Title: Cat Got Your Tongs
Series: Vintage Kitchen Mystery
By: Victoria Hamilton
ISBN: 9781966322030 (ISBN10: 1966322038
Website: http://www.victoriahamiltonmysteries.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
A perplexing murder on a local river leads Jaymie into uncharted waters in the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of Sieve and Let Die . . .
Despite the brutally cold winter, vintage cookware collector Jaymie Müller is happy to help out a friend by looking after a colony of cats while its caretakers are away. The location on a high bluff overlooking the St. Clair River makes for bone-chilling work, and her task takes on an air of menace when an elderly neighbor reports suspicious goings-on at the river. Jaymie’s inclined to dismiss the woman’s fears as the product of an overactive imagination, but it’s not long before she discovers a dead body there.
When it becomes clear the dead man was the victim of foul play, Jaymie turns to the older woman looking for more information. What she learns is that the river has long been used for illicit smuggling, and Jaymie suspects there was a falling out among thieves. But then mysterious clues begin turning up at the cat colony and another victim is found, and Jaymie realizes there’s something much more sinister behind the killings. And while cats may have nine lives, Jaymie has just one, and she discovers too late that she’s perilously close to losing it . . . (Goodreads)
Review:
What could be better than a cozy mystery? A cozy mystery with cats and kittens ☺ Cat Got Your Tongs by Victoria Hamilton has cats and is a cozy mystery. So this reader was very happy!
This 12th story in the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series begins with the main human protagonist, Jaymie Muller, taking on the task of looking after a friend’s colony of cats while they are away. Picture the weather as VERY unpleasant – snow and cold. This is not good for the cats, whom mainly live outdoors, though with some protection from the elements. While looking after the cats, it seems that some nefarious goings on are happening on the nearby river. And when one…make that two bodies show up dead… Jaymie feels compelled to dig a bit and find out what is going on. But will that be at her own peril?
I found that there was sufficient backstory on Jaymie to get a feel for this character, even without reading any of the previous books in the series. And really, the same goes for the supporting characters.
Jaymie has a tremendously busy life – preparing to open a business to sell her antique kitchen tools and kitsch, spearheading the annual Queen Victoria Tea in May and working part-time as well as looking after the cats and of course solving the mystery! Wow – I wonder how she is able to do all this? Answer – from the support of her loving family and friends. When things go a bit off – I was reading with baited breath hoping that Jaymie (and the cats of course) would be okay.
I would say that the mystery part of this cozy mystery was well crafted with many potential suspects as well as many twists and turns throughout the story.
If I had one criticism it would be that I was not overly fond of this cover art. In all of the previous books in the series, the dogs or cats pictured on the cover seemed to have cute or curious expressions but for this book – the main cat does not look inviting but angry or ready for a fight. Just did not appeal to me. However, if this is the only thing I do not like about the book, I can live with it ☺.
I enjoyed this story so much that I am going to put this series on my to be read list and go back to the beginning and start from book 1! If that isn’t proof that this reader enjoyed the book, I do not know what is. I did not include many of the details of the book as I do feel that one must read the book for themselves to fully appreciate the crime and how the protagonist solved the “whodunit”.
So, if you are a fan of cozy mysteries, enjoy reading about cats, and like a challenge figuring out “whodunit”, then cozy yourself up with plenty of time and get reading…and I sincerely hope you won’t be disappointed.
