Review: Cat With a Clue

Cat With a Clue by Laurie Cass

Minnie arrives at work one morning, and as she is shelving book, stumbles onto a woman lying dead on the floor.  Soon after, the library, the bookmobile and a local shop are vandalized.  Is the murder connected to the vandalism? Minnie and Eddie find themselves once again looking for a killer.

Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but I rounded up to 4 because of Eddie. Although enjoyable, it meandered a bit (ok, maybe more than a bit) in the middle.  I think there was too many other things going on that distracted from the plot; the search for a new library director, Kristin’s insecurities, her aunt’s strange behavior, it was a bit too much packed into one book.

I love that Minnie is such a book nerd, it makes her more relatable to me than anything else.

“I breathed deep, drawing my favorite smell into my lungs: books.  Flowers were all well and good, but what could compare to the scent of stories, of knowledge, of learning, of history?”

And, of course, there’s Eddie. He’s the star of the show, (mrr!) and he knows it.  There’s a note at the beginning of the book that the real Eddie passed away earlier this year. How very sad.  RIP Eddie *sad mrr*

There were a few things that puzzled me.  How come the third  applicant reacted as he did when he met Minnie? And what was with Eddie and the flowers?  And why couldn’t Minnie still drive the bookmobile if she was director? If she was able to be the acting director of the library and still drive the bookmobile, then why couldn’t she work things out as director?  Hmm.

Overall, I enjoyed Cat with a Clue, but I do think this would’ve been better with fewer plot threads.  This book can be read as a standalone, and I and recommend the series to cozy mystery fans looking for a light read.

Cat with a Clue is available at book retailers, or at Amazon | Barnes & Noble.

 

Series: A Bookmobile Cat Mystery #5 Rating: ★★★★✰ 4 stars Publisher: NAL/Penguin Group Publication Date: August 2, 2016 Genre: Cozy Mystery

Format: Paperback, Kindle, ePub Language: English ISBN-13: 978-0451476555 ASIN: B01839Q3Y6 Reviewer: Tam (Mystereity Reviews)