Book 65, 2024

Purrfect Obsession by Nic Saint

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I finished Purrfect Obsession, by Nic Saint, in the wee hours this morning. This is the 10th book in the "Mysteries of Max" series of cozy cay mysteries. Main characters are cat Max, his friends, and his human, Odelia.

Odelia is delighted to have been cast to play the lead in a summer Shakespeare production in Hampton Cove. Things sour quickly, however, when her understudy is murdered during rehearsal. Odelia's boyfriend, Detective Chase Kingsley, can't help but notice how much alike Odelia and Dany looked. When members of Odelia's family, including one of her cats, experience several near misses, her grandmother Vesta is convinced someone is targeting the family. Odelia tabs her cats to do some investigating, but not all is well among them. Harriet is angry at Brutus, thinking he's been cheating on her with another cat. Max is run ragged trying to question other animals around town about the murder while trying to play mediator between Harriet and Brutus. All of that fades to background noise, however, when Odelia is injured in an accident.

I'd like to read one of these books where some random cat does not cause trouble between the core group of cats. Please? Again, I question just how much (or little) the author knows about cats, because Brutus slogged into a pond and nearly drowned since he can't swim. Cats can certainly swim! They may not like to, but they can do it. It seemed there was less time devoted to the murder mystery in this one, what with the cat drama (again!) and the incidents that keep befalling Odelia and her family. The ending was over the top, too.

Favorite lines:
♦ "You know I'm the girlfriend. Though not for much longer. In fact I'm officially handing the girlfriend baton to you. And I sincerely hope you choke on it."
♦ Even in the depths of despair, Brutus wasn't the kind of cat to take his own life. Probably because he knows he'd have to repeat the procedure nine times, and who wants to be bothered?
♦ I should probably warn you that in this family, nobody ever knocks. People just come barging in whenever they please.

The story was okay, earning it an average score of three.