Sand-Witch on Rye: First in a #Paranormal #Cozy #Mystery #Series by Molly Dox

Title: Sand-Witch on Rye
Author: Molly Dox
Genre: Paranormal / Cozy / Mystery
Status: TBR
Cats?: I suspect so (there's a cat on the cover)

Ginger Says:

Hello friends!  I have yet to begin The Soup and Sand-Witch Cozy Mystery Series, but I figured I'd post about it because these books look absolutely adorable.

In Not-So-Normal Town, strange things are happening. Turmoil, murder, and cookie jar spirits are turning the paranormal world upside down. Katy can’t help digging for clues when Miss Priss turns up dead at the local bowling alley. Too bad her magic is rusty. She’s having a spell of a time finding answers. Magic is only good when you remember how to use it.

Teaming up with her best friend, Katy hopes to reveal the truth before it’s too late. With an itch to become a better witch, she knows she’ll need to brush up on her skills, but with no time to spare, she needs to find answers before the killer strikes again.

Sand-Witch on Rye is the first book in The Soup and Sand-Witch Cozy Mystery series, and offers a family-friendly read with no foul language.

Find Sand-Witch on Rye at Amazon

Subscribe to our mailing list

KitKat Reads The #Witch Tree Symbol, A Nancy Drew #Mystery by Carolyn Keene

Title: The Witch Tree Symbol
Author: Carolyn Keene
Genre: Juvenile / Nostalgia / Mystery
Status: Read
Cats?: None, but there is an angry bull.

KitKat Says:

Inspired by Zorro's review of a Hardy Boys Mystery, I decided to give Nancy Drew a go.  I've obviously heard references to this series, and I'm aware it's been popular for generations, but I've never read a Nancy Drew book for myself. Better late than never?

With a copyright date of 1955, I was more than a little afraid of what I was getting into with The Witch Tree Symbol--particularly because the action takes place in Amish country. I figured a book written in the 50s would resort to broad stereotypes in representing Amish people.

I was surprised (and relieved) to find I was wrong. I'm not Amish, so I can't speak with any degree of authority on the matter, but it seemed like a fair and thoughtful representation of the families it depicted.

Not just that, but Nancy Drew is an intrepid investigator. She's pretty fearless.  I can see why the series has been so popular throughout the years.

Having said all that, would I rush out to read another Nancy Drew mystery novel?  Probably not, and here's why: I found the writing style outdated and impersonal. I don't mean that as a dig. These books were written, what, more than sixty years ago? Times change, trends change, tastes change. I really like to get inside a character's head and feel what they're feeling. That's pretty much impossible to do when the narrative bobs at the surface of the action.

I still think that, if you've never read a Nancy Drew mystery, The Witch Tree Symbol is worth your while.  Aren't you curious what you've been missing out on all these years?

Whether you read Nancy Drew as a youngster and you're looking for a spot of nostalgia or you've never read this series and you don't mind starting with #33, you might want to spend a day with The Witch Tree Symbol.

Find The Witch Tree Symbol at Amazon

Subscribe to our mailing list

Counterblow: A Rogan Bricks #Maritime #Adventure #Conspiracy #Thriller by Steve Richer

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

Zorro Says:

Bestselling thriller author Steve Richer has been making headlines again with Counterblow, his follow-up to The President Killed His Wife.

I haven't dived into this beauty yet. Kind of nervous. All that sea adventure and me a cat. Not saying I'm afraid or anything. I'm no scaredy-cat.  Just not a fan of water.  You know how it is.

But I wanted to tell you Counterblow is on my radar, and maybe it should be on yours too. Especially if you're not a cat. And not creeped out by water.

Their reach is vast. Their resources, unlimited. Their target... is an army of one.

FBI Special Agent Rogan Bricks is called in to investigate a brutal attack on a fishing boat in the frigid and dangerous Bering Sea. It's no ordinary fishing boat, as it turns out. It was smuggling a deadly cargo and now Bricks must keep the sole survivor of the attack – the only living witness – alive.

Soon he finds himself caught in the middle of a far-reaching conspiracy that may have been borne of his own past, a dark past that's about to catch up with him.

In a desperate game of cat and mouse, Bricks discovers there are powerful players involved... players that want Bricks not just dead, but completely destroyed.

This standalone novel follows the best-selling thriller The President Killed His Wife.

Find Counterblow at Amazon

Subscribe to our mailing list

Utterly Shameless! A is for A**hole: The Alphabet #Book of #Cats

Title: A is for A**hole: The Alphabet Book of Cats
Author: Maddie Mayfair
Genre: Humour (If you can call it that!)
Cats?: Nothing but.

