Description (from cover):'Sarah Grayson is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop, she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project so far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis.
Elvis has seen nine lives--and then some. The big black cat with a scar across his nose turned up at a local bar when the band was playing the King of Rock and Roll's music and hopped in Sarah's truck. Since then, he's been her constant companion and the furry favorite of everyone who comes into the store.
But when Sarah's elderly friend Maddie is found with the body of a dead man in her garden, the kindly old lady becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Even Sarah's old high school flame, investigator Nick Elliot, seems convinced that Maddie was up to no good. So it's up to Sarah and Elvis to clear her friend's name and make sure the real murderer doesn't get a second chance."
My thoughts:
I haven't read this author before and I know she has the widely acclaimed Magical Cats series and when I saw that she was starting a new series, I decided that I would give this author a shot. This book started a little slowly, but soon I was flipping through the pages in a trance. I will say that this is one of the smarter cozy mysteries that I have read. The main character seems to have a lot of sense and doesn't seem to find herself in a lot of scrapes that other cozy mystery characters seem to get themselves into. I appreciated the main character's intelligence. For some reason, a lot of cozy characters seem to sometimes make some very dumb decisions. Of course, it's all for the plot, but sometimes a character and make smart decisions and make the mystery still very intriguing. Not every character has to play the damsel in distress.
That was the case with this one. I wasn't appalled by the character's lack of common sense and I enjoyed the friends that she had as well. Of course, there is the budding romance, but it was tastefully done and not over dramatized. I am curious about the cat in this book as I think there is something that is a little different about Elvis, but I am sure that the author is saving that for a little later on in the series. I typically don't really enjoy cat mysteries as I am not a huge fan of them in real life (Yes, I am dog girl), but this author made Elvis' character quite charming and I wasn't put off by it at all.
I can see why this author has a lot of fans. She is a fantastic writer and gets straight to the point. I appreciate those types of authors a lot. Sometimes the reader can be overwhelmed with too much back story and get lost in what the author is trying to get across. Not the case with this one. I couldn't put it down and I really am excited to see where the series is going next. I can't wait to see how Sarah and Elvis solve the next crime in the small town of New Harbor, Maine. A charming read you don't want to miss.
Overall Rating: 4.5
Title: The Whole Cat and Caboodle
Author: Sofie Ryan
Series: Second Chance Cat Mystery #1
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: April 1, 2014
Pages: 336
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was selected from the library by myself and I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
