Ginger Reads The #Cat Who Ate Danish Modern: A #Cozy #Mystery

Title: The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern

Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Genre: Cozy / Pets / Amateur Sleuth
Status: Read
Cats?: Two, and one's got a knack for presenting clues!

Ginger Says:

I've seen Lilian Jackson Braun's "Cat Who..." books on library shelves since I was a kitten, but this is the first time I've actually picked one up to read.  I always wondered how these stories were told.  For some reason, I assumed I would be reading a book told from a cat's point of view.  As it turns out, that wasn't the case.  Once I got over the initial disappointment of being told a human story instead of a cat one, I really got into it and had a lot of fun with this book.

The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern features a journalist named Jim Qwilleran who used to work the crime beat.  Now he's down on his luck, living in a run-down apartment with a Siamese cat named Koko.  When his boss assigns him to an interior design magazine, Qwilleran's not keen.  He's clueless about design. It's really not his world... that is, until a crime spree breaks out!  Every property he visits seems to get burgled, someone dies, the police raid it as a brothel... the list goes on!  Finally, some crime to investigate. Qwilleran's back in his element.

Now, his cat Koko doesn't accompany him on his investigations.  That would be pretty neat, but I guess you'd get a reputation if, as a journalist, you brought your cat along to interviews.  So Koko stays home while Jim is out and about, but still manages to bring attention to clues leading to whodunit.

When I first picked up this book, I didn't quite realize its age.  I was barely three pages into the novel when I said to myself, "When was this written?!?"  There are certain concepts, relationships and turns of phrase that struck me as outmoded.  That's when I checked the copyright date: 1967.  No wonder the book's got a bit of a Mad Men feel about it.

All in all, I ate this book up.  It's very witty, consistently amusing, and the characters are a lot of fun: big personalities that keep you wanting more.  This is probably my feline bias talking, but I would have enjoyed more time with the cats.  Yes there are cats in the book, but it's primarily a human story and a human investigator.

Having said all that, if you're looking for a big-city cozy mystery set in the world of 1960s-era interior design, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern certainly fits the bill! 

Find The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern at Amazon

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KitKat Reviews The Courtyard Clairvoyant Mysteries #Ace #LGBTQIA #Paranormal #Cozy #Mystery #Series

Title: The Courtyard Clairvoyant Mysteries Collection One
Author: J.J. Brass
Genre: LGBT / Psychic / Cozy
Status: Read
Cats?: Yes, but I don't want to talk about it.

KitKat Says:

I have a new favourite queer cozy mystery series and it's called The Courtyard Clairvoyant Mysteries.

What's so great about the Courtyard Clairvoyant? Well, first of all we've got an asexual aunt and her pansexual niece as main characters. Aunt Elise is currently recovering from a cornea transplant and guess what?  Turns out the cornea she received previously belonged to a psychic!  Now when she looks people in the eye, she can see what they're hiding.

What are you going to do when you find out you're suddenly psychic? You're going to solve mysteries, of course! Especially if you live on a small-town courtyard and your neighbours are all a bunch of gossipy (but mostly friendly) people.

My favourite of the four books I've read was the third in the series: I Spy a Courtyard Casanova.

In this book, Aunt Elise's former fiance arrives on the courtyard. It turns out she left him at the altar many years ago, and seeing him again brings out lots of messy feelings.

I love the way author J.J. Brass shows us this older woman coming to a greater understanding of what it means to be asexual, for her.  It's not like she's been identifying as ace for 50 years.  The idea of identifying as asexual and that there are other people in the world who are a lot like her is pretty new.

I also love the way her niece Val helps along the way. Life can be confusing for anybody, but for someone who is questioning her identity later in life, Elise sometimes feels really discombobulated. She admires the way her niece's generation can be so out and proud while she still feels a need to keep certain matters private.

The other thing I love most about I Spy a Courtyard Casanova is the mystery itself. It starts out looking like a simple theft, but we soon discover an art fraud ring going on right under their noses. Who doesn't love a good art forgery story, am I right?

There are cats in this series but I won't say too much about that. When you get to the fourth book in the series, I Spy a Wedding Dress Mess, you'll find out why.

