I See a Cat

I See a Cat
Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book

Paul Meisel
Holiday House, 2017

From Goodreads, “When a housebound dog spies a cat, a bird, and other animals outside a glass door, he is excited: I see a cat. I see a bird. I see a squirrel. When the dog’s beloved boy comes home from school, the two pals dash outside, determined to get up close and personal with all the backyard wildlife!”

When I first saw this book on the library’s website, I told mom to get it right away! What could be better than reading a book about cats? Reading a book about cats because this isn’t a book about cats. Its about a DOG!!!! A dog who is waiting for his human to come home and sees a cat walk by his window. A d-o-g. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that the cat only appeared on a couple of pages.  However, mom said I shouldn’t say a book is bad because its about a dog and not a cat. After all, dogs are people, too, just like cats.

Anyhoo, it is a cute cat and a cute dog and a cute book. Its very easy to read for earliest readers as the phrase “I see a…” is repeated on every page. Little kittens (and puppies) will enjoy spotting the animals and insects and learning to read the names (just don’t let those puppies get too crazy about all the squirrels).

Rating: 3 paws out of 5 because it is not about cats!

Reviewer:

Simon

 

Sleight of Paw

Sleight of Paw
Magical Cats: Book 2

Sofie Kelly
Obsidian, 2011

From the back of the book, “Kathleen never wanted to be the crazy cat lady. But when Owens and Hercules followed her home from mysterious Wisteria Hill, she realized her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her: her cats have magical abilities. And when a body is found near Kathleen’s favorite local café, she knows Owen’s talent for turning invisible and Hercules’ ability to walk through closed doors will give the felines access to clues Kathleen couldn’t get without arousing suspicion.

“With her pet partners, and perhaps the assistance of a certain handsome detective, Kathleen is determined to find out who kill Agatha Shepherd, an elderly woman who seems to have helped almost everyone in town at one time or another. Someone is hiding dark secrets, and it will take a bit of fur-tive investigating to catch the coldhearted killer.”

This book takes place in winter and in winter in Minnesota is super cold – not that I’ve ever been there – but the way the author writes about the cold chilled me to my bones!! Of course, the fact that there was a cold-blooded killer on the loose didn’t help! No, the book didn’t scare me but who the murderer turned out to be surprised me big time! Owen and Hercules do help Kathleen solve the mystery and Owen does his part in saving his person’s life (he did the same in the first book.) I wish I could make myself invisible!

Rating 4 out of 5 paws for being a fun (if you can call a murder mystery fun) and, at times, humorous story of a determined librarian and her equally determined feline companions.

Reviewer: BobbieSue

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat
Magical Cats: Book 1

Sofie Kelly
Obsidian, 2011

From the back of the book: “When Kathleen Paulson leaves her life in Boston and moves to Mayville Heights, Minnesota, she has no idea that two strays will nuzzle their way into her life. Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction, and Hercules is a stocky tuxedo cat who shares Kathleen’s fondness for Barry Manilow. But beyond all the furs and purrs, there seems to be something more to these felines.

“When murder interrupts Mayville’s Wild Rose Summer Music Festival, Kathleen finds herself the prime suspect. More stunning is her realization that Owen and Hercules are truly special—perhaps even magical. Suddenly she’s relying on their skills to solve this crime and save her reputation. With a little legwork from her four-legged friends, Kathleen may be able to solve this purr-fect murder….”

I love reading books that have both cats and libraries in them!! Its so much like home! In this new-to-LoC cozy mystery series, Kathleen is a librarian who not only adopts two semi-feral cats but helps the local veterinarian take care of a feral cat colony! The two cats, Owen and Hercules, do have magical powers – Hercules can walk through solid doors and Owen can make himself invisible! Both of these talents help their human solve mysteries and keep her from getting killed by the murderers she uncovers.

