Review

It’s librarian Kathleen Paulson’s first winter in the tiny, picturesque town of Mayville Heights, Minnesota, and her spirits are high:  she’s made some fantastic friends, adopted two wonderful cats, and Winterfest is right around the corner.  But then retired teacher Agatha Shepherd is run down in the alley behind Kathleen’s favorite café, and her good mood is all but extinguished.  Agatha was a fierce advocate for her students, and many of the adults in town credit her with their eventual success – what kind of person leaves a saint like that alone to die in the cold?  Somebody must know something, but nobody’s talking.  When Kathleen’s friend Ruby is arrested for the crime based on nothing but circumstantial evidence and the police seem disinclined to continue their investigation, Kathleen realizes it’s up to her to ID the real killer.  Does she have what it takes to save a good woman from doing hard time for a crime she didn’t commit?  Or will a murderer be allowed to go free?

Sleight of Paw is the second in Sofie Kelly’s Magical Cats Mystery series.  It’s Joanne Fluke meets the late, great Lillian Jackson Braun, and it’s an incredibly charming read.  Kelly’s take on the classic small-town cat mystery is sharp, fun, and full of whimsy.  The murder itself isn’t all that difficult to solve, and the pace does lag a bit at times, but Kelly’s clues and suspects are neatly deployed and the book’s climax is nothing short of thrilling, so those are relatively easy sins to forgive. 

Kathleen’s a winsome heroine; a cat-loving, hockey-playing, lock-picking bibliophile who’s fiercely loyal to both friends and family, she’s the kind of person you’d feel lucky to have in your life.  And the enigmatic Detective Marcus Gordon is simultaneously a great foil for Kathleen and a fantastic potential love interest.  I wish some of the book’s more ancillary characters were a little more well-developed – I kept confusing sidekicks Roma and Maggie, and the other residents of Mayville Heights are a bit Greek Chorus-y at times – but any deficit created by Kelly’s supporting cast is more than made up for by the real stars of the book: Kathleen’s cats, Owen and Hercules. 

Kelly writes Owen and Hercules with true affection.  Far from being cheesy, cutesy plot devices, Owen and Hercules are sweet, funny, intelligent characters in their own right, and the fact that Kathleen cares for them as much as she does only serves to make her that much more likable a protagonist.  Their mannerisms are realistic, and their “magical powers” (Hercules can walk through closed doors, and Owen has the ability to become invisible) add to their charm without seeming gimmicky.

Looking for great cozy read to scratch that Cat Who… itch and keep you warm on a cold autumn night?  Check out Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly; you’ll be happy you did.