Book 64, 2017

Stayed up late last night to finish reading Cat Trick by Sofie Kelly. It's the fourth book in her "Magical Cats" mystery series.

The residents and businesses of Mayville Heights are hoping to convince Legacy Tours to add their town to its listing of vacation packages. It should be a lock, considering local-boy-turned-big-city-big-shot, Mike Glazer, is back in Mayville, representing Legacy. However, he's no longer the affable young man he used to be. Instead, Glazer is abrasive, and it seems everyone in town has a run-in with him. It's shocking, but not surprising, when Glazer turns up dead.

This time around, Kathleen promises herself, and her beau, Detective Marcus Gordon, that she will not interfere in the murder investigation. However, Kathleen finds herself drawn into the middle of it when both of her cats begin nosing around, and some local residents ask her to "look into it". Working at the library puts Kathleen in a position where she can subtly ask people about their dealings with Glazer and what he was like before he left town years before. All she finds out is that he used to be well-liked, but that almost everyone had a bone to pick with him over his recent dealings. Kathleen can't help but think there's something she's missing, and it may not be tied to the town of Mayville Heights at all. In the meantime, her meddling strains her relationship with Marcus, leaving Kathleen to wonder if she should renew her contract with the library when it's up, or if she should just return home to Boston.

The book was engrossing, and the pace moved along. I always enjoy reading about Kathleen's day to day life, in conjunction with her sleuthing. Her cats are utterly adorable, and it was nice to reconnect with familiar characters. My only complaint is that I don't feel I (as the reader) was given a fair chance to figure out who the murderer was.

Favorite line: "Could we just keep the doors locked and maybe stay here and eat muffins all morning?"
That gets my vote!

Very good story, with likable characters. Five stars:

*****

Book 65, 2017

Spent a portion of the day reading Ghost Soldier, which is the second installment of the e-series "Ghost Files". This one was written by Evelyn Klebert.

Well. I could tell the author changed. The characters remained the same, but she didn't write them with the same panache as the previous authors. It began in first person pov again (Monty's pov), but a few chapters switched to third person pov to follow Ellen. Just, no.

While on vacation in New Orleans, Monty and Ellen are asked to come to a military base to investigate an allegedly haunted house. Ellen is taken aback at the sheer level of activity in the home, and her reticence makes Monty nervous, too. Ellen learns that there is an entity that is entrapping and feeding on the energy of other lost souls, and it's up to her and Monty to break the hold the creature has over the others.

This story was more creepy than the first one, and I missed Monty's wit. Klebert tried to keep both characters in-character, but she fell short. Still, the plot was engrossing, and I liked how Monty and Ellen worked together.

Favorite line: When I become the last hope, the odds aren't always so good.

In a word, disappointing. Three stars:

***