I highly recommend The Courtyard Clairvoyant for any cozy mystery reader who wants a strong cast of queer characters. This series has got it all kinds of representation covered: characters who are genderqueer, ace, poly-pan, trans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, the list goes on! There are even a few straight people in there too. 😛

If you want to sink your teeth into a cozy small-town mystery series with a hearty dose of queer representation, look no further. The Courtyard Clairvoyant Mysteries by J.J. Brass is the series for you!

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Murder Island: A Rogan Bricks #Maritime #Thriller by Steve Richer

Title: Murder Island: A Rogan Bricks Thriller
Author: Steve Richer
Genre: Maritime / Conspiracy / Thriller
Status: TBR
Cats?: Unknown

Zorro Says:

Bestselling thriller author Steve Richer is back with the third Rogan Bricks book.  Murder Island follows Counterblow and The President Killed His Wife.

A small island and killers everywhere. No communications. No boats. A hurricane closing in. Rogan Bricks alone against an army.

Former FBI agent and Marine Rogan Bricks once uncovered a shadow government and took down a drug cartel, so he's looking forward to his next assignment to infiltrate a laid-back meeting with financial wizards on a Caribbean island. Nothing dangerous this time, all he has to do is listen and report.

Yeah, right. It's just his luck when ruthless commandos sneak onto the private island and start killing everyone.

At the risk of blowing his undercover mission, Rogan must find a way to rescue the survivors and discover why these assassins are here... in the middle of a hurricane!

Standalone action novel following the best-selling thrillers The President Killed His Wife and Counterblow.

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Magical Bookshop Mysteries: A New #Paranormal #Cozy #Mystery Series

Title: Magical Bookshop Mysteries: A New Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series

Author: Samantha Silver
Genre: Cozy / Paranormal / Small Town
Status:TBR
Cats?: Yes

Ginger Says:


Mystery author Samantha Silver is best known for paranormal cozies, and she's back at it with her new venture: the Magical Bookshop Mystery series!

If you've got a taste for witchcraft, small-town life and books, you might want to give this new series a try. There are already three installments available:

1) Alice In Murderland
2) Murder on the Oregon Express
3) The Very Killer Caterpillar (pre-order, available July 30, 2017)

Here's a bit more information about the first in the series, Alice In Murderland:

Moving from Miami to small-town Oregon was supposed to be boring...

When Alice Calliope takes over her recently deceased aunt's bookshop in Sapphire Village, Oregon, she's not expecting her world to be flipped upside down, but that's exactly what happens when her cousin Cat reveals to Alice that she's actually a witch. Add in the fact that the two of them stumble upon a dead body, and Alice's first day in town ends up being a lot more eventful than she could have possibly imagined!

What was supposed to be a simple cross-country move winds up with Alice having to learn how to navigate a whole new magical world while at the same time trying to clear Cat's name as she emerges as the main suspect in the murder. Add in the eccentric Grandma Cee, witchcraft lessons, a whiny old ghost and the laziest cat ever, and Alice definitely has her hands full.

With pressure mounting for the super-hot local sheriff to arrest her cousin, will Alice be able to hunt down the real killer before it's too late?

Alice in Murderland is a full-length novel and the first book in the Magical Bookshop Mystery series of paranormal cozy mysteries.

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FRESH CREAM: The Continental Gentleman #Victorian #Historical #Mystery

Title: The Continental Gentleman (Book 5 in the Lady C. Investigates Series)
Author: Issy Brooke
Genre: Historical Mystery
Status: TBR
Presence of Cats: Unknown

The Honorable Butterball Catsworth III Says:

I am ever so pleased to announce that the fifth book in Issy Brooke's Lady C. Investigates series is now available for readers to purchase! The Continental Gentleman has certainly found its way on to my To Be Read list. If you enjoy Victorian mysteries, I do believe it warrants a place on yours as well.

Cordelia, Lady Cornbrook confronts her past. It’s not pleasant, but luckily she’s armed with a short, stabby sword.

It’s late summer and Cordelia is rattling around her Surrey estate, annoying the servants and causing the gardeners to hide in the bushes. Her old friend – or nemesis – Hugo Hawke turns up, and he’s closely followed by his own past. It’s good news … at first.

But Cordelia has received a note warning her that she is at risk of harm from a “continental gentleman” and it turns out that the local area is positively brimming with potential suspects.