Butterball Says:

In past posts, I have spoken highly of Madeleine Mayfair. How reckless of me! As curator of Crazy Cat Stuff and editor of Cat Tales: Twelve Fabulous Feline Fables (not to mention creator of our very own header here at Cats Read Mysteries), one would imagine such a person might feel a certain sensitivity toward creatures of the feline variety. Madeleine (Maddie) Mayfair definitely had me fooled.

With her most recent book, Madeleine Mayfair has proven herself to be a traitor of the highest order. If you ask me, her “comical” alphabet book, A is for A**hole: The Alphabet Book of Cats, is akin to treason! Comedy, my foot! Any book that calls attention to a feline’s baser habits, such as emitting the odd hairball or elusively defecating outside of one’s litter box can as much be called a comedy as saltines can be called a savoury snack.

Do not be fooled into believing we cats have a sense of humour about our various eccentricities. We are sensitive creatures and do not appreciate humans who turn us into the butt of their jokes—no pun intended.

Madeleine Mayfair claims her new book makes a great gift for cat owners. As if any human deserves a gift! Your money would be better spent showering the household’s cat (or, potentially, multiple cats) with baubles, trinkets, toys and treats.

I would go so far as to advise the reader not to purchase Ms. Mayfair’s ridiculous trifle—that is to say, if we Mystery Cats were not indebted to her for the graphic design skills she has kindly donated in the past.

Going forward, Madeleine Mayfair would be well advised to keep her bizarre sense of humour behind closed doors and not torture the world with her “satirical” portrait of the feline kind.

Avoid A is for A**hole at all costs. Do not seek it out at Amazon, even if you are in any way tempted to purchase it as a gift for the cat owner in your life!

Subscribe to our mailing list

What's New, #Mystery #Cats?

Hey, Mystery Cats! What are we reading?

KitKat Says:

Zorro's Hardy Boys review inspired me to dive into Nancy Drew. I've never read the series, if you can believe it, but I'm starting with The Witch Tree Symbol. Antique furniture and the Amish--what's not to love?

Zorro Says:

Haven't started it yet, but there's a Linwood Barclay waiting for me. Been hearing great things about his books for years. He's a bit of a hometown hero, too. So time to take him for a spin with The Accident.

Ginger Says:

Next on my list is Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris. I read Shakespeare's Trollop in the Lily Bard series and gobbled it up. I absolutely loved it. I'm not sure if Definitely Dead (A Sookie Stackhouse Novel) will appeal to me quite as strongly because it's paranormal and that's not really my thing, but if it isn't to my taste I'll pass it over to KitKit.

Butterball Says:

It is always most difficult to choose a book to read after one has devoured an Agatha Christie mystery as brilliant as The ABC Murders (which I shall have to review on the blog sooner rather than later), but I have selected a Martha Grimes novel to follow. I must admit I've judged The Old Fox Deceiv'd by its eerie cover. I am very much looking forward to exploring its interior.

Subscribe to our mailing list

KitKat Reads #LGBT #Cozy #Mystery Small Town Scandal by J.J. Brass

Title: Small Town Scandal
Author: J.J. Brass
Genre: LGBT / Small Town / Cozy
Status: Read
Cats?: None

KitKat Says:

Agatha Vanderjagt is a crotchety old woman who lives alone in the small town of Hillsgrave. She also happens to be a retired schoolteacher.

Chris is a trans man and former student of Miss Vanderjagt's. As his ex-girlfriend points out, he's serious about taking care of animals and elders. That's why he cares for dogs full-time and gives Agatha a hand around the house after work.

When Agatha gets a blackmail letter, Chris is the only one she can turn to. The blackmailer has come across sexy black-and-white photos--photos of Agatha and her lesbian lover from long, long ago.

Chris drops everything to help solve the mystery of who is demanding money from Agatha. He obviously feels a deep sense of responsibility toward his former teacher, because he goes on helping her even when she shows him zero gratitude. The back-and-forth between Agatha and Chris is hilarious and all too real at times. They feel like family, like a grandmother and her grandson. They irritate each other constantly, but they always stick together. To me, this is a family mystery--a shining example of chosen family in a small-town setting.

As for the mystery, there are plenty of suspects to choose from. Agatha isn't the most beloved figure in town. When you see the way she talks to people you'll understand why! There's also a romantic B-plot about Chris and his ex-girlfriend... who happens to be the only person in town who freely admits to having seen the photographs Agatha's being blackmailed about. Hmmm...

If you're looking for a cozy small-town mystery with a hearty dose of queer representation, look no further. Small Town Scandal by J.J. Brass is the book for you!

Find Small Town Scandal at Amazon

Subscribe to our mailing list

Zorro Reads a Legal #Suspense #Thriller: Puppet by Joy Fielding

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.

Find Puppet at Amazon

Subscribe to our mailing list