Kathleen Paulson is snowed under running her library and caring for her extraordinary felines, Owen and Hercules. But when a fund-raiser turns deadly, she’ll have to add sleuthing to her already full schedule….
Winter in Mayville Heights is busy and not just because of the holidays. Kathleen is hard at work organizing a benefit to raise money for the library’s popular Reading Buddies program. She has her hands full hosting the event. And when a guest at the gala drops dead, her magical cats, Owen and Hercules, will have their paws full helping her solve a murder.
The victim is the ex of town rascal Burtis Chapman, but she hasn’t lived in the area in years. And though everybody is denying knowledge of why she was back in town, as Kathleen and her detective boyfriend, Marcus, begin nosing around, they discover more people are connected to the deceased than claimed to be. Now Marcus, Kathleen, and her uncanny cats have to unravel this midwinter tale before the case gets cold.
For fans of: Joanne Fluke and Jenn McKinlay
Mayville Heights librarian Kathleen Paulson is hopeful the swanky gala she has planned will raise enough money to keep her Reading Buddies program afloat. At first the event looks poised for success, but then one of the guests keels over dead and another is rushed to the hospital, bringing the festivities to a screeching halt. No party means no donations, and to make matters worse, it seems the police suspect foul play on the part of one of Kathleen’s friends – a man named Burtis Chapman. Kathleen knows Burtis is innocent, but she can’t deny the evidence seems stacked against him. Can our sleuthing librarian solve the crime and save the day, or are Burtis and Reading Buddies both destined to take a fall?
If you love cats and are desperate for a break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, do yourself a favor and pick up the sixth installment in Sofie Kelly’s Magical Cats Mystery series, A Midwinter’s Tail. Kelly’s latest is a cozy, small-town tale full of whimsy, wit, and warmth. The pace is languid and the stakes aren’t terribly high, but that’s not actually a bad thing where this story is concerned. Reading A Midwinter’s Tail feels a lot like hanging out in the company of good friends. The cast is large (occasionally a bit too), but friendly and fully fleshed. The sense of place is strong, Kathleen’s narrative voice is engaging, and while the mystery takes a while to get going, Kelly’s puzzle is clever, the solution is satisfying, and the denouement is full of thrills.
The thing I love most about A Midwinter’s Tail, though, is just how well Sofie Kelly writes cats. She clearly knows them, loves them, and understands them – as much as any of us can, at least. As such, Kathleen’s feline companions aren’t cutesy and they can’t talk – they’re just intelligent, intuitive beings, full of attitude and affection, that communicate with their humans as best they can. (I mean, sure, Owen can make himself invisible and Hercules can walk through walls, but haven’t we all met cats who seem to possess those powers?) Owen and Hercules add humor and heart to every scene in which they appear, and the sweet, funny, and wonderfully realistic relationship they share with Kathleen is just icing on the cake.
Reviewed by Kat
