Book 73, 2024
Scaredy Cat by Sofie Ryan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I finished reading Scaredy Cat by Sofie Ryan last night. It's the tenth installment in her "Second Chance Cat" series of cozy mysteries, featuring secondhand store owner Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis.
Sarah is looking forward to a fun afternoon touring historical homes in North Harbor with her friend, Michelle. While the two of them are exploring Gladstone House, a local B&B, they come across a dead body. The victim was Mark Steele, a television personality whose forte was exposing hoax hauntings. Gladstone House is rumored to be haunted, although the owner, Annie Hastings, has never advertised it. Steele had been jonesing to feature Gladstone House in an episode of his show and been turned down. Repeatedly. That leaves Sarah wondering what the man was doing in the house and more importantly, who killed him there? Steele's producer hires Charlotte's Angels, the group of senior citizen investigators, to look into the matter. Since the Angels operate out of her store, Sarah gets dragged into the drama as well. She's just as eager to solve the mystery as the rest of them are.
This was an interesting premise. We didn't even meet the victim until he was dead, which was unusual. I enjoyed reading about how the Angels used their combined talents and contacts to put the puzzle together. I also liked that a good portion of the book was dedicated to Sarah's work and recreation; it wasn't all about the investigation. Some authors focus on the investigation to the exclusion of everything else, leading me to wonder how the main character can keep her (or his) job.
Favorite lines:
♦ "You're the kind of person who imagines the characters in a story continue with their lives even though you've gotten to the end of the book."
♦ "We didn't take a vote. And more importantly, we didn't have tea and cake so I don't think it's binding."
♦ "Family are the people you love who love you back."
Very good, with lots of surprises. Five stars.