Book 83, 2023

Gone but Not Furgotten: by Cate Conte

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



After cleaning house (which never not sucks but was made much worse by how ghastly hot it is), I finished reading Gone but Not Furgotten by Cate Conte. It's the 6th book in her "Cat Cafe" mystery series, starring Maddie James and her rescue cat, JJ.

Maddie is getting ready for an influx of visitors during the busy tourist season on Daybreak Island. Concerned that she's stressing too much, her friend Cass encourages Maddie to attend one of his retreats and also take up meditation. Cass also brings a potential cat hoarding situation to Maddie's attention. When they travel to the nearby small town of Fisherman's Cove, they find the home owner, Laurel, dead at the bottom of her steps...and dozens of cats roaming the property. In the midst of trying to remove the cats, Maddie encounters several locals, including people who'd argued with Laurel about the cats. Maddie is beginning to wonder if Laurel's death was no accident. When someone else is murdered and suspicion falls on Cass, Maddie takes it upon herself to start investigating. She enlists the help of her grandfather, who's a licensed PI, and her BFF Becky, who's the editor of the island's newspaper. It's all hands on deck to solve a murder or two and save the cats.

This was an enjoyable story, and I powered through it rather quickly. I liked that the narrative went from active investigation to cat rescue to Maddie at home. Characters were relatable and real, including the various animals. I guessed the killer early. Woo! However, there were a couple editing errors that threw me out of the story:( Spoilers )

Favorite lines:
♦ "What's her name again?" If he'd told me, I couldn't remember. If he'd told me the cats' names, though, I'd have remembered those.
♦ "I'm just really sensitive about how people look at cat caretakers. Anything over two usually gets you labeled with something derogatory."
♦ "If it wasn't for those silly cats, no one would have ever known." // Her words reminded me of the old Scooby Doo cartoon.

I'd award this 4.5 stars if I could. Given the editing issues, I'm knocking it down to four.

Book 84, 2023

Yarn to Go by Betty Hechtman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I was nearly done with my "spare" book, so I polished that one off today, too. It was Yarn to Go, which is the first book in the "Yarn Retreat" mystery series by Betty Hechtman. Narrative is in the first-person pov of main character Casey Feldstein.

Casey has bounced from one thing to another throughout her adult life, but she's currently working as a pastry chef on the Monterey Peninsula. When her beloved aunt Joan dies unexpectedly, it falls on Casey to host the final yarn retreat that Joan had planned. Casey knows nothing about knitting, but she steps up, determined to do her best. She ends up relying heavily on Kris, the woman who worked closely with Joan for the retreats. When one of their group ends up murdered in her hotel room, Casey draws on the limited skills she acquired working for a PI in one of her previous incarnations. Her efforts draw the ire of the police lieutenant in charge of the investigation and the manager of the hotel. The more Casey learns, however, the more she becomes convinced that Edie's death is connected to her aunt's. Now it's up to her to snag a killer and salvage her aunt's reputation.

The story was well-written; it simply wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not into fabric arts, but since Casey wasn't either, the reader got to learn along with her. To be honest, I grabbed the book because of the cat on the cover. He did play a role, albeit a very small one. I admired Casey's grit and tenacity, and it was lovely to see how everyone participating in the retreat bonded by the end of it. The worst part was when Casey's overbearing mother (and father) appeared on the scene, dragging her ex-boyfriend with, in an effort to get Casey to leave this retreat foolishness behind and do something mother-approved with her life. Is this a thing in real life? Do you or anyone you know have a mother who acts like this? I would hand my mother her head if she tried it. Just reading about it aggravates me.

Favorite line: Leave it to Edie; from beyond the grave she had managed to say the wrong thing.

The story was okay overall, but I'm not certain I'd read another in the series. Giving this one three stars.

( Trope Test )