The Cat, The Collector and the Killer
A Cats In Trouble Mystery
by Leann Sweeney
File Size: 2509 KB
Print Length: 302 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0451477405
Publisher: NAL (August 2, 2016)
ASIN: B01839Q396
Genre: Cozy Mystery
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0
In the latest mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Cat, the Sneak and the Secret, a cat collector is suspected of murder.
Jillian Hart and police chief Tom Stewart are enjoying peaceful, newly wedded bliss in Mercy, South Carolina, until a woman is found wandering the streets one night. She's in her night clothes, disoriented, and carrying a kitten in a tote bag. A search of the woman’s house reveals many more cats, a maze of cardboard boxes—and a dead man.
Although the evidence suggests the frail woman is the killer, Jillian doesn’t believe she’s capable of such a crime. The dead man had many enemies in town, which means finding the real murderer may prove to be its own cat and mouse game...
Review:
Jillian is enjoying her newly married life with Tom. Tom is acting police chief in a small town. Jillian makes cat quilts and cares for her many cats plus the one that Tom brought to the house.
The local animal sanctuary owner, Shawn, calls early one morning asking for Tom’s help. Shawn had been called to come rescue some cats that had gotten out of a neighbor’s house. The cats belonged to Minnie, a widowed lady who collected cats (not a hoarder, though). Shawn was concerned that he couldn’t reach Minnie on the phone but he was afraid to go to her house alone. His reluctance was due to a restraining order obtained against Shawn by his nemesis, Chester, the county animal control officer.
Jillian offers to go with Shawn and they arrived to discover the cats outside and the house open. When they went in, looking for Minnie, they found a dead body instead. Not only that but the house, although clean and orderly, is jammed with boxes of purchased items. A confused Minnie is later found wandering downtown in her nightgown with a kitten in her bag.
Jillian is called in by the hospital to try to get Minnie to release the kitten. Jillian meets the lady psychologist who is trying to help Minnie who has become the prime suspect in the murder. Squabbling family members appear and the lady doctor is in a bad accident. Jillian is determined to prove Minnie’s innocence and to figure out the mystery of the boxes and her new friend’s accident, which wasn’t so accidental after all. Jillian needs to sort out the clues, while taking care of the cats, and keeping herself out of trouble if she can.
I found Jillian, Tom and the secondary characters to be lovely, natural people. The plot provides a couple of suspects and although the clues lead to a fairly clear conclusion there are some twists that are a good reveal late in the story. Of course I liked the cat elements and Jillian’s cat camera to check on her furry babies when she was out of the house for a long time.
The story reads easily and lives up to the genre of “cozy mystery”. This is apparently an eighth book in the series but read fine as a stand-alone. I liked it enough to want to get earlier books to enjoy when I want a light, quick cozy read. I do recommend this to readers who enjoy cozy mysteries… and cats!
I received this title through NetGalley for an honest review. It was a Promo/review reach out from Lori at Great Escapes Book Tours. This qualifies for my NetGalley Challenge.
