Rating: Good
Source: Goodreads
Description: With a well-placed paw on a keyboard or a pointed stare, Kathleen’s two cats, Hercules and Owen, have helped her to solve cases in the past—so she has learned to trust their instincts. But she will need to rely on them more than ever when a twenty-year-old scandal leads to murder…
The arrival of the Janes brothers has the little town of Mayville Heights buzzing. Everyone of a certain age remembers when Victor had an affair with Leo’s wife, who then died in a car accident.
Now it seems the brothers are trying to reconcile, until Kathleen finds Leo dead. The police set their sights on Leo’s son and Kathleen’s good friend Simon, who doesn’t have much of an alibi. To prove her friend innocent, Kathleen will have to dig deep into the town's history—and into her sardine cracker supply, because Owen and Hercules don't work for free...
Genre: Mystery - Cozy
Why I Picked This Book: I'd always skipped this one because I've never really been a fan of cat cozies but I've branched out a bit lately and have enjoyed a few other series involving cats so I figured it was time to try this one.
My Impression: Somehow I didn't realize that the Magical Cats mentioned in the series title were actually MAGICAL cats. It's not over the top magic but they definitely have some tricks and they use them in such fantastically cat ways that it was pretty fun.
I love a good librarian main character and like in many of my favorite cozy librarian series Kathleen spent a lot of time actually IN the library so I was really able to get a sense of kind of a "day in the life". There's a pretty solid community here and I think coming in at book 9 did put me at a slight disadvantage. It wasn't confusing but I didn't feel as much like I was visiting old friends as I think it would have felt if I was a long time reader of the series. However you have to start somewhere and if you don't want to go back to book 1 this is an enjoyable mystery!
I liked the pace of the mystery. It wasn't the fastest but we got just enough information at just the right amount to really keep me interesting. I also liked the emotions of the characters. Family situations are complicated and emotions are very rarely straightforward. It was nice to see that covered well in a cozy.
This was a really enjoyable mystery a series I suspect I'll enjoy more as I read more books from it. I loved the cats and there were several moments where they made me laugh just from their sheer cat-ness. I'm looking forward to continuing with this series!
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Definitely! I already have the next book in the series and I'm looking forward to trying it.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy cat cozies than you really must be reading this series!
Magical cats are more interesting than just cats! I've never been a cat person!
ReplyDeleteMagical Cats! That sounds petty fun. I haven't been super into cozy mysteries lately, but this does intrigue me. Especially with a librarian! I'm glad you enjoyed it, even if it wasn't your fav.
ReplyDeleteThat cover made me smile as well as its title. And yay! My library has it in paperback form. Gonna request it.
ReplyDeleteI tend to prefer cat cozies where the cats are normal, but sometimes I don't mind the extraordinary kind. Sometimes. This sounds like fun. It isn't one I have read, but I will have to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI love this series and I enjoyed this book. I have the latest one to review.
ReplyDeleteThat title and cover are great! I have seen this series around but had no idea that there were magical cats in it...plus a library. I am wanting to give it a try myself!
ReplyDeleteOkay you had me at a librarian who spends most of their time in the library. And I think magical cats would be rather fun!
ReplyDeleteLibrarians and magical cats? Sounds like a fun cozy!
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