Description (from cover):
'National bestselling author Carolyn Hart presents an original new novel about a woman with a curious ability that drops her headfirst into a world of intrigue and murder...
Ever since the death of her fiance, Nela Farley has found herself plagued by a sixth sense. She understands the thoughts of cats when she looks into their eyes. Nela knows that what she's experiencing is completely irrational and tries to convince herself that she is simply transferring her own thoughts that she doesn't want to face.
When her adventurous sister, Chloe, goes on a trip and asks for a favor, Nela welcomes the distraction and agrees to substitute at Chloe's job at a charitable foundation. Chloe has arranged a place for her sister to stay, but when Nela shows up, she encounters the previous tenant's cat and gets a flash of thought: 'dead...dead and gone...She loved me...skateboard on the step.'
Nela wants to ignore what the cat saw, but the idea that the death of former tenant Marian Grant wasn't an accident is something she can't ignore. As Nela begins to do some research into Marian's life, strange events begin to occur, all seeming to lead back to the Haklo Foundation. But when a detective becomes suspicious of Nela's sister and a second murder occurs, Nela realizes she'll have to make the most of her unwanted ability and figure out what's really going on, before she meets her own untimely end...'
My thoughts:
Crime, motive and opportunity. That's what you need to figure out in order to solve this mystery. Nela fills in at her sister's job at the Haklo Foundation, while Chloe goes on vacation. When she arrives she learns that the tenant of the apartment she is temporarily staying in has died the previous week under mysterious circumstances. Nela uses her investigative reporting skills to track down weird things going on at the Haklo Foundation and who wanted Marian Grant dead and most importantly, why? Nela uses her special ability of being able to hear the deceased Ms. Grant's cat's thoughts to investigate what seems to be an accident, but turns out to be murder.
I really enjoyed this novel. It was not easy to figure out who was the murderer in this one and that is a quality that I love in a murder mystery. I wasn't even close to figuring out this one until the very end when everything was explained. The main character Nela is very likeable and has her own issues that she needs to deal with. This makes her a very realistic character and she quickly endears herself to the reader.
There were some places in this book where obviously something slipped by the editor. At one point the main character was called by someone's last name and later on in the story, a detective is called by the wrong name. It amazes me how publishers and editors can let this slip into the final edition, but hey mistakes are made and nothing is perfect. It was just a little confusing when you're reading the book and then it pops up and you're like 'What? That makes no sense whatsoever," but it is what it is. I found this to be a good, light and quick read that was enjoyable to me as a cozy mystery lover. I love the small town setting and the politics that surround the Haklo Foundation. The ending was a little rushed I felt, but overall a great read.
Overall Rating: 4
Title: What The Cat Saw
Author: Carolyn Hart
Series: Nela Farley Mystery #1
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: October 2, 2012
Pages: 304
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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.