Genre:

When quilter Jillian Hart returns to her lake house in Mercy, South Carolina, she discovered her friend, Tom, is missing-and his estranged half-brother has moved into Tom's house. Jillian doesn't trust the guy, especially since he allowed Tom's diabetic cat to escape.

When police officers find Tom's wrecked car with a dead stranger inside, Jillian is determined to find out what happened to Tom-before someone else turns up dead.

Review

When quilt-maker Jillian Hart’s friend (and budding love interest) Tom Stewart stops returning her phone calls, she starts to worry something terrible might have happened to him – a feeling only amplified when she pays a visit to Tom’s house and finds that his work van is still in the driveway, his diabetic cat has gone missing, and a sleazy half-brother she never knew existed has set up camp in his guest room. 

Tom does finally turn up in Jillian’s kitchen, but he does so beaten and bloody and with one heck of a tale as to where he’s been.  As it turns out, the existence of a lecherous half-brother isn’t the only thing Tom’s been keeping secret:  a crooked ex-partner, a cheating ex-wife, and a runaway ex-stepson are about to crash the party, as well.  And then there’s matter of Tom’s car, which the police have just found totaled on the side of the road with a dead stranger behind the wheel…

The Cat, The Wife, and The Weapon is the fourth of Leann Sweeney’s Cats in Trouble Mysteries, and it’s not to be missed.  I know, I know – you see the words “A Cats in Trouble Mystery” on the cover, and you learn that the main character is a widow who makes quilts and lives alone on a lake with her three cats, and you automatically assume that Sweeney’s latest is the coziest of cozies.  You’re mistaken, though.  Yes, there is a heavy cat component to the tale – Jillian’s feline companions (Merlot, Syrah, and Chablis) don’t play casual roles, and the story contains no small amount of information about cat care and behavior.  But while the book’s trappings may sound a tad precious, the story is anything but; in actuality, it’s a pitch-perfect blend of thrills, chills, and heart.  

The Cat, The Wife, and The Weapon starts with a bang and throws you straight into the center of the action.  The plot is tight, the pace is strong, and the tension and drama remain high throughout.  The mystery is intriguing and spectacularly well constructed from start to thrilling conclusion.  And Sweeney’s prose is graceful, intelligent, and features just the right amount of detail to make her fictional world come to life on the page.

Sweeney’s character work is top-notch, as well.  The cast may be small, but every single member is fully fleshed and has his or her own unique motive, personality, and arc.  Tom makes for a good friend, a great bodyguard, and a fabulous potential love interest.  Tom’s former stepson Finn is one of the most nuanced and likable teenaged characters the genre’s seen in ages.  Tom’s slimy half-brother Bob, his vindictive former partner Nolan, and his femme fatale of an ex-wife Hilary add just enough smarm and sin to keep things interesting.  And Jillian is a sweet, caring, and remarkably determined heroine whose relationships with friends and family (Tom and Finn, in particular) are realistic, complicated, and quite brilliantly argue the idea that two people don’t have to share blood to be family.

Reviewed by Kat N.

READERS COMMENTS