THE CAT, THE COLLECTOR AND THE KILLER by Leann Sweeney

Publisher:    NAL

Published:   August 2, 2016
ISBN:        978-0451477408
Genre:       Cozy Mystery
Format:     Print
Obtained via:  Publisher  
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com
 

FOUR HEARTS

 

 

Several months into her marriage to her long time beau, “acting” police chief Tom Stewart, Jillian Hart couldn’t be happier. Their four kitties are happy and healthy, her step-daughter, Kara, from her first marriage, is living with her beau and her quilt business is doing quite well. What more could a woman ask?

When her good friend, Shawn, who runs the local animal rescue, calls for help she’s never said no. But this time when he calls for help things are a bit unsettling. This time one of his clients has been found wandering around downtown in her nightie, carrying a kitty in a tote bag. Minnie Schultz loves her kitties and while some might consider her a kitty hoarder, she’s really more of a collector. Her home has always been neat and clean and her cats well cared for. What greets Jillian when she enters Minnie’s home is far from neat and clean—with floor to ceiling boxes Minnie has clearly turned the corner to hoarding.  Or has she? Worse, when Shawn finds his personal nemesis’s body in Minnie’s bedroom it looks like a killer is on the loose.

Despite her not wanting to get involved in yet another murder investigation, Jillian cannot help herself, especially after she meets Minnie and certain facts come to light. In When an attempt is made on Minnie’s doctor, however, Jillian soon finds herself in the killer’s crosshairs.

THE CAT, THE COLLECTOR AND THE KILLER is another fun addition to Leann Sweeney’s Cats in Trouble series. Despite the fact that the stories are starting to follow a repetitive pattern, Sweeny still tells an entertaining story with some wonderful twists and turns. Her characters don’t stagnate but grow in and among themselves. There is steady movement in their lives that is realistic and leaves you feeling that you too are part of the action. 

In this one I pretty much figured out who the killer was when that character appeared, but I still enjoying reading how Jillian figured it out and ultimately brought that person down. Well, Jillian and her cats—who are really the stars of the book! 

This is one series where you will want to read the books in order. While Sweeney does provide a solid backstory to some of the characters, there are nuances and threads in the story that you will know you missed out on something if you haven’t read the earlier books. That’s not a bad thing because the stories are so fun to read and the author gives enough clues that the reader can solve the crimes along with Jillian.

 

 

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

 

DEADLY FORECAST by Victoria Laurie

 

Publisher:    NAL

Published:   June 30, 2014

ISBN:        978-0451419699

Genre:       Cozy Mystery  

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Publisher  

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

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

It’s just a few days away from Abby and Dutch’s wedding day and Abby is filled with anticipation.  Thing is, it’s not anticipation of becoming Mrs. Dutch Rivers, but rather it’s a dark and gloomy feeling that Dutch may not survive the ceremony.  And somehow she cannot help but feel it’s tied to the current case they are working on. The closer the date of their nuptials comes the more Abby fears for Dutch’s life.  Worst of all is when her intuition tells her that she will be the catalyst for Dutch’s demise.

Dutch only wants to be with Abby, for better or for worse, till death do they part. While Abby is completely with Dutch on that score, she hasn’t told him of her fears and that alone could spell the end of their relationship.

As an FBI agent Dutch is determined to find the person behind the suicide bombers showing up around Austin.  But when the bomber gets closer to Dutch and Abby, can they find him before he finds them?

The last few of Victoria Laurie’s Psychic Eye books have been a bit hit or miss. DEADLY FORECAST was a definite hit in terms of Abby and Dutch’s story, but for the M.J. portions, not so much.  Those portions weren’t bad per se. It was the jumping around from what was going on with Dutch and Abby leading up to the wedding the M.J.’s scenes in the two hours before.  I finally stopped reading straight through and read Abby’s chapters and then, just before the wedding, went back and read all of M.J.’s.  It made for a much smoother and enjoyable read.

This isn’t a light hearted cozy nor is it a straight police procedural, but something in between.  Dutch and Abby are such a great couple to read and Laurie’s secondary characters add so much to the story. They aren’t there as background, but have their own lives and stories.  Each of the regular characters develop a little more in each story and it’s well done.

Can’t wait to see where Laurie takes them next.

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

THE CAT, THE VAGABOND AND THE VICTIM by Leann Sweeney

 

Publisher:    NAL

Published:   August 5, 2014

ISBN:        978-0451415424

Genre:       Cozy Mystery  

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Publisher  

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

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

 

We’ve all heard the stories about cats and dogs who travelled miles and miles to find their way to their home. In what seems an utterly amazing feat is just part of being a cat for a cat, as Jillian Hart well knows. That’s why when Clyde, the beloved kitty of a recently deceased member of her little down shows up, she isn’t that surprised.  Clyde, who has travelled some 200 miles to return home becomes an instant celebrity.  To buy some peace for the shelter and not-so-little Clyde, Jillian agrees to foster him. Clyde quickly bonds with Jillian’s three kitties – Chablis, Merlot and Syrah – but all is not well.  Not only was Clyde’s human murdered, but now someone is after Clyde. Despite Jillian’s best efforts to protect the celebrity cat, another body turns up along with an array of contentious family members of the deceased.  Can Jillian find the would-be catnapper before he or she kills again?

