THE BLACK CAT KNOCKS ON WOOD by Kay Finch

Publisher:      Berkley

Published:     June 7, 2016  

ISBN:        978-0425275252

Genre:       Cozy Mystery

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Library    

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE HEARTS

With one book about ready to be set before an editor Sabrina Tate is trying her best to settle down and start on book 2.  Before she can do that though, a few things get in the way.  Not that they are bad things…or at least not all of them are bad.  Her Aunt Rowe and friends are embarking on a new venture – goat roping at the Lavender Rodeo.  Okay, that’s good and bad…good because it sounds like fun; bad because Aunt Rowe is on the…mature side.  And while the town is beginning to believe her kitty Hitchcock, isn’t exactly the bad luck kitty he has been pegged to be, family friend Pearl wants to “borrow” him to jinx her real estate agent for going south on a deal. And then, there is the dead body Pearl has stumbled on…a dead body that happens to be the very real estate agent she wanted to borrow Hitchcock to jinx.

Try as she might, Sabrina can’t seem to stay out of the fray. It’s bad enough with suspects popping up here and there.  When Sabrina’s former boss, Rita, ends up in town she not only has one more suspect to add to the mix—she really doesn’t want to go back to work for the seriously unpleasant woman. When Rita is mysteriously attacked, though, it begins to look like there may be more to the killer than Sabrina already thought.

I really enjoyed book 1 of Kay Finch’s Bad Luck Cat mystery series, Black Cat Crossing.  Being on the staff of two black cats myself (along with a white Persian), I totally understand the dilemma families of these precious kitties can go through.  I appreciated that one of the themes in book 2, THE BLACK CAT KNOCKS ON WOOD, was a black cat adopathon.  I knew when I read BLACK CAT CROSSING book 2 was going to be a tough act to follow – and indeed it was.  I find this happens fairly frequently with series – book 1 is totally outstanding and somehow the second book doesn’t quite hit the mark. 

There were elements of the story I enjoyed—as noted above, the black cat adopathon.  And I LOVED Hitchcock—especially at the end.  Way to go little guy!  Finch not only knows cats, but has a definite talent to bring their action and antics to life.  The pace of the story ran slow and more than once I wondered if Finch was struggling with at least some of the roadblocks Sabrina was facing in her literary life.

I’ll continue with the series if for no other reason than it features a cat—a black cat who could well be one of my own. 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.