Sleight of Paw
A Magical Cats Mystery, No 2
Sofie Kelly

Obsidian
September 2011/ ISBN 978-0-451-24353-7
Mystery / Cozy / Paranormal
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

Given a stubborn amateur sleuth librarian as the main character, a couple of cats with supernatural powers, a murder, a handsome if hard to figure out homicide investigator, this series and this installment has “winner” written all over its pages.

Minnesota is cold in winter, and librarian Kathleen Paulson knows how to dress appropriately. When an elderly citizen is found dead and the librarian is the second person on the scene, it's no wonder her warm pants hem happens to capture a piece of potentially incriminating evidence.

Retired teacher Agatha Shepherd had been tough on many of her pupils back in the day, but most of them grew into respectable citizens due to her diligence in setting them on the straight and narrow path of life. When she is run down and left to die, the secrets she held may have to come to light in order to find her killer.

Suspects abound, but when Kathleen’s friend, Ruby, is arrested for the murder, Kathleen knows she has to help her. Police Detective Marcus Gordon had recently accused Kathleen or murder in another case, and she knows he hates to be wrong again. Yet she knows her friend is innocent and sets out to prove it and find the person responsible, because she doesn’t believe Detective Gordon will look further than Ruby.

This series is really taking off, and the characters are growing on readers. I love the magical cats in particular, and found it a bit disappointing that their powers weren’t featured more predominantly in this book. The cats were certainly active and mentioned frequently, but they weren’t vital to the solving of the mystery.

At first, I thought I knew whodunit right away, but then became convinced I must be wrong. Well I was wrong about being wrong, and my first suspect was the one involved. Yet I loved how the author made me question my conclusions and provided enough red herrings to keep me reading and anxiously awaiting the conclusion.

The book is very well crafted and the characters are likeable. The mystery comes together nicely, and the groundwork is laid for more books in the series. I, for one, hope that the author continues to delve more deeply into the lives of Kathleen and her friends, as well as her potential relationship with Detective Gordon. It will be interesting to see what the citizens of the small town of Mayville Heights still have for hidden secrets, and how the magical cats, Owen and Hercules, help the friendly librarian be a crime-solving force to reckon with.

Cozy lovers will enjoy this book a lot, and it is suitable for the ages of teen - adult. Especially suitable for cat lovers and bookworms who worship librarians and believe they can solve everything. Hey, that sounds like me, and I’m waving all four paws in the air for Sleight of Paw!

Reviews of other titles in this series

Sleight of Paw #2
Copycat Killing #3
Cat Trick #4
Final Catcall #5