A Tale of Two Kitties

A Tale of Two Kitties by Sofie Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kathleen Paulson, head librarian for the Mayville Heights Free Public Library, is sadly accustomed to encountering dead bodies. The bright yellow, catnip-filled, Fred-the-Funky-Chicken versions that her cat Owen likes to decapitate are a nuisance, but the human ones who've departed the earth as a result of violence are infinitely more disturbing. This time the deceased is a relative of her youngest employee, which hits too close to home for Kathleen, so she and her preternaturally clever cats start sleuthing to help Marcus close the case faster and bring the killer to justice. Thank goodness for Owen's superpower saving the day once more!

I really enjoyed how Sofie Kelly carefully wove together the seemingly separate storylines about the Janes brothers' estrangement and the future library exhibit of 20-year-old photos and mail found inside a post office wall. Some of my guesses turned out to be accurate, and yet I didn't put all the pieces together until the end.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of this volume in the series, however, was that Marcus and Kathleen's relationship was secure enough to withstand the potential love triangle Kelly hinted at in book #8 and developed in this one. What I don't understand is what is taking the two of them so long to get engaged & married!

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character secondary. No sex or onscreen violence. Except for a smattering of mild swear words (mostly "damn" or "damned"), it would count as a "clean read." The series is best read in order, but you wouldn't have to read the first 8 books in order to understand what was going on in this one.

My advance reader's copy came with the novella "A Cat Burglar" at the end, but I don't know whether the published version will or not.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Cat Trick

Cat Trick: A Magical Cats Mystery by Sofie Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Several of Kathleen's friends and acquaintances are involved with putting on the upcoming food tasting event organized by former Mayville Heights resident Mike Glazer. The goal is to bring tourism dollars to local businesses, but Mike is rubbing everyone the wrong way and feathers are ruffled all over town. When one of Kathleen's cats discovers Mike's body inside one of the big tents, there are almost too many suspects to choose from. As usual, despite Detective Marcus Gordon's request for Kathleen to stay out of his case, she gets involved anyway and, predictably, gets hurt, in more ways than one.

I do enjoy listening to this series during my commutes, but I am totally on Marcus's side here: Kathleen has GOT to learn to trust him! I have no problem with her doing a little investigating on her own; I just grind my teeth and holler at my stereo every time she drags her feet on sharing what she's learned. It's so frustrating! When will she ever learn that holding back NEVER ends well?

This book is pretty sedately paced most of the time--it's more about the relationships than the action--which is completely fine with me, in theory. I just wish it wouldn't be "two steps forward, three steps back" with Marcus and Kathleen. There is finally a kiss! And then a big fight. *sigh* Yes, she did call him (last) before heading out the door to prevent a suicide and later to confront the killer. It's not enough, though. Marcus can tell she lacks faith in him, and it ruins their budding relationship (for the time being).

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary. No sex or swearing, and the only violence was some arm-twisting.

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Copycat Killing

Copycat Killing by Sofie Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's been raining so much in Mayville Heights that buildings all over the small town are flooding. When Kathleen Paulson and her friend Maggie stumble across the body of mask-maker Jaeger Merrill floating in the basement of the artists' co-op, Kathleen suspects he didn't slip on the stairs and drown by accident. Since Maggie recently argued with Jaeger about the future direction of the co-op, Kathleen fears Detective Marcus Gordon will believe Maggie killed him, and she vows to find the real killer. Jaeger turns out to have a shady past, so Kathleen begins investigating who knew about it.

Kathleen is FINALLY starting to do the sensible thing and call Marcus when she discovers something or figures something out, but it's taking her an unreasonably long time to learn that Bad Things Happen when she doesn't do it right away. And it's taking ridiculously long for her to learn to trust that he will do his job well by following the evidence and isn't actually out to railroad her friends. Honestly, what is her hangup? They are never going to be able to advance their budding relationship if she doesn't learn to have more faith in him!

I did enjoy the story, despite my frustration with the main character(s). I'm looking forward to the next books in the series.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary. The pace is fairly leisurely. There is no profanity, sex, or onscreen/graphic violence.

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Sleight of Paw

Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's winter, and Mayville Heights' winter festival is in full swing, giving library director Kathleen Paulson a perfect opportunity to best detective Marcus Gordon at hockey, to his great surprise. For beloved retired principal Agatha Shepard, winter is not so kind, however, and Kathleen is incensed when Marcus seems to believe her friend Ruby may have killed the elderly woman. Kathleen and her two magical cats start their own investigation, heedless of the danger.

This leisurely paced cozy mystery was thoroughly enjoyable right up until the climax of the story, when Kathleen's truly idiotic actions had me growling in frustration and dropping my rating from 4 to 3 stars. Seriously, why does she have such trouble trusting Marcus? She admits he's a good man and a good police officer, following the evidence wherever it leads, in search of the truth, not just an arrest. So what is her deal? Work WITH him, for crying out loud!

Also, I'm baffled by Kathleen's paranoia about having anyone see her talking to her cats or taking them places. People do that All. The. Time. Unless they actually see a cat walk through a solid door or disappear and reappear, it shouldn't be an issue. Get over it, and stop taking up time in the story worrying about what people might think!

I suspected the killer from the very beginning, but I wasn't totally sure until the end, so that was good.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary. Would be a "clean read" except for a few instances of mild swearing such as "crap on toast," so I think I'll go ahead and tag it as such. No sex or graphic violence.

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Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kathleen moved to a small town in Minnesota to head up the Mayville Library during a major renovation project. She took the job to escape Boston and a boyfriend who betrayed her by marrying a virtual stranger two weeks after he had an argument with Kathleen, but she soon fell in love with the town despite the headaches caused by the contractor and a series of suspicious accidents. Not long after she arrived in town, two feral cats followed her home. Kathleen is beginning to suspect something very strange is going on with Owen and Hercules--not only are they unusually intelligent, but she could swear she saw them vanish and even walk through solid doors.

When a lecherous guest conductor dies under mysterious circumstances and Kathleen becomes a "person of interest" in the eyes of the handsome detective after finding his body, Hercules and Owen put their uncanny abilities to good use and ferret out (or filch!) clues to help Kathleen figure out what happened and why.

I accidentally read #6 in this series first, so I had a bit of an advantage when it came to going back and reading (listening) from the beginning because I knew which characters continued on in later books. Even still, I only partially guessed the truth before the big reveal. I've got book #2 on hold, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

For readers' advisors: The pace of this mystery was pretty slow until the end--it's really much more character-driven than story or plot-driven. Which is fine with me--I read for character primarily anyway, and this was definitely a character doorway book. It's basically a "clean read," aside from a couple of mild swear words/phrases (i.e. "karma's a bitch," and "crap on toast!"). There is no sex or graphic violence. The setting is contemporary Minnesota, but other than a bit of a small-town feel, setting is not a strong doorway.

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