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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The Silence of the Library

The Silence of the Library by Miranda James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Librarian Charlie Harris is assisting his friend and Athena Public Library director, Teresa Farmer, with putting on an event featuring authors of mysteries with "intrepid girl detectives" from the middle decades of the 20th century. They are thrilled to discover that one of Charlie's favorites from childhood, Electra Barnes Cartwright, centenarian author of the Veronica Thane series, is not only still alive but living nearby and willing to come speak during their program. Her most ardent fans immediately descend on the town when they hear the news, demanding to meet her. When the editor of the "EBC" fan newsletter is murdered, Charlie and his Maine coon cat, Diesel, begin investigating to help the sheriff's deputy figure out who killed her and why.

I guessed the murderer & motive long before anyone even died, but it was still a fun book to listen to. This is book #5 in the Cat in the Stacks series, but it could almost stand alone, since the interactions with ongoing characters were relatively minimal. The narrator doesn't differentiate a whole lot between voices/accents for most of the characters, yet I had no difficulty knowing who was speaking.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways are primary. The violence is offscreen and barely mentioned, really. There is no sex or swearing. It's a light, cozy mystery.

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