Book 90, 2021

Checking Out Crime by Laurie Cass

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I finished reading Checking Out Crime by Laurie Cass last night. It's the 9th book in her "Bookmobile Cat" mystery series. The main characters are bookmobile librarian Minnie Hamilton, and her rescue cat Eddie.

As Minnie is piloting the bookmobile on its way home one evening, she's almost run off the road by a speeding car. Rounding a curve, Minnie discovers someone lying in the road. What seems at first like a simple case of hit-and-run becomes more complicated when the medical examiner determines the victim was killed by a blow to the head. Within a week, there's another murder, leaving the entire town of Chilson on edge. The only thing the victims had in common was their mutual love of bicycling and the fact that each of them was well-liked in the community. As Minnie is drawn into the investigation, she learns that the victims had more in common than originally thought, and that the murderer may have other victims in mind.

In addition to looking into the recent crime wave, Minnie has other issues to deal with. Winter is fast approaching, which means she'll have to relocate from the houseboat she's been living on. Normally, she moves into her aunt's boarding house each winter, but Aunt Frances no longer owns the boarding house. The house that Minnie's fiance, Rafe, has been renovating forever isn't ready, and her friends and family are side-eyeing her over the fact that Rafe has not yet bought her a ring. One of her co-workers is having relationship woes and wants Minnie's advice, and her BFF, Kristen, who's a snowbird, is getting ready to flee for warmer climes. On top of that, Minnie's boss wants her to expand the bookmobile hours, but Minnie is having trouble with scheduling. At least Eddie is a solid, dependable, annoying presence in her life.

A delightful story! Minnie is a wonderful character, well-loved by everyone, and relentlessly cheerful. The supporting cast is excellent, and I am always pleased to reconnect with them. The author does a wonderful job of bringing familiar characters back, as well as introducing new ones. While Minnie is serious about looking into the murders, that's not the be-all and end-all of the story; she works, socializes, and spends quality time with her cat.

Favorite lines:
♦ Cats were better than any creature on earth for expressions that, if the universe were created in a slightly different manner, would reduce the object of those expressions to smoking rubble.
♦ "This sauce. It tastes like carp." // "Don't you mean crap?" // "No, I do not. It tastes like it belongs on fish."
♦ Cat purrs did wonders to soothe the soul.
♦ I did some mental math, frowning all the while because that's what math did to my face.

A fun cozy, five stars!