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Scaredy Cat by Sofie Ryan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I finished reading Scaredy Cat by Sofie Ryan last night. It's the tenth installment in her "Second Chance Cat" series of cozy mysteries, featuring secondhand store owner Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis.

Sarah is looking forward to a fun afternoon touring historical homes in North Harbor with her friend, Michelle. While the two of them are exploring Gladstone House, a local B&B, they come across a dead body. The victim was Mark Steele, a television personality whose forte was exposing hoax hauntings. Gladstone House is rumored to be haunted, although the owner, Annie Hastings, has never advertised it. Steele had been jonesing to feature Gladstone House in an episode of his show and been turned down. Repeatedly. That leaves Sarah wondering what the man was doing in the house and more importantly, who killed him there? Steele's producer hires Charlotte's Angels, the group of senior citizen investigators, to look into the matter. Since the Angels operate out of her store, Sarah gets dragged into the drama as well. She's just as eager to solve the mystery as the rest of them are.

This was an interesting premise. We didn't even meet the victim until he was dead, which was unusual. I enjoyed reading about how the Angels used their combined talents and contacts to put the puzzle together. I also liked that a good portion of the book was dedicated to Sarah's work and recreation; it wasn't all about the investigation. Some authors focus on the investigation to the exclusion of everything else, leading me to wonder how the main character can keep her (or his) job.

Favorite lines:
♦ "You're the kind of person who imagines the characters in a story continue with their lives even though you've gotten to the end of the book."
♦ "We didn't take a vote. And more importantly, we didn't have tea and cake so I don't think it's binding."
♦ "Family are the people you love who love you back."

Very good, with lots of surprises. Five stars.

Undercover Kitty by Sofie Ryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Finished my latest book right at bedtime last night. Woo! It was Undercover Kitty by Sofie Ryan, which is the 8th book in the "Second Chance Cat" cozy mystery series. Sarah Grayson is the main character, and the story is told in her pov.

When the Angels, a detective agency comprised of Sarah's senior citizen friends, are hired to find out who's been sabotaging cat shows in the area, Sarah is talked into entering her cat, Elvis, as a contestant to provide cover for the Angels' sleuthing. Elvis seems more pleased with the prospect than Sarah does, but she goes along with it. What began as annoying pranks escalates into murder when one of the show volunteers is killed. At first it doesn't seem there's any correlation, but Sarah is convinced that the sabotage and the murder are connected. Now the Angels have two cases on their hands, but they are determined to get to the bottom of things.

I do enjoy these stories. I like that Sarah spends plenty of time at work in her second-hand shop, socializing with friends, and going about her other daily activities. It was delightful to reconnect with familiar characters and meet new ones. The only character I've taken truck with lately in these books is Rose. Initially, I found her charming, but in the past few books in the series, she comes across as condescending, smug, and almost rude. I enjoyed that the plot of this one featured cat shows. I figured out who the killer was rather early, but it was interesting to see Sarah put the pieces together.

Favorite lines:
♥ "You can keep a secret, right?" // "Absolutely. More than once I've kept the secret that there was leftover coffee cake in the staff room."
♥ "Are you trying to get my cat to like you with tiny, smelly fish?" // "Of course not. He already likes me. I'm trying to get his owner to like me with tiny, smelly fish."

Overall, very good. Four stars.

No Escape Claws by Sofie Ryan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This afternoon, I completed the book No Escape Claws, which is the sixth installment in author Sofie Ryan's "Second Chance Cat" mystery series. The story is told in first-person pov by the main character, Sarah Grayson.

Sarah is busy running her secondhand shop, taking care of her cat, Elvis, and missing Mac, who's been in Boston to settle some family affairs. Her routine is knocked off-kilter when a young woman comes to the shop, asking the quirky senior citizen detectives, the Angels, to investigate her stepmother's death. Mallory's father is in prison for negligence in conjunction with Gina's death, but Mallory doesn't believe he left Gina to die in a house fire. Soon, Sarah finds herself caught up in the investigation, and the biggest question seems to be: who would benefit from Gina's death?

I enjoyed the story. Sarah is reluctant at first to get involved in what seemed to be an open and shut case, but as she and the Angels uncover more clues, it becomes more and more apparent that Mike Pearson has been wrongly convicted. As with other books by this author, I appreciate the fact that the entire narrative isn't consumed with the investigation. Sarah goes to work, socializes with friends and family, and hangs with her cat.

Favorite lines:
♦ "I'm not certain but I believe it was pickle flavor."
♦ "Some people can talk to the dead. I can find cake."

Very good, five stars

This afternoon, I finished reading Telling Tails by Sofie Ryan. It's part of her "Second Chance Cat" mystery series.

Sarah's friend and employee, Rose, takes it upon herself to deliver a purchase to a customer. She ends up in the hospital, after being struck on the head and falling unconscious. When Sarah rushes to the hospital to visit her, Rose claims she saw their customer's dead body being dragged through his home before she was knocked out. It's an incredible tale, and Rose gets her dander up when she feels no one believes her. She enlists the aid of her fellow senior citizens to investigate. Sarah is dragged into the investigation once again, as is her rescue cat, Elvis. The man's wife claims he cleaned out their bank account and left her for another woman. Now the question is, did someone murder him, or did he fake his own death?

Characterizations were well done, even Elvis, and the plot was convoluted and interesting. I would have enjoyed the story more, however, if Rose hadn't acted like a petulant child. I guess the best way to indicate you're angry at your friends for wondering if you're a doddering old woman is to act like a spoiled brat by throwing them out of your hospital room and refusing to speak to them. I like feisty old ladies in stories, but not when they behave like precocious, sullen toddlers. I'm also not liking that the author seems to be waffling now on a love interest for Sarah.

Favorite line: "Sometimes people make a commitment and they mean it when they make it, but after awhile they find out they just don't have what it takes to keep it."

Still a little perturbed with Rose in this one, but I'll give it a four:

****

I started this book "last year", and I finished it last night. It was Buy a Whisker, which is the second book in author Sofie Ryan's "Second Chance Cat" mystery series.

Sarah Grayson is enjoying her return to her home town of North Harbor, especially now that her secondhand shop is doing well. Winter is a slow season, however, with fewer tourists in town. A company wants to develop the waterfront of North Harbor, and most people in town are looking forward to an increase in tourists and revenue. The lone holdout is Lily Carter, who refuses to sell her bakery, even though she is the victim of harassment and pranks.

When Sarah goes to Lily's bakery early one morning, she finds Lily dead at the bottom of her stairs. Police soon rule the death a homicide, and Sarah's friend Liz is questioned in conjunction with the crime, because she and Lily had an argument. That's all the excuse that Sarah's other senior friends need to delve into investigating. While they're busy looking into financials, Sarah can't help but think that Lily's death had less to do with the development and more to do with the disappearance of her abusive boyfriend. His family never got closure, and they suspected that Lily knew more than she was telling them.

In addition to her own sleuthing, Sarah is busy with her shop, keeping up with friends, and juggling her attraction to two different men in her life.

Good story, enjoyable characters, and an interesting plot. Of course, I adored Sarah's cat, Elvis. He's quite the character on his own!

Favorite line: I was arguing with a cat. A cat! And who was I kidding? He was winning.

Four stars:

****