The Cats Came Back

Magical Cats Mystery, Book #10

By Sofie Kelly

ISBN#9780399584596

Author Website: sofiekelly(.)com

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

Synopsis:

Small-town librarian Kathleen Paulson often seems to gets mixed up in murder, but luckily, her very special cats always find a way to help her close a case . . .

The charming Minnesota town of Mayville Heights is hosting a music festival, and the whole place is bustling with musicians and tourists. Kathleen is looking forward to taking in some fabulous performances–and her two cats, Owen and Hercules, are looking forward to taking in some fabulous sardine crackers. But then the trio stumbles across a dead body by the river.

The victim is a close friend–who also happens to be a look-alike of a popular cabaret singer set to perform at the festival. Who could have wanted to harm this innocent girl? Was it a case of mistaken identity?

As accusations abound and suspicions swirl, Kathleen, Hercules and Owen will put their abilities–both mundane and magical–to the test, and lay down the paw. (Goodreads)

Review:

In this tenth installment in the Magical Cats Mystery series, local librarian Kathleen finds herself in the midst of another murder investigation when she and her cats discover the body of a cabaret singer’s assistant in town for the music festival.  Kelly hits all the right notes to make The Cats Came Back a stellar entry in the long running series sure to please any fan of cozy mysteries.

Kathleen is a likable, intelligent and feisty character.  Everything she does serves a purpose, and though she finds herself in dangerous situations at times, I never feel she is one of those protagonists that are “too stupid to live”.  Her relationship with her magical cats is my favorite aspect of the series, and Kelly keeps Hercules and Owen’s abilities pretty low key, making them relatively believable. I also enjoy the small town setting and the supporting characters.  Kathleen’s boyfriend Marcus, her neighbors, fellow librarians, and family are quirky yet relatable.

Since the victim, Miranda, is tied to the music festival, I expected there to be more action and attention at the festival, but almost the entire story takes place away from the festival.  The mystery surrounding Miranda’s death is engaging, and I read the entire book in one sitting. There are several viable suspects and enough twists and clues to keep me guessing for most of the book.  The addition of Kathleen’s friend’s wedding and Kathleen’s daily activities round out the tale without it becoming tedious.

I adore Hercules and Owen and cannot wait to see what happens when Kathleen finally shares their abilities with Marcus.  The Cats Came Back is a fun, lighthearted mystery full of fun characters.  It can be read as part of the series or as a standalone book.  Highly recommended.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*