also friends and neighbors so you'll often find us writing at ML's dining room table or at our local Starbucks.
We chose to use Sparkle Abbey as our pen name on this series because we liked the idea of combining the names of our two rescue pets - Sparkle (ML's cat) and Abbey (Anita's dog).
We live in the Midwest, but if we could write anywhere, you would find us on the beach with our laptops and depending on the time of day either an iced tea or a margarita.
We have had so much fun writing this series and we hope you enjoy Caro and Mel's adventures!
Project Dogway
The Pampered Pets Series Short Read 1
Author: Sparkle Abbey
AVAILABLE at Amazon
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Canines are on the “catwalk” at this Laguna Beach dog fashion show—a heartworm awareness fundraiser—where former Texas beauty queens and currently-not-speaking-to-each-other cousins, Caro and Mel, are in attendance. When award-winning show beagle, Shadow’s, owner drops dead from eating a deadly scallop ceviche, the cousins find themselves embroiled in much more than a fashion “faux paw.”
Former Texas beauty queen cousins, Caro Lamont and Melinda Langston are at it again – attempting to solve murders that is. This time they’re both in attendance at a Laguna Beach dog fashion show- a heartworm fundraiser when show beagle owner, Phil Tawney, drops dead and his dog, Shadow, goes missing.
Pet therapist, Caro, is on the lookout for the missing pup, and Bow Wow Boutique owner, Mel, is sniffing out the truth behind the rumored reality show, Behind the Curtain of Best in Show. While the cousins are doing their best to stay out of Detective Judd Malone’s investigation, it’s really no surprise they soon find themselves on the tail of the killer. Was it the fame-hungry soon-to-be ex-wife, the rabid Shadow fan, or the aspiring actor who served the deadly appetizer? Or did someone else have a hidden agenda?
Can Caro and Mel chase down the clues before someone gets away with murder?
The Dogfather
The Pampered Pets Mysteries Book 10
Author: Sparkle Abbey
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Who knew the world of designer purses could be such a dog-eat-dog business?
When a local, designer handbags store owner is found dead, the police first believe it’s an unfortunate accident. But the evidence doesn’t lie. Before you can say "wiseguy," Bow Wow Boutique owner, Melinda Langston’s, former fiancé and undercover FBI agent, Grey Donovan, is the prime suspect.
Now the two are working side-by-side to prove Grey's innocence— nothing personal, just business. Or is it? Suspects are piling up, family secrets are exposed, and no one is who they appear to be, including Mel’s newest employee. Time’s running out. Mel better sniff out the killer before she and Grey end up sleeping with the fishes.
Barking with the Stars
The Pampered Pets Mysteries Book 9
Author: Sparkle Abbey
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Lights! Camera! Murder!
A star-studded fundraiser to help provide service dogs for wounded warriors sets tongues wagging . . . about Caro Lamont, pet therapist to the stars.
Caro’s ex-husband Geoffrey is spreading rumors about her competence and snuggling up to the biggest stars, including Purple - the temperamental diva, who's the lynchpin of the celebrity line-up. All too soon, Caro is losing clients, her reputation, and patience with Geoffrey's shenanigans.
More trouble is unleashed when the high-strung headliner is found dead and Geoffrey was seen leaving her hotel room. With a potential killer on the loose, Caro is hounded by questions about who had reason to want Purple out of the picture. Though all the evidence points to her ex, Caro believes the police are on the wrong trail.
Even if her sleuthing puts her in the doghouse with Detective Judd Malone, Caro must dig up the truth before the real killer gets away with murder.
Raiders of the Lost Bark
The Pampered Pets Series Book 8
Author: Sparkle Abbey
AVAILABLE at Amazon
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Mel's enemy may be barking up the wrong tree . . .
But someone is about to become a killer.
Melinda Langston, amateur sleuth and Bow Wow Boutique owner, finds herself "Glamping Under the Stars" with a blackmailer, Orange County's hottest new gourmet pet chef, Addison Rae. But before Mel can put an end to Addison's strong-arming, the chef is found dead. Mel is just one of many suspects who had motive to snuff out the demanding chef.
