It’s kind of ironic that I was crying during the funeral of the victim in Sofie Kelly’s Hooked on a Feline, considering I was originally reluctant to read these mysteries. This is the thirteenth book in the series, and I’ve read the last five. But, I wasn’t interested in magical cats.
Librarian Kathleen Paulson joined her friends for an outdoor concert, the Last Bash, the attempted revival of Mayville Heights’ summer festival. Most of the people in attendance were shocked with the appearance of Johnny Rock and the Outlaws, a popular local band that had broken up years earlier. The members had all grown up to be a real estate developer, the local dentist, the man who cut the lawn and kept the library physically running. The band was a hit, and afterwards at a local restaurant, Kathleen could tell how much the band members had enjoyed their reunion on stage.
Then, police detective Marcus Gordon, Kathleen’s boyfriend, calls her to say one of the band members is dead. It seems as if half the town turns out for his funeral because he was well-loved. Kathleen even knew him as a library patron tracing his family roots. He was so interested in the history of his prominent family.
While Marcus is an excellent detective, Kathleen’s friends all turn to her. She’s known for her instincts, her ability to listen to people, and determine what is important in their conversations. With the help of her two cats, Hercules and Owen, Kathleen has learned the truth about previous deaths in town, Now, the dead man’s friends expect her to find the truth about his death. What led to his death? Was it an accident? Was he getting too close to someone’s truth in his search for local history?
Sofie Kelly always does an excellent job incorporating Kathleen’s work as an amateur sleuth with her day-to-day job as head librarian. Neither job gets neglected. One of my complaints about some cozy mysteries is about sleuths who neglect the job that is their occupation. That does happen in this series, and it’s always fun, for me, to read about Kathleen’s job.
It’s the people and the magical cats that stand out in the series. If the funeral of a well-loved townsperson can make me cry because of his character and the music, it indicates how well Kelly has developed those characters, even in the first fifty pages. There are a few too many characters, which made it difficult for me to remember some of them, but that may be because I came late to the series. Meet Kathleen, Owen and Hercules early in the series, and you might not have that problem.
I’ll admit I figured out “whodunnit” before Kathleen did, but that didn’t spoil the enjoyment of the story. Instead, I really wanted the killer to be uncovered after the death of one of the most likable victims in a cozy mystery.
Hooked on a Feline is another excellent cozy mystery by Sofie Kelly. And, those magical cats? They don’t talk. They do find ways to communicate. And, Kathleen’s reaction to them is just part of the humor. Owen and Hercules work as characters.
Sofie Kelly’s website is http://sofiekelly.com
Hooked on a Feline by Sofie Kelly. Berkley Prime Crime, 2021. ISBN 9780593199985 (hardcover), 277p.
FTC Full Disclosure – Library book
I said I’d have my say so…
Killing the good person is a fairly common trope in cozies. Every series I’ve read has at least one example of the idea. Most of the time, the perp is the obnoxious jerk that you thought might be the victim. At least this one didn’t go down that well worn path.
Spoilers:
The motive revealed at the end really made an impact with me. The oh-so-good guy was toying with an innocent kid’s life, a kid he claimed to care about, saying he’d “figure it out” later. I’ll tell you right now, if someone was playing games with my kid’s life, I’d get awful narrow minded about that.
Kathleen never got the irony that the victim, who spent his whole life saying blood wasn’t important, actually thought blood was important enough to die over. If blood wasn’t all that important to him, he wouldn’t have spent all that time researching everybody’s eyes and hair type. He was acting exactly like the aunt he professed to hate. He was becoming the monster he hated,and didn’t even realize it.
I also disliked the climax. Cats texting? It seemed like a cop out to me. Might as well have the perp struck by lightning, or have Bigfoot come out of the woods and carry him away like a scenario in Missing 411. In the reality of the book, most, if not all, the cats at Lucille’s have magical powers and a special bond with Kathleen. I feel like a little more creativity was called for to resolve a climax we’ve seen before in this series. It seems like way too many books in this series end over at that river.
Glen, This is why I like to read someone else’s review. You’re right about the character of the victim. I didn’t think about it much, but as I read your comments I realized you are so right.
I haven’t read enough of the books to know how many of the books end at the river. But, the texting, and even the cat and the photo did seem a little odd.
Now, I don’t feel quite so bad about the victim. Thank you.
I love the cover, but I love most covers with cats on them! I called the group home today and wished my brother a Happy Birthday, Today, I was by the caretaker who answered the phone, https://dceff.org/film/elsa-the-lioness-that-changed-the-world/ She was born and raised in Germany and named after Elsa. I hope that she stays there a very long time. The caretakers have not been so good for a long time. Elsa is a big improvement!!!!
It is a cute cover, Carol Lee. Most cozies have cute covers. I hope you can keep that caretaker.