COZY MYSTERY: The Whole Cat and Caboodle by Sofie Ryan

THE WHOLE CAT AND CABOODLE

A Second Chance Cat Mystery

by Sofie Ryan

Obsidian, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-451-41994-1

Source: purchased

All opinions expressed are solely my own.

ABOUT 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 so 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 hopped in 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.

REVIEW

I seem to have a particular delight in mysteries involving cats.  Maybe because they are so mysterious themselves, but I do enjoy these.  And I most certainly enjoyed this one.  Sarah is a fun character with her re-purposed shop.  Elvis is a great cat character with his abilities to communicate and make friends with almost anyone.  Sarah's friends, who call themselves Charlie's Angels once the mystery picks up, are delightful rascals that Sarah struggles to keep in check.  But Sarah can't help but be drawn into the mystery of who really killed Arther Fenety because she knows Maddie couldn't have done it.  Still, there seems to be something that Maddie is hiding and there seems to be people with motive everywhere she turns.  When Maddie is arrested the investigation steps up and Sarah finds herself doing more investigating that she ever planned.  There is also just a touch of romance to liven things up.  One of the things that I love about cozy mysteries are the relationships between the different characters and I was not disappointed at all here.  Sarah and her friends make for an entertaining and enjoyable group to read about. Definitely going to read the next books in the series.