Title: Puppet Author: Joy Fielding Genre: Legal / Family / Suspense Status: Read Cats?: Zero.
Zorro Says:
Amanda's mother shot a man just to watch him die.
Or maybe she shot him for some other reason. Nobody knows!
Amanda Travis is a rich young lawyer living in a posh Florida condo, but she was born and raised in Toronto (just like the Mystery Cats!). When she gets a phone call from back home, she doesn't want to deal with it. Amanda's mother has shot a man but refuses to tell police why. She won't tell her lawyer, won't tell Amanda, won't tell anyone!
There's got to be a reason. But discovering the reason behind her mother's crime means delving into her family's frightening past. Is she ready to find out what her mother already knows?
Are you?
If you are, then pick up a copy of Puppet by Joy Fielding. It's a legal suspense full of hot, hot heat and family mysteries.
Title: The Witness Author: Nora Roberts Genre: Romantic / Suspense / Mystery Status: Reading Cats?: No, but there's a BIG dog!
Ginger Says:
I'm only halfway through The Witness, but I wanted to tell you about it because this book sucked me in right from the very first page. You get a real sense of 16-year-old Elizabeth Fitch's personality: highly intelligent, but socially-stunted by an overbearing mother.
When Elizabeth rebels for the first time in her life, terrible things happen. We're talking more than just a bad haircut. Elizabeth ends up witnessing a Russian mafia hit. She winds up in witness protection, and would you believe things go downhill from there?!
Quite a few years later, we meet up with Elizabeth living under another name and living in a small town that has its own cunning and attractive sheriff. She's got herself a giant guard dog that understands at least four languages and is so well-trained it almost makes me wish Doris would get us a dog.
Now, I know what you're thinking: cats and dogs are sworn enemies. But does that necessarily have to be the case? Is it really so wrong for a tiny ginger kitten to read about a big strong canine and wonder what it would be like to cuddle up together in front of a roaring fire?
In any case, if you're looking for a book that starts out action-packed, morphs into a romance, and then I don't know what because I haven't read that far, then The Witness by Nora Roberts is the novel for you!
Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth Fitch finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive.
Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance security systems designer, her own protection is supplemented by a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. Unfortunately, that seems to be the quickest way to get attention in a tiny southern town.
The mystery of Abigail Lowery and her sharp mind, secretive nature and unromantic viewpoint intrigues local police chief Brooks Gleason, on both a personal and professional level. And while he suspects that Abigail needs protection from something, Gleason is accustomed to two-bit troublemakers, not the powerful and dangerous men who are about to have him in their sights.
And Abigail Lowery, who has built a life based on security and self-control, is at risk of losing both.
Need a break from modern-day life? If you're like me, you're craving a simpler time. Well, here's one way of finding it: read a book from your childhood.
And considering The Mystery of Cabin Island (Book 8 in The Hardy Boys series) was first published in 1929, chances are this is a novel that came out long before you were born. If not, congratulations on exercising those nine lives. You must be a cat. Also, way to master the internet!
A lot of kittens grew up reading Hardy Boys Mysteries. Maybe you're one of them. Or maybe you're human--I don't know your life. But if you read this series as a child, this book has the nostalgia factor going for it. If you've never read a Hardy Boys Mystery, aren't you even the slightest bit curious why people are still reading them almost a century after they were written?
I read The Mystery of Cabin Island over the Christmas holidays. Perfect timing because, guess what? That's exactly when it's set. Boxing Day, the boys head out to the eponymous (Butterball's teaching me big words!) Cabin Island. Ice boats! No electricity! Thrills! Chills! (Literally! Did I mention they've got no electricity and it's the dead of winter?)
And of course they've got a mystery or two to solve. Stolen medals. A missing nephew. A missing butler! Non-stop action. If there's one thing the Hardy Boys do consistently, it's suck you in to the next chapter. Bet you can't read just one!
I probably don't need to talk you into revisiting the Hardy Boys. I'm sure just the mention of them has evoked a strong reaction in you, hopefully of nostalgia.
With two mysteries to solve, Frank and Joe must climb aboard their iceboat the Sea Gull to reach Cabin Island, where a belligerent stranger orders them off. Sabotage to the boat, danger to themselves, and a ghostly prowler do not daunt the Hardy boys in their search for Johnny Jefferson and for clues to stolen antique medals. How the teenage investigators outwit a ruthless foe and succeed in solving both mysteries makes for mounting suspense in this brisk-paced adventure.
Title: What The Cat Dragged In (The Celtic Witch Mysteries Book 1) Author: Molly Milligan Genre: Cozy / Paranormal / Witch Status: TBR Cats?: With a title like that, I sure hope so!
Magic, mystery and mayhem abound in this new series from Welsh writer Molly Milligan. The body that turns up in Bron’s garden has been there for decades, and he died of natural causes. Just rebury him and carry on as normal, right? But it’s kinda hard to be normal when the ghost of the dead man has been disturbed, and now he wants … well, just what does he want?
