One of the more realistic series of cat cozies, though it’s more fun when the victims deserve what they get.
A New Jersey cat fancier tussles with mysteries at both ends of the socio-economic spectrum.
As the owner of the cat boutique and boarding business Cassie’s Comfy Cats, Cassie McGlone would’ve thought she’d been around a lot of cats, but her life is nothing compared to that of Bernice and Chester Tillman. The Tillmans are a needy older couple Cassie’s employee, Sarah Wilcox, is helping through her church. When Cassie and Sarah come to the Tillmans’ place, it’s not even clear how many cats there are inside and out, and cats aren’t the only thing the sweet couple has too much of. Vintage video games, records, and all manner of stuff fill the place. But in spite of the mess, the couple are happy as long as they have their cats and each other. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Cassie’s newest client, Gillian Foster, who’s boarding her purebred Himalayan, Leya, while she restores her mid-19th-century house to its former glory, much to the dismay of her husband and teen daughter. Gillian’s as obsessed with making everything just so as the Tillmans are with not letting go of anything. Tragedy strikes the Tillmans when Bernice dies unexpectedly overnight, and Chester’s habit of propping the back door open for outdoor cats raises the possibility of foul play. Luckily, Cassie has a friend in Detective Angela Bonelli, of the Chadwick PD, who’s willing to investigate when the Tillmans’ local officers won’t. Meanwhile, Gillian has a mystery of her own when a gluten-free guest is apparently poisoned by flour at a gathering Cassie attends. Will two mysteries be too much for Cassie to handle?
One of the more realistic series of cat cozies, though it’s more fun when the victims deserve what they get.Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2298-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
Fairies flutter throughout the first in this by-the-book series.
When the owner of a nearby shop is killed in Courtney Kelly's fairy garden store, she must join forces with her fairy friend to solve the crime.
Courtney, the proprietor of the Open Your Imagination fairy garden store, doesn’t just believe that fairies are real; she has proof to share. Her store is home to Fiona, a mischievous fairy who's in a sort of remedial fairy-in-training program to get her adult wings. Apparently her propensity for pranks in fairy school has obliged her to demonstrate to the queen fairy that she’s serious about her do-gooding duties. When Courtney becomes a suspect in the murder of Mick Watkins, the owner of the Wizard of Paws grooming salon, it seems like the perfect time for Fiona to give Courtney an assist that the queen fairy will notice. If Courtney’s innocent, though, who’s to blame? When Courtney and Fiona begin to investigate, they find many too many suspects, from Mick’s wife, Emily, who’s angry about his recent affair, to Mick and Courtney’s landlord, who wanted Mick’s business out. In this old-fashioned cozy, the whos and whys won’t be a surprise. Nor will the 25 pages of appended recipes, which complement the fairy focus of the story with some serious calories.
Fairies flutter throughout the first in this by-the-book series.Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2634-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
The parts with Nero Wolfe, the only character Goldsborough brings to life, are almost worth waiting for.
In Archie Goodwin's 15th adventure since the death of his creator, Rex Stout, his gossipy Aunt Edna Wainwright lures him from 34th Street to his carefully unnamed hometown in Ohio to investigate the death of a well-hated bank president.
Tom Blankenship, the local police chief, thinks there’s no case since Logan Mulgrew shot himself. But Archie’s mother, Marjorie Goodwin, and Aunt Edna know lots of people with reason to have killed him. Mulgrew drove rival banker Charles Purcell out of business, forcing Purcell to get work as an auto mechanic, and foreclosed on dairy farmer Harold Mapes’ spread. Lester Newman is convinced that Mulgrew murdered his ailing wife, Lester’s sister, so that he could romance her nurse, Carrie Yeager. And Donna Newman, Lester’s granddaughter, might have had an eye on her great-uncle’s substantial estate. Nor is Archie limited to mulling over his relatives’ gossip, for Trumpet reporter Verna Kay Padgett, whose apartment window was shot out the night her column raised questions about the alleged suicide, is perfectly willing to publish a floridly actionable summary of the leading suspects that delights her editor, shocks Archie, and infuriates everyone else. The one person missing is Archie’s boss, Nero Wolfe (Death of an Art Collector, 2019, etc.), and fans will breathe a sigh of relief when he appears at Marjorie’s door, debriefs Archie, notices a telltale clue, prepares dinner for everyone, sleeps on his discovery, and arranges a meeting of all parties in Marjorie’s living room in which he names the killer.
The parts with Nero Wolfe, the only character Goldsborough brings to life, are almost worth waiting for.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5040-5988-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Mysterious Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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