Author: Laurie Cass
Publisher: Penguin/Random House
344 pages
Cozy Mystery
Yes, another cat cozy mystery! I'm seriously addicted! This time, I was pulled in by the mix of books and a cat. What's not to love?
Minerva Hamilton, known as Minnie, is a librarian in Chilson, Michigan. She lives on a houseboat with her rescue cat, Eddie. Minnie is excited about driving the library's new Bookmobile, but on the first day, she finds the body of a local businessman and philanthropist behind a rural farmhouse. In fact, the dead man gave the library the funds to purchase the Bookmobile. Minnie Eddie are on the case! Who killed the library's main benefactor? And, will they decide to take out Minnie too because she's asking questions?
I enjoyed this book! The main character is likeable, and the story wasn't the same old formula where the girl is smitten with a local cop investigating the murder. In fact, Minnie spent more time annoyed at the local police.
The one problem I had was this: Eddie went with Minnie inside the Bookmobile every Saturday. The author mentioned a list of items she took on the bookmobile for Eddie: food, water, blankets, toys....but never was it mentioned that Minnie brought a LITTERBOX. Now, Eddie can't have gone along on Bookmobile days and never had to relieve himself. The main character kept saying how concerned she was that her boss would find out that Eddie had been on the Bookmobile truck.....and she described bringing his supplies and cleaning up the cat hair afterwards. But where was Eddie going potty on these all day trips?? As a cat owner and booklover, the fact that she never mentioned stowing a cat box inside a cupboard or something when everything other cat supply brought for Eddie was outlined in detail.....well, it bugged me a bit. Either Eddie was wee-weeing in a corner somewhere.....or a little detail was left out. :) Not a huge glaring error.....but it did pull me out of the story several times when I had to wonder why the author listed all this Eddie gear, but never mentioned having to bring along cat litter, or a cat box, or having to clean up spilled litter etc after Bookmobile days. If she hadn't gone into detail about vacuuming up cat hair, or the other Eddie-related stuff she had to bring on the truck, I wouldn't have noticed the lack of kitty commode.
But, the question of Eddie's bathroom habits didn't ruin the story for me. This was a great, easy cozy read. I love reading these kitschy cozy mysteries in the wintertime when it's too cold to be outdoors most of the time. Quick, light reads. :)
My rating: 7/10
Ages 10+
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