This book does a good job of laying the foundation for what should be a good series of mysteries for me to read. I enjoyed it and if I had been paying close attention I might’ve had a better idea of who the murderer was, but I wasn’t and I didn’t so I was quite surprise when it turned out to be — – ha! You thought I’d tell you who! I’m not offering any spoilers because I want you to enjoy this little cozy.

Rating 4 out of 5 paws for surprising me with who the murderer was – someone I didn’t even suspect at all!

Reviewer: BobbieSue

Buy a Whisker

Buy a Whisker
Second Chance Cat: Book 2

Sofie Ryan
Obsidian, 2015

From the back of the book, “Things have been quiet in the coastal town of North Harbor, Maine, since Sara Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis, solved their first murder. Sarah is happy running Second Chance, the shop where she sells lovingly refurbished and repurposed items. But then she gets dragged into a controversy over developing the waterfront. Most of the residents – including Sarah – are for it, but there is one holdout: baker Lily Carter.

“So, when Lily is found murdered in her bakery, it looks like somebody wanted to remove the only obstacle to the development. But Sarah soon discovers that nothing is as simple as it seems. Now, with the help of her cat’s uncanny ability to detect a lie, Sarah is narrowing down the suspects. Can she collar the culprit before the ruthless killer pounces again?”

Yes, of course she can!! She wouldn’t be our hero if she couldn’t. This 2^nd book of the series had me stumped for a while – and the reason why the murder happened isn’t what it seemed at all. There is a large cast of reoccurring characters – 8 in all, not including the lie-detector cat, so there’s plenty of plot-line development which makes for a very good series but definitely not stand-alone books.  But, all in all, the many plot twists and turns as well as some fantastic ideas on repurposing junk make for a very quick and easy read. Elvis is pretty cool, too!

Rating: 4 out of 5 paws for a relaxing cozy murder mystery. Easily read at one sitting if you have the time – and its worth making time for!

Reviewer: BobbieSue

The Whole Cat and Caboodle

The Whole Cat and Caboodle
A Second Chance Cat Mystery: Book 1

Sofie Ryan
Obsidian, 2014

From the back of the book, “Sarah Grayson is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop, she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project as far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis.

“Elvis has seen nine lives – and then some. The big black cat with a scar across his nose turned up at a local bar when the band was playing the King of Rock and Roll’s music, and he hopped into Sarah’s truck. Since then, he’s been her constant companion and the furry favorite of everyone who comes into the store.

“But when Sarah’s elderly friend, Maddie is found with the body of a dead man in her garden, the kindly old lady becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Even Sarah’s old high school flame, investigator Nick Elliot seems convinced that Maddie was up to no good. So it’s up to Sarah and Elvis to clear her friend’s name and make sure the real murderer doesn’t get a second chance.”

You may or may not remember a few weeks ago I posted a review of The Fast and The Furriest, which happened to be number 5 in this series of books and I admitted how confused I was in the beginning because the whole cast of characters (and there’s a lot of them) had a long background story and how they became friends and solved other mysteries together. I gave that book a 3 out of 5 paws because the book was unable to stand on its own, even though I did like the mystery. Well, now that I’ve read the first in the series, I am better able to understand the character involvement and what makes them tick. That understanding doesn’t change my rating of the other book, but it does make me like it more.

What the book publisher’s blurb doesn’t tell you is that Sarah has a group of friends, ‘ladies of a certain age’ who consider themselves detectives and help to solve the mystery. The suspect list wasn’t long but I surely didn’t think it was going to be who it turned out to be. I enjoyed reading about Sarah’s shop and how she remade/repurposed various items to sell. It makes me want to be a shop cat along with Elvis. And, speaking of Elvis, his particular talent is being able to tell when someone is lying. That could be a good skill to have – especially when your human comes home and tells you the store was out of cat food and you’ll have to eat scrambled eggs instead. (Not that my human would do such a thing!) Anyway, I like the book a lot and am looking forward to the next three so I can get caught up with Elvis and his people!!

Rating: 4 out of 5 books for a good cozy mystery that kept my interest from start to finish!!

Reviewer: BobbieSue