It’s down to Bron, a traditional hedge witch, to find out. If she doesn’t, that ghost is going to be lingering in corners and upsetting kitchen chairs for the rest of her life. Creepy, tedious and noisy, all at the same time. She’s helped by the unexpected arrival of her cousin Maddie from America, who is seeking connection and history in this uncertain age. And there’s another mystery – why is this vivacious, friendly young woman so evasive and afraid? Soon they are up to their knees in faery folk (don’t trust em), druids (keen on trees), wild animals (Bron’s a healer), the obligatory smouldering blacksmith (sorry, he prefers men), and the maddest Mad Great Aunt of all.
Title: Poison in Paddington Author: Samantha Silver Genre: Amateur Sleuths, Cozy Mystery Presence of Cats: Yes! A cat named Biscuit.
Ginger Says:
Mystery writer Samantha Silver has recently come out with a new series of cozies set in London. The first in the Cassie Coburn Mysteries is Poison in Paddington, which is currently available at a very attractive price from Amazon.
When Cassie Coburn moved to London, she never thought she'd be involved in a quadruple homicide.
After a car accident ended her medical career before it even started, Cassie moved to London on a whim, expecting to see the sights and live the typical tourist backpacker lifestyle.
Instead she finds herself accompanying a French private detective, Violet Despuis, as they attempt to find out who poisoned four people in the middle of London.
Cassie's life soon includes this crazy detective, an ancient landlady with a curious past, a mischeivous orange cat who likes going for walks on a leash, and a super hot pathologist that Cassie is sure is out of her league.
Title: Adam and Eve and Pinch Me Author: Ruth Rendell Genre: British Detectives Status: Read Presence of Cats: Yes, there is a cat next door.
Butterball Says:
Woe is me! For now that I have read my first Ruth Rendell novel, I face the fact that a healthy portion of my feline life has passed me by. Oh, but those years would have been vastly improved in quality by the presence of Ruth Rendell's fine words.
Adam and Eve and Pinch Me follows a number of compelling characters, including Minty--a dear girl facing some rather distinctive mental health concerns. She is seduced by a charmer the reader at once observes to be utterly snakelike. Unfortunately our dear Minty does not have sufficient life experience nor does she possess the powers of perception to view this fact for herself. She finds herself completely taken in by him.
When the multiply-married charmer turns up dead, we are hardly surprised.
What is rather more surprising is that the murder in Adam and Eve and Pinch Me does not take place until nearly the middle of the book. This give the reader a chance to gain sufficient insight into the lives and personalities of a considerable cast of characters. There are certainly enough suspects, and yet the reader need not guess who committed this crime. We watch the murder take place before our very eyes. The question remains: will the police catch on? And how, precisely, will they track down the killer?
An author never dies, but always lives on in the works they create. I highly recommend Adam and Eve and Pinch Me, and I foresee many more Ruth Rendells in my future!
Title: Murder at the Office Author: J.J. Brass Genre: Cozy / Amateur Sleuth / LGBT Reviewed by: KitKat Status: Read Cats?: None
KitKat Says:
For my first post here at the Cats Read Mysteries blog, I'd like to tell you about a new short mystery from author J.J. Brass's Cozy and Queer series: Murder at the Office. The thing I love most about this little book is that it features a mother and sixteen-year-old daughter--and trust me when I say they do NOT get along! Their interplay reminds me 100% of my mom and my sister when she was a teenager.
As a reader who devours LGBT fiction, I also love that there's more than one lesbian character in this story. The entire mystery takes place at the mother's office, where her estranged daughter has come to take advantage of some free colour photocopying. When the boss gets wind of this, she's not happy. No using company property for personal gain!
When the boss turns up dead, it doesn't seem like the office workers will be crying too many tears. It's up to Sharon and Kate, our mother/daughter team of amateur sleuths, to figure out who the murderer is. Can they solve the crime without killing each other? Well it wouldn't be a very satisfying cozy if they didn't, but what I particularly enjoyed was not only the journey but how their sleuthing helps bring them together. Mother and daughter finally have a very necessary conversation after cracking the case.
Murder at the Office is a really funny little story that strikes a lot of cords for a reader who enjoys a good cozy lesbian mystery. Have a read!
Sharon and her teenage daughter haven’t been on the best of terms since the divorce. Perhaps it’s natural for a deodorant-eschewing lesbian punk to avoid her mother, but Sharon can’t help thinking there’s more to the story.
When Kate shows up at the office, Sharon is stunned to see her. The only thing that could surprise Sharon more is finding the boss strangled to death! Can this mother and daughter pairing put their squabbles aside long enough to solve a murder? Or will the killer strike again… closer to home?
Download your copy today and read this hilarious and heartfelt tale of murder after hours!
