A WHISKER OF TROUBLE by Sofie Ryan

Publisher:    NAL      

Published:     February 2, 2016

ISBN:        978-0451419965

Genre:      Cozy Mystery  

Format:     Print  

Obtained via:  Publisher

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

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

 

Sarah Grayson, proprietor of Second Chances shop, has a new assignment—cleaning out the estate of Edison Hall.  Known about town as a collector or sorts…okay, many of us would say hoarder, Sarah and her employee/friends know they have their work cut out for them.  What they don’t expect to find is a dead body.

More than once Sarah has said she is so not getting involved with Charlotte’s Angels—a self-named…detective…agency run by several area senior citizens.  The thing is, they usually manage to find the killer.  This time, however, it looks like seniors may be who the killer is targeting.

I’ve been enjoying Sofie Ryan’s Second Chance Cat Mysteries mostly because of the star of the series, Elvis the cat.  Ryan has cats and cat behaviors down pat and Elvis is so fun to read.  In Ryan’s latest, A WHISKER OF TROUBLE Elvis has a much larger role in the story which made it all the more enjoyable for me.

In A WHISKER OF TROUBLE the author delves into what seems to be a growing area of concern—cons being perpetrated on senior citizens.  Ryan does a good job of building up to how it can happen – and even better, has justice done.  

Nothing about this addition to the series really stands out for me.  It was a good read, but nothing special except for Elvis’s scenes.

I will definitely continue with the series if it continues because the characters are likeable and the cases they solve issues I can relate to.

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

 

THE WHOLE CAT AND CABOODLE by Sofie Ryan

Publisher:  Signet

Published:   April 2014

ISBN:  978-0451419941

Genre:   Cozy Mystery

Format:  Paperback

Obtained via:  Publisher  

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

FOUR-1/2 HEARTS

 

After losing her big city job Sarah Grayson has returned to her home town of North Harbor and is now the proprietor of Second Chance, a quaint little shop that repurposes an array of items.  She employs a diverse cadre of assistants ranging from high schooler Avery to her friend Nick’s mother, Charlotte.  She is also, ahem, assisted by her black cat, Elvis.  Besides managing her shop she also teaches a class at the local senior’s residence.  When one of her regular students, Maddie, who is also a long time and close friend of her grandmother, Sarah heads over to her house to check on her.  What she discovers on her arrival isn’t just Maddie…it is Maddie and her new beau and that gentleman is dead.  She moves Maddie away from Arthur Fenety’s body and calls the police.  Two long-time friends arrive – Michelle who is a detective and Nick, the new coroner.  While Sarah and Michelle were one time very close, suddenly, one day years before Michelle closed Sarah out of her life.  Now they have little choice but to at least talk because Michelle is investigating the murder and Sarah is out to prove Maddie did not kill her beau.  But Sarah isn’t without help.  Her grandmother and Maddie’s friends might be a bit on in years, but they have all the gumption and skills of, as they call themselves, Charlie’s Angels. 

Sofie Ryan’s new Second Chance Cat Mystery series is a wonderful addition to the cozy genre.  I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, THE WHOLE CAT AND CABOODLE as it introduces what appear to be a marvellous cadre of characters and with some solid mysteries for Sarah and her gang to solve.  Of course, my favourite character is Elvis, the black cat who picked Sarah as his human.  Ryan portrays Elvis in a realistic way—showing how felines can let their humans know when something isn’t quite right.  She doesn’t anthropomorphize, but her shows him in true cat fashion.  I liked how Ryan showed Sarah considering Elvis’s actions and reactions and questioning herself as to whether or not Elvis was communicating something specific or just behaving like a cat.

All of the characters were well developed and realistic.  This first book introduces them without overwhelming the reader with too many all at once.  The rekindling of the friendships between Sarah, Nick and Michelle is nicely done.  There’s no overnight, unexplained connection, but a nicely paced reuniting.  The way Michelle explains what happened to turn her away from Sarah almost two decades ago was credibly done.  

The killer was a surprise—I didn’t see that one coming!  The second chance cat mysteries are shaping up to be one really fun series.

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