Book 58, 2020
Gone with the Whisker by Laurie Cass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I finished the book Gone with the Whisker, by Laurie Cass, last night. It's the 8th part of her "Bookmobile Cat" mystery series, starring librarian Minnie Hamilton and her rescue cat, Eddie.
The town of Chilson is gearing up for its annual Fourth of July festivities, and Minnie is excited to partcipate and to introduce the traditions to her teenage niece, Katrina, who is visiting for the summer. The excitement turns sinister when Katrina literally trips over a dead body during the fireworks display. Seeing how traumatized her niece is, Minnie can't help but insert herself into the investigation, questioning the police to see if they're making any progress. When she gets frustrated with their lack of leads, Minnie begins looking into the matter herself.
In the meantime, she finds herself ill-prepared to handle the temperament of a surly teenage girl, all of her co-workers at the library have differing opinions on how an endowment from a wealthy patron should be spent, her Aunt Frances is having second thoughts about turning over her bed and breakfast to her cousin, Celeste, and Minnie is kept busy trying to help her boyfriend, Rafe, work on the house he's been restoring for years. When someone else is murdered, Minnie thinks the crimes are related, but the police aren't so sure. It's up to Minnie, with a helping paw from Eddie, to connect the dots and solve the crime.
Story was lively and well-paced, and characterizations were wonderful. I wanted to smack Katrina into next week. I remember being a surly teenage girl, too, but I never would have copped an attitude with someone not in my immediate family, or my mother would have smacked me into next week. Minnie is fun, feisty, and fierce, and I enjoy following her thought processes.
Favorite lines:
♦ "When all else fails, blame the cat." // "No, you blame the cat from the beginning."
♦ Before I'd taken up residence with a cat, I hadn't understood how judgmental they could be.
♦ "Maybe that's where we'd start, with the original six national hockey league teams."
Pardon me, but that should be Original Six National Hockey League teams.
♦ This was not a calm, detached hatred. No, this was more the Captain Ahab and the Great White Whale kind of hatred, the kind that could consume you.
♦ "You're asking my cat for my hand in marriage?"
Delightful, for the most part. Four stars.