Another super read from Leann Sweeney.  This one, THE CAT, THE VAGABOND AND THE VICTIM had a little less punch the a few of the previous books but it’s still a fun read.  You can’t help but fall in love with Clyde.  Even a non-cat person will find themselves wanting to at least hold the little guy.  The theme of the story is one we’ve seen in different guises, but in her inimitable style, Sweeney introduces not one, but several well turned twists.  I certainly didn’t see the killer coming.

Sweeney introduces a new character, Emily Nguyen, a wanna be girl reporter who is so annoying she becomes one of those characters you love to hate.  You don’t want her to die, you don’t want her to go away, but at the same time you just want her to stop. If she’s going to be around I can see that Sweeney will have a lot of opportunity to develop her character and add some fun dimension to the books.

Each book is a stand alone and you do not have to read the stories in order if all you want is the mystery.  If you want to see some wonderful character development and growth, you’ll want to read the series in order.

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

LETHAL OUTLOOK by Victoria Laurie

Publisher:     NAL

Published:    June 4, 2103

ISBN:        978-0451414908

Genre:       Cozy Mystery

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Publisher  

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

FOUR HEARTS

Back in Austin and slowly but surely recovering from her caper with the CIA psychic Abby Cooper is planning her wedding to FBI Agent Dutch Rivers.  Well, she’s not exactly doing the planning.  It’s actually her sister Cat who is doing the planning.  Actually it’s more like orchestrating the invasion of Normandy given Cat’s love of attention to detail and a flair for the spectacular.  And that is so not Abby so Abby has engaged in her own plan which is to avoid Cat.  Meanwhile she has also been avoiding Dave, the contractor building her and Dutch’s future home.  Along with avoiding any of the details needed to be completed to move ahead with her marriage to Dutch, a mysterious new client appears in her office.

Ms. Smith…not her real name of course, appears in a wig, dark glasses and all but her face and nose covered up.  And her story is really quite strange—she professes to be an attorney who is aware that a client of her firm may have killed someone. Ms. Smith will say little, if anything, except she suspects foul play.  Not one to leave such an odd story alone, Abby engages her business partner, PI Candice Fusco, to join her in the search for this missing woman who Abby knows without a doubt is dead.  Can they find the killer before he strikes again?

After my disappointment with VISION IMPOSSIBLE, the Psychic Eye mystery just prior to this one, I was thrilled when LETHAL OUTLOOK had Abby back to being the character I love.  Laurie’s signature quick wit comes through not just Abby but Candice as well.  I did start to get a little bored by the repetitive references to her aching hips—reminded me of a co-worker of mine who starts every conversation with a litany of her aches and pains.  But kudos to Abby (and of course Ms. Laurie for her taking Abby in that direction) to have her goal being able to walk without her cane on her wedding day rather than a lot of other petty little details that could be raised.  That’s part of what I mean about Abby being the Abby I’ve come to consider one of the best mystery sleuths out there. 

Laurie does a great job with the twists and turns in this one, leading up to the killer being revealed.  She throws out just enough information for the reader to guess along with Abby and Candice and still be surprised at the outcome. 

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

VISION IMPOSSIBLE by Victoria Laurie

Publisher:     NAL

Published:    June 5m 2012

ISBN:        978-0451235060

Genre:       Cozy Mystery

Format:     Print

Obtained via:  Publisher  

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

THREE HEARTS

Settled in Austin with her beau Dutch Rivers, Abby Cooper’s life is moving along pretty nicely.  Slowly but surely she’s building up a clientele for her psychic readings and the house she and Dutch are building is moving along.  What more could a girl ask for?  And while Abby’s intuition can give her some pretty solid guidance, it can’t stop the storms that follow life’s calms.  And when the storm hits, it’s a call from Washington and the CIA.  A valuable piece of equipment has gone missing—a drone that can read auras.  After an intense week of training Dutch and Abby are on their way to Canada, the last known location of the drone.

No sooner do they arrive in Canada than someone sets Abby in their sites…and it’s not for a date.  Someone wants Abby out of the picture.  Can Abby and Dutch find the drone and get out of Canada before someone takes Abby out?

Victoria Laurie’s Psychic Eye series has been one of the most enjoyable and unique in the cozy mystery / mystery genre.  The premise has been refreshing and her characters are memorable.  VISION IMPOSSIBLE just didn’t do it for me.  I felt more than once that the author wasn’t liking the story and was struggling to tell it.  I don’t know what happened to Abby.  In prior books she was a quick witted, smart talking, confident woman.  In VISION IMPOSSIBLE she wasn’t likable for any number of reasons—the way she treated Dutch, the self-absorption…and where were her psychic abilities?  Her “crew” showed up maybe twice—whereas in the prior books, while invisible spirit guides, they certainly stepped up to help her out.  And who was taking care of Eggy and Tuttle while Abby and Dutch were sleuthing in Canada?

That said, I did like Maks and hope we’ll see more of him…but please, not in a love triangle! 

I’m not about to give up on the series.  Every author has at least one book in a series that just isn’t up there with all of them…we all have moments like that and I hope this is an anomaly rather than a trend because this has been one super series.

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