Was it Redmond, the angry sous chef who detested working for Addison? What about rival chef, Pepper Maddox? The glamping chef gig was hers until Addison blackmailed her way into the job. And then there's Asher, a charming fellow camper whose past relationship with Addison isn't the only secret he's guarding. Mel's not one to tuck tail and run, even when it looks like she may be the next victim.
Downton Tabby
The Pampered Pets Series Book 7
Author: Sparkle Abbey
AVAILABLE at Amazon
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Anyone for tea and crumpets . . . and murder?
Caro Lamont, amateur sleuth and well-respected animal therapist to Laguna Beach's pampered pets, works with office mate and tech wizard, Graham Cash, whose beloved Scottish Fold tabby cat, Toria, is purported to have anger management issues. But when Caro drops by the charming Brit's Tudor-inspired mansion to return Toria, she finds his business partner dead and Cash missing.
Caro is left with the cuddly cat and a lot of unanswered questions. Is Cash the killer, or has he been kidnapped? What's up with the angry next door neighbor? And what about Cash's girlfriend, Heidi, who isn't sharing everything she knows with homicide detective Judd Malone?
Suddenly there are more secrets and intrigues than there are titles in England. Add in a stranger in a dark SUV stalking Caro, feisty senior sidekick, Betty, hiding in restaurant shrubbery, and wannabe investigative reporter Callum MacAvoy who seems to be constantly underfoot, and you've got a cat and mouse mystery of the first order.
Caro's got to solve this murder before the killer lets the cat out of the bag.
The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo
The Pampered Pets Series Book 6
Author: Sparkle Abbey
AVAILABLE at Amazon
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She has to stay low. Ears to the ground. Danger's nipping at her heels.
Mel's tracking a killer in the world of racing dachshunds.
Wiener takes all at the Laguna Beach Dachshund Dash. Melinda Langston, owner of Bow Wow Boutique, and her quirky assistant, Betty Foxx, are on hand to root for their favorite racers. But before the starting gun goes off, hated dachshund owner, Richard Eriksen, is found dead, and gun-toting Betty is suspect number one.
Determined to clear Betty's name, Mel quickly picks up the scent of the cutthroat world of Doxie racing. Cheating. Doping. Gambling. Controversy lies at every turn. It seems everyone has a secret--including Betty. The killer is hot on Mel's heels. Can Mel expose the truth before the killer catches her?
Fifty Shades of Greyhound
The Pampered Pets Series Book 5
Author: Sparkle Abbey
AVAILABLE at Amazon
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It was a killer party.
Caro Lamont, Laguna Beach's favorite pet therapist, is thrilled to support the elite fundraising gala for Greys Matter, a SoCal greyhound rescue group. All the guests in the couture-attired crowd are clad in varying shades of grey, the champagne and donations are flowing, and there are fifty gorgeous greyhounds in attendance. But before the evening ends, a stranger in their midst is dead.
Caro sets out to help the rescue group find the identity of the mystery guest but soon finds herself in the doghouse with homicide detective, Judd Malone--oh, and federal agent, John Milner. When there's a second death, Caro is convinced she's on the track of someone who wants a secret to stay buried, but it's a race to see whether Caro can uncover the truth before the killer decides she's next.
Yip/Tuck
The Pampered Pets Series Book 4
Author: Sparkle Abbey
AVAILABLE at Amazon
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A killer has been unleashed. Book Four in the bestselling Pampered Pets Mystery Series
One of Laguna Beach’s best-known plastic surgeons may need a new leash on life. Unless he’s just taking a very long nap on the bench outside Melinda Langston’s Bow Wow Boutique . . .
Dr. O’Doggle continued to give us the silent treatment. Fluffy eyed him intently. I studied him too. Tova Randall wasn’t my BFF, to say the least, but I didn’t wish her boyfriend any bad luck.
My neighbor, Darby, relaxed her grip on Fluffy’s leash. The big Afghan lunged toward Dr. O and knocked him over.
Tova’s handsome hunk rolled off the bench and dropped with a thud at our feet.
Darby gasped. My stomach knotted. “No, no, no.” I shook my head. “Not again.”
I knelt down and shook his shoulders. “Dr. O’Doggle?” I grabbed his suit lapels and yelled, “Jack?”
No response. No, “I’m fine.” No, “Stop yelling in my face.” No, “Get your hands off me.”
No, no, no.
