The Case of the Llama Raising Librarian (A Buttercup Bend Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – New York
Next Chapter (July 5, 2023)
Number of Pages 275

Synopsis

After solving two murders in the “peaceful” town of Buttercup Bend, Cathy Carter needs a rest. She also needs time to consider the marriage proposals she received over the holidays. But when the town’s librarian asks her to go undercover to solve the suspected murder of a co-worker who retired to a llama farm, Cathy leaves her kittens with her grandmother and her friends without an explanation.

The only person at Oaks Landing Farm who knows the true reason Cathy and Mildred have come there is Danielle, the murder victim’s daughter, who is having trouble convincing relatives and the police that her mother Doris was killed and didn’t suffer the heart attack that was termed her cause of death.

When it’s proved that Danielle’s suspicions are correct, the guests who attended the dinner at which Doris died are invited back for a reenactment of that night. These included the gardener, veterinarian, and farmhand who all had motives to murder Doris, as well as Doris’ sister and her ex-husband. When the dinner is staged, the only clue Cathy receives is given by Danielle’s grandmother who has dementia. Will this unreliable tip help Cathy deduce who murdered the llama raising librarian?

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Guest Post

How My Trip to a Farm Made My Book’s Llama Pregnant

By Debbie De Louise

I’d already finished writing The Case of the Llama Raising Librarian, my third Buttercup Bend cozy mystery, and was on the final edits when I took a trip out East with a friend to the Long Island Yarn and Farm in Yaphank.

I visited the farm so that I could see llamas in person and research more about them for my book. I’d spoken previously to Andrea Parent-Tibbets, the owner of a similar farm upstate, the Clover Brooke Farm, after which I modeled my fictional Oaks Landing Farm. I’d also included the three barn cats that reside there.

While speaking with Andrea, she mentioned that I might consider visiting the Long Island Yarn and Farm that was closer to me. I contacted Tabbeitha Haubold, the owner, and arranged a visit. I had hoped to get there while I was writing the book, but various issues prevented that.

It wasn’t until after I’d submitted the completed manuscript to my publisher and received the edits to review that I made it to the farm. I loved viewing the llamas and taking photos of and with them. When speaking to our tour guide I found it interesting that they kept their pregnant llamas in a separate area. Since the main llama in my book was female, my friend suggested that I consider making her pregnant. Because I had a scene where Lulu was acting under the weather and a human character in the book was also pregnant, I thought this was a great idea and one that would be easy to add to the storyline.

I learned another interesting fact after asking how a female llama’s pregnancy is confirmed. I was told that it’s through a “spit test,” where the female llama is put back in the pen with the male llama with whom they were trying to breed her, and if she spits at him, she’s expecting. I also added this information to my novel and, after meeting Stewie, a male llama, I featured him as the father of Lulu’s baby.

If you don’t mind a teaser, check out this excerpt to see how I made Lulu a mommy llama-to-be. In this scene, two veterinarians check her out because she’s been sleeping more than usual.

Both vets were standing by Lulu who still seemed to be sleeping. She was curled up on her stomach, legs apart on both sides of her.

Stacy knelt down and began examining Lulu. When she touched her, Lulu rolled over and opened her eyes. “Hey, girl. You okay?” After using the stethoscope that hung around her neck to listen to the llama’s heart, Stacy got up, wiped the dirt from her pant legs, and said, “I don’t think there’s anything seriously wrong with her. Why don’t you check her now, Dr. Graham?”

“Michael, please. May I call you Stacy? We’re colleagues.”

Stacy smiled. “That would be fine, Michael.”

Michael got down on his knees and performed his own exam of Lulu. When she stood up after he was done, he patted her on the head. “You’re fine, Lulu.” He addressed Mavis. “I concur with Stacy’s findings. There’s nothing wrong with your llama. If I may hazard a guess, she might be a bit under the weather, lonely, or depressed. Animals get that way, too.”

Mavis shrugged. “She gets plenty of attention. My niece Sheri is wild about her.”

“I don’t doubt that, but you mentioned that your sister was also very close to Lulu.”

“Yes, but she’s been gone a month already.”

“It doesn’t matter. Grief can hit someone at any time after a loss. You just haven’t noticed her apathy.”

Stacy said, “While I agree with Michael, I think there’s another factor at play here.” She turned to Mavis. “Have you been trying to breed her?”

Mavis said, “Last week, I put her in a separate pen with Stewie for a few hours. I didn’t tell anyone because we’ve had problems breeding her in the past. We never tried with Stewie, so I thought we’d give it another go. It’s been so crazy here lately that it skipped my mind. Do you think she’s expecting?”

Stacy nodded. “I’d say there’s a good chance that’s part of the reason she’s acting this way.”

“How do you test her to find out?”

Michael answered her question. “It’s a behavior test. They put her back in with Stewie and, if she spits at him and wants nothing to do with him, there’ll be a baby llama, cria, in about a year.”

Cathy laughed. “I never heard of that. With female cats, you simply notice changes like weight gain, increased appetite, and many seem more affectionate.”

Mavis smiled. “I’ll set up a spit test soon, but I don’t want to say anything until we know for sure. If it’s true, Sheri will be thrilled.”

So that’s how I worked in the research from my farm visit and made a llama pregnant in The Case of the Llama Raising Librarian.

About the Author

Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a retired reference librarian. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Cat Writers’ Association. She writes two cozy mystery series, the Cobble Cove Mysteries and Buttercup Bend Mysteries. She’s also written a paranormal romance, three standalone mysteries, a time-travel novel, and a collection of cat poems. Her stories and poetry appear in over a dozen anthologies. Debbie also writes articles for cat magazines. She lives on Long Island with her husband, daughter, and two cats.

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