Book 20, 2017
Jan. 27th, 2017 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chez_jaeI stayed up far later than I should have last night (this morning!) to finish reading Words With Fiends. It's the third installment in author Ali Brandon's "Black Cat Bookshop" mystery series.
Bookstore owner Darla Pettistone is concerned when the shop's mascot, a large black cat named Hamlet, doesn't seem to be himself. He isn't terrorizing customers or knocking things off of shelves, like he normally does. Darla bites the bullet and hires a behavioral specialist to come in to see Hamlet. In the meantime, Darla and her young employee, Robert, are taking self-defense classes at a local dojo. When they go to the dojo early on a Sunday, they find their sensei in dire straits. Master Tomlinson is pronounced DOA at the hospital, and Darla finds herself at the epicenter of another murder investigation.
There doesn't seem to be a shortage of suspects, from the sensei's seemingly callous wife, to his two stepsons, to the student he argued with earlier in the week. Darla vows to stay out of it this time, but when Hamlet begins knocking books off of shelves again, books that seem pertinent to the murder investigation, Darla is unwittingly drawn into the search for clues.
The story moved along at a rapid pace. There were several subplots, including Robert's desire to adopt Master Tomlinson's dog, Roma, the case that Darla's PI friend, Jake, is working on, and Darla's preparation to compete in a karate tournament. I was able to figure out who dunnit, but not until late in the book.
Favorite line: "Cats have their own code of honor, you know."
Fascinating, fast story. Five stars!
*****
Bookstore owner Darla Pettistone is concerned when the shop's mascot, a large black cat named Hamlet, doesn't seem to be himself. He isn't terrorizing customers or knocking things off of shelves, like he normally does. Darla bites the bullet and hires a behavioral specialist to come in to see Hamlet. In the meantime, Darla and her young employee, Robert, are taking self-defense classes at a local dojo. When they go to the dojo early on a Sunday, they find their sensei in dire straits. Master Tomlinson is pronounced DOA at the hospital, and Darla finds herself at the epicenter of another murder investigation.
There doesn't seem to be a shortage of suspects, from the sensei's seemingly callous wife, to his two stepsons, to the student he argued with earlier in the week. Darla vows to stay out of it this time, but when Hamlet begins knocking books off of shelves again, books that seem pertinent to the murder investigation, Darla is unwittingly drawn into the search for clues.
The story moved along at a rapid pace. There were several subplots, including Robert's desire to adopt Master Tomlinson's dog, Roma, the case that Darla's PI friend, Jake, is working on, and Darla's preparation to compete in a karate tournament. I was able to figure out who dunnit, but not until late in the book.
Favorite line: "Cats have their own code of honor, you know."
Fascinating, fast story. Five stars!
*****