It’s not Cordelia who is found dead in a stream, however.

The race is on to find the killer before they strike again. She’s aided by her motely retinue of servants, and severely hampered by her well-meaning friends who only wish to help her improve her social standing.

Etiquette has never been Cordelia’s strong point. But she’s still got that sword…

Find the most elegant Lady C. at Amazon.

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Ginger Reads The Quiche of Death, Agatha Raisin #Cozy #British #Mystery

Title: The Quiche of Death, The First Agatha Raisin Mystery

Author: M.C. Beaton
Genre: Cozy / British / Small Town
Status:In Progress
Cats?:Not Yet

Ginger Says:

I only just started reading The Quiche of Death the other day, but already I understand why my fellow cozy-enthusiasts have been encouraging me to pounce on this series: within the first couple chapters, it's already got everything you could ask for in a cozy. Oh, except nobody's been murdered yet. Obviously that isn't an obstacle to my enjoyment.

What I'm really loving about The Quiche of Death is the way our main character, Agatha Raisin, is a fish out of water in her new surroundings. In the first chapter, she sells her business in London and moves to a quaint town in the Cotswolds. Moving to a small English town is a fantasy for most cozy readers, even a Canadian kitten like me. I think that's half the reason we read cozies: for the setting.

Agatha Raisin is a fish out of water not only because she's a Londoner in a tiny town, but she's a contemporary person amidst a swell of characters who seem plucked from Father Brown. The townsfolk act, dress, and even style their hair like people from the past. Sure we're getting glimpses of Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages in this town, but there's a distinct period drama aspect to the supporting cast. It's a world the reader wants to inhabit all day long. The ins and outs of village life are so attractive to a city cat like me. And a rigged Quiche Competition? Yes, please!

I would love to tell you more, but that's all I know so far. As I say, I haven't even made it to the murder yet. But unless this book takes a wild turn, I'm sure to enjoy it tremendously!

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Zorro Reads Catch a Killer by George Woods #Action #Adventure #Thriller #Mystery

Title: Catch a Killer
Author: George Woods
Genre: Action / Thriller / Police Procedural
Status: Read
Cats?: Zero

Zorro Says:

After reading that Hardy Boys mystery a couple months back, I've kept an eye out for other nostalgic action/adventure type books written for young people. That's why I picked up Catch a Killer by George Woods.

That Hardy Boys I read had a copyright date in the 1920s. Catch a Killer isn't that old. It hails from 1972. A quick Amazon search tells me this book isn't easy to get your hands on. There's no ebook version available, as far as I can tell. If you want to read this book, you'll have to buy a used copy of the hardcover or paperback.

The reason I figured this was juvenile fiction is that the copy I picked up was an educational edition printed specifically for a school board. It comes complete with follow-up activities and questions for students.

I half understand why a school board might pick this book for young people: the main character is twelve years old. But just because you've got a kid in your book doesn't make it a kids' book. Catch a Killer doesn't strike me as a juvenile fiction so much. Reminds me more of a police procedural TV series from the 1970s in the vein of Columbo. Except a lot of it takes place in the woods.

Andrew, the aforementioned 12-year-old, ends up witnessing a crime. His bad luck, because that crime is the murder of two police officers. The killer immediately takes Andrew hostage and leads him on a night hike through the wilderness.

They're on the run.

Since the only police on-scene are now dead, will investigators think it was young Andrew who killed them?

The way this book was written is very effective. You get one chapter about Andrew's experience, one about the investigators trying to solve the double homicide, yet another about the killer's childhood and upbringing. Instead of vilifying the young man, the author shows the reader what drove him to kill. By then end of the book, even the boy he takes hostage feels empathy toward him.

Since we know who the killer is, the two main mysteries in this book are: 1) what made the killer kill, and 2) will Andrew be blamed for the crime?

In order to find out, you'll have to track down a copy of the book and read it for yourself. I enjoyed it, and any reader nostalgic for adventure novels from the 70s should like it too. The book's a product of its time. Very reminiscent of police procedurals from that decade, but also delving into the psychology of the killer.

If you want to Catch a Killer for yourself, you can find copies at Amazon.

Find Catch A Killer at Amazon

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