I checked his throat for a pulse. Nothing. But he was still warm. My fingers brushed against something knotted around his throat, and I’m not talking about his tie. I pulled back his shirt for a better look. I sucked in a breath, my nose filled with a light female perfume I didn’t recognize. A thin dog leash was wound tightly around his neck. Identical to the kind I sold at the shop. This was not an accident.
“Is he . . .?” Darby asked softly.
I looked up at her. “Dead. No more late night walks for him.”
Kitty Kitty Bang Bang
The Pampered Pets Series Book 3
Author: Sparkle Abbey
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Caro Lamont—pet therapist—and her cousin Melinda Langston—owner of The Bow Wow Boutique—pamper the kitties and pooches of Laguna Beach’s elites. Unfortunately, their human clients keep turning up dead.
“We were at an art exhibition at The Montage,” I told the detective, “and Kitty asked me to take her cats home because something had come up. Something urgent. It seemed strange, but then the whole evening was strange with dogs and cats. Ones that paint, I mean. And Kitty would never leave her cats, but she did, so it must have been really urgent . . .”
Detective Judd Malone looked past me. “Are those the cats?”
I nodded.
“What kind are they? They’re huge.”
“They’re Bengal cats. Bengals are a hybrid. A cross between a domestic cat and an Asian Leopard Cat. It’s a relatively new breed. Most have . . .”
Malone’s face said TMI. Fair enough, more info than he’d been looking for. “I imagine you know I’m here about Ms. Bardot?” Malone was suddenly all business.
“Yes.” I held my breath and hoped for good news.
“Caro.” He paused. “She didn’t make it.”
“She—” I felt my throat close, and I swallowed hard trying to get control of my emotions. “Too many injuries?” I finally asked. Whatever her emergency had been, it had seemed to upset her. She’d been shaken, and Kitty was never shaken. I remembered her voice as she’d asked me to take care of Tobey and Minou and get them home. The cats. What would happen to the cats now? “Was she driving too fast?”
“Not exactly.” Malone’s voice was serious and grim. “We won’t know until we have a lot more information from the crime lab. It’s too soon to tell, but it may have been a case of road rage. Kitty Bardot was shot.”
Get Fluffy
The Pampered Pets Series Book 2
Author: Sparkle Abbey
AVAILABLE at Amazon
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“A mystery worth barking about.” – Linda O. Johnson, author of THE MORE THE TERRIER, Berkley Prime Crime Disgraced Texas beauty queen, Melinda (Mel) Langston, owns Laguna Beach’s Bow Wow Boutique. Mona Michaels, Mel’s most despised client, owns a star dog, Fluffy, who's worth millions.
When Mona is found whacked in the head with Fluffy’s Daytime Emmy, everyone wants Fluffy. And someone won't stop at murder to get the pooch. Secrets. Blackmail. Mel tackles the case like a dog with a bone. But can she dig up the truth before the killer buries her? I stumbled through the doorway into a mini-palace fit for a movie star. Fluffy’s palace. A white sheepskin rug in front of her personal fireplace, a king-sized sleigh bed and a dressing screen (why a dog needed a dressing screen was beyond me).
Fresh, filtered water dripped into her Wedgewood doggie bowl.The room looked like it had been ransacked.Mona was sprawled on the floor as if posing for a men’s magazine. It was almost picture-perfect, except for the blood matting her five-hundred-dollar haircut and the gold statue stuck in her head. I hesitantly moved closer. Fluffy nuzzled Mona’s cheek. When she didn’t move, Fluffy pawed her shoulder, still whining.
“I don’t think she’s getting up, girl,” I said softly.Mona was deader than a stuffed poodle. Sparkle Abbey is the writing team of Anita Carter and Mary Lee Woods.
Desperate Housedogs
The Pampered Pets Series Book 1
Author: Sparkle Abbey
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When Caro Lamont, former psychologist turned pet therapist makes a house call to help Kevin Blackstone with his two misbehaving German Shepherd dogs, she expects frantic dogs, she expects a frantic dog owner, she even expects frantic neighbors. What she doesn’t expect is that two hours later the police will find Kevin dead, his dogs impounded; and that as the last person to see Kevin alive (well, except for the killer) she is suddenly a person of interest, at least according to Homicide Detective Judd Malone.
Collection Summary
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