Book 60, 2018

Faux Paw by Sofie Kelly

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I finished reading Faux Paw on Thursday night. It's part of Sofie Kelly's "Magical Cats" mystery series, starring small town librarian Kathleen Paulson and her two rescue cats, Owen and Hercules.

The Mayville Heights library is getting ready to host an art exhibition, featuring prominent works from artists in the midwest, along with a few select pieces from local artists. It's exciting, but it would be more enjoyable if the curator, Margo Walsh, wasn't such an overbearing perfectionist. When Kathleen finds the woman murdered and the exhibition's most valuable piece of art missing, it's going to be difficult to determine not who had motive, but who didn't.

Kathleen wants the killer brought to justice, but she also just wants her library back. For those reasons, she isn't reluctant to conduct a stealthy investigation of her own, which includes calling in some favors in exchange for information. In the meantime, she finds herself deflecting the flirtations of Gavin Solomon, who was brought in as the security consultant for the exhibition. Kathleen's boyfriend, Detective Marcus Gordon, gets jealous, but so does Kathleen when he begins spending extra time with his ex, fellow Detective Hope Lind. Fortunately, they are able to talk things through.

As usual with these books, I liked reading about Kathleen's everyday life, not just her job and the investigation. She has carved out a life for herself in Mayville Heights, and she loves the town, the library, and her friends.

Favorite line: "Just because you get the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town."

Wonderful story. I had some things figured out, but not all of them. Looking forward to the next installment. Five stars:

*****