Book Club

Chicks Book Club: Mimi Lee Gets A Clue by Jennifer J. Chow

Welcome to Chicks Book Club!  Please feel free to ask any questions you have about the book, the series, the characters, the writing process, the research, or anything you’re curious about. 




Mimi Lee Gets A Clue
(A Sassy Cat Mystery #1)

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.

  • An Overdrive Recommended Read
  • On POPSUGAR’s list of Best Summer Beach Reads & Best and Most Highly Anticipated Mysteries
  • One of She Reads’ Most Anticipated Women’s Fiction of 2020
  • Staff pick for Richland Library and Changing Hands Bookstore
  • A Reader’s Digest Best Read from the 2020 Quarantine Book Club

“Chow smoothly mixes intrigue, romance, and humor. Cozy fans will have fun.”—Publishers Weekly

“A frothy, fun series debut.”—Kirkus Reviews

Available from bookstores and online: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/605896/mimi-lee-gets-a-clue-by-jennifer-j-chow/9781984804990/

Visit Jennifer at her author website to sign up for her newsletter & check out some fun Extra Features.

Thanks for joining us–please drop your question in the comments below. 

33 thoughts on “Chicks Book Club: Mimi Lee Gets A Clue by Jennifer J. Chow”

  1. Jen, love the book!! I have lots of questions but I’ll just do two here. What inspired Mimi to become a pet groomer? What was her background before that? And tell us about your research. You really nailed the profession. How did you do that?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you, El!

      Mimi just loves being with animals. I think it all started from walking dogs, though…

      The research was fun (except for that time I got kicked out of a grooming salon). I was able to watch pet grooming from a distance, get lost in the rabbit hole of YouTube videos, and read enlightening blogs.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. Is pet pedicures really a thing?? If so, I was ahead of my time! Growing up we had a white German shepherd and a golden retriever. My sister and I used to put them in our elastic bodice sundresses with some plastic bead necklaces and paint their toes red. Very fetching.

        Liked by 3 people

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      3. Becky, pet pedicures is really a thing! (Maybe you started the fashionable trend!)

        Lisa: At the first grooming salon I went to, I told them I was researching for a new series. I don’t think they believed me because when I tried to linger, they basically told me I couldn’t stay.

        Liked by 4 people

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  3. Oh! And I have a marketing/swag idea for you, Jen. Did you know you can buy custom-made fortune cookies with your own messages inside? You could put all kinds of fun stuff from the book, or just “Marshmallow says …” messages. I forget why I know that. It seems I was looking into doing it myself, but I can’t for the life of me remember ever having fortune cookies in a book. So I bequeath it to you.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Mmm, fortune cookies. I’ve seen those as wedding favors. (I also did a cheaper version for my family once by slipping in handwritten notes into premade fortune cookies, so people got two sayings.) Great swag idea, although I’d probably end up eating all those fortune cookies before they got distributed…

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. What a fabulous book, Jen! It’s very clear why MIMI LEE GETS A CLUE has received so many accolades. (Love the name “Hollywoof,” too.) Did Marshmallow start out with a speaking part when you first started to write, or when you envisioned the series? Or did your kitty character insist? (I used to have a cat named Marshmallow when I was a kid. An adorable ball of white fluff that hid under the kitchen table and shot out in the morning to bite my ankles. Not a sleuth.)

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, Lisa. Marshmallow definitely had a speaking part, but there was a debate on whether he’d talk out loud or just through a mental connection.

      (I’ve heard a few owners tell me they have cats named Marshmallow. Anyway, your childhood kitty sounds super cute!)

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  6. I so love Mimi and her sidekick Marshmallow! What a fab crime-solving duo, they make! And having grown up in Southern California, I’m impressed by how well you channel the feel of the area: the people, the weather, the (ugh!) traffic…

    Okay, here’s my question: Since I live half the year in Hawai‘i, I was pleased to see that Mimi’s love interest, Josh, hails from the Aloha State. What made you decided to have a character from Hawai‘i in your series—have you spend time in the islands?

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. I only get to visit cats because of my hubby’s allergies. I’ve met a lot of independent cats but not one as sassy as Marshmallow…although one of my kids tried to shake hands with a relative’s kitty once and definitely got a snarky reaction.

      Liked by 2 people

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  8. Jennifer, I love Mimi — and Marshmallow! And the cat can say things a human sidekick couldn’t get away with! Family games night was a real treat! Is this inspired by your own family? Congrats on a great series!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Vickie! I love how Marshmallow can say whatever he wants.

      I really like game nights. We do have them here in our household but not as much while growing up–although we’d definitely have a lot of the accompanying snacks on hand!

      Liked by 1 person

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  9. Pingback: Book Club Day!

  10. Jen, huge congrats all around! I love Mimi, and Marshmallow’s “cat-i-tude” is fantastic.

    Since I’m always curious about research, I have a tag-on to Ellen’s question: what was the most interesting/surprising thing you learned about grooming or the profession as a whole?

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. Jen, love this book so, so much. Mimi is lovely and Marshmallow’s catitude is a blast.

    What was the hardest part of writing a cat sidekick? Were there any scenes you started to write and then thought wait, a cat can’t go in there? Or is everything possible?

    Congratulations on your wonderful series! xo

    Liked by 2 people

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