I have been owned by cats my entire life. Currently Pixie is Mistress in this house. I am amused by cat mysteries because according to Pixie the butler always does it and if it isn't the butler it must have been the dog. The only mystery I expect her to solve is where do the glitzy balls go that I keep buying her. My current theory is there is a black hole containing missing socks and glitzy balls.
The cat mysteries seem to be either one of two types; one where the cat is a normal cat whose presence inspires the detective and the second where the anthropomorphic cat is the detective and helps "write" the books giving voice to their thoughts. Cat mysteries are popular and I have read dozens of them. They are a way of passing an evening when you really need to chill and a cozy is the way to go. As a full time caregiver serious drama is sometimes the last thing I need in my life.
Lilian Jackson Braun was probably the Queen of cat mysteries. She wrote the first Cat Who mystery in 1966 with two following in 1967 and 1968 and then waited 18 years to write the next in the series. She went on to write 29 novels and a couple of short story collections.
The
Cat Who series started in 1966 with
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards. Newsman Jim Qwilleran is a prize winning reporter whose life spiraled out of control with drink. He plans to start over in an unnamed city for a paper called the
Daily Fluxion. His first beat is something he knows nothing about the art scene. This is the hippie era with happenings and other free wheeling and equally silly things occurred.
Qwill takes up residence in the home of an eccentric art critic and his Siamese cat that Qwill nicknames KoKo. George Bonifeld Mountclemens is hated by most of the artists. The death of an art gallery owner brings out the claws in everyone.
This first mystery is enjoyable. KoKo comes off as a real cat. He is unpredictable, spoiled, affectionate when he wants to be, and demanding. It was fun to travel back in time to when I was in school. As an artist myself I would like to think that we aren't as crazy as we are portrayed here.
Braun has made her detective likeable from the start. Qwill comes off as a sort of teddy bear kind of person. A person you could feel comfortable around. He is smart without being arrogant and has enough personal quirks to make him interesting.
The Cat Who mysteries started out great and as long as they remained in the city she had different areas she could explore. When she moved Qwill up to a small town and made him rich they became formulamatic and in the end they were just plain boring.
Rita Mae Brown has a series of cat books that are "co-authored" by Sneaky Pie Brown a tabby cat. Brown is a popular feminist author. Her books are of the second genre of the cat being anthropomorphic and solving the mysteries.
Wish You Were Here is a strong start to the series. Harry is the postmistress of a small South Carolina town. In the midst of a divorce from her philandering husband her job, her two pets a cat Mrs. Murphy and corgi dog Tee Tucker, and close friend Susan are her support groups. A grizzly murder shakes up the town especially since it is obvious one of them is the killer. A second equally grizzly murder has people even more paranoid. Harry starts her own investigation when she figures out a vital clue. Of course the animals are already two steps ahead of her.
The book has a lot going for it including a picture of the South as it is and not the stereotype you usually see. As a transplanted Yankee I can tell you that it is really irritating to see that redneck jerks are being held up as what all Southerners are like. As with the Cat Who series the first books are interesting reads and a good way to pass a couple of hours. Unfortunately as the stories go along a small town setting becomes a problem. There just isn't that much going on and you run put of plots and people to kill.
My two biggest problems with the books are the animals talking which gets old quickly and Harry going back to her ex-husband. The second irritates me since Brown is an ardent feminist. Why would she have a strong character who can make it on her own go back to a cheating husband? She deserves better.
Carole Nelson Douglas is a prolific writer with more than 60 novels in more than one genre to her credit. Her two best known mystery series are the Irene Adler series and the Midnight Louie series.
Catnap is set in Las Vegas at an American Booksellers Association convention. Having actually been to Las Vegas for an AMA gathering the book was just fun for me. I recognized all the types there. It is hard to resist the petite redheaded Temple Barr as the detective. Midnight Louie is a huge black tom cat. He prowls the town and decides to help Temple find the killer. He is another one of the anthropomorphized cats and "tells" his part of the story. I'm not a huge fan of cats talking however Louie is a bit less irritating than most.
Las Vegas is the perfect place to put murders. It is a fascinating town that is part over the top glitz and part normal. Douglas has several reoccurring characters. She also has more of a sense of humor than some other writers. She actually named a drop dead gorgeous ex-priest Matt Devine.
The mystery is interesting and part of the fun is in recognizing certain characteristics in the authors that I have observed in some real life authors. As in the other two series the first few mysteries are a lot of fun. There is a progression in the stories of back storylines of the characters and sometimes the stories seem to go into soap opera territory. I like the Midnight Louie mysteries but my absolute favorites are her Irene Adler ones. They are a bit hard to find but definitely worth it.
The newest entry into the cat mysteries is by veteran writer Carolyn Hart. She is an absolute favorite of mine and I love her Death on Demand and her Henry O series. I had the privilege of meeting her once and getting her autograph and as one crazy cat lady to another we liked each other right away.
What the Cat Saw is a cat mystery done right. There is none of the juggling things around to fit the cat detective in the story. The cat is a minor character and not the detective.
Nela Farley has been shattered by her fiancé's death. She has lost her job as a reporter and is basically on auto control in life. Her flaky younger sister Chloe asks her to come and baby sit a cat and do her job for her while she and her boyfriend enjoy the fruits of winning a trip to Tahiti.
Nela finds she is staying in the apartment of Marian Grant who died in an apparent accident when she tripped and fell on the steps of apartment. Nela's first night there is interrupted by a break-in and the police are not sympathetic.
Her temp job at a charity foundation brings her in contact with people who have a lot to hide. The imperious Blythe Webster runs the foundation and has made a series of unpopular moves including ousting a favorite long time director and bringing in a charming young man who has an eye for the ladies.
Nela finds that a series of accidents have plagued the Haklo Foundation. The theft of a valuable necklace is just one of the latest in a string of increasingly bizarre vendetta against Haklo or someone associated with the foundation. Suspicion falls on Nela and Chloe since they are newcomers.
As with all of Carolyn Hart's books the mystery comes first and foremost. She brings in strong characters that you really get to know throughout the book. What makes her approach to the cat is one of the things that elevates this book from being a "cat" mystery to being a strong traditional mystery. Since her fiancé's death Nela hears what cat's are thinking. Or does she? While definite thoughts are presented whether they are real thoughts she overhears or thoughts from her subconscious is not known.
Now, a few feet away from her, a lean brown tabby with distinctive black stripes and oversized ears stood in a circle of light from an overhead spot - of course the cat chose that spot seeking warmth from the bulb - and gazed at Nela with mournful eyes. "Dead…Dead and gone…She loved me… board rolled on the second step…"
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more with these characters. As a cat owner I loved the cat being there but it being a real cat. Jugs enhances the story like a good character should but doesn't take away from it as many cat mysteries allow the cats to do.
According to Pixie the butler did it and the dog helped.
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