Book 111, 2024
Purrfectly Clueless by Nic Saint
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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I finished reading Purrfectly Clueless by Nic Saint last night. It's the 12th in the "Mysteries of Max" series of cozy cat mysteries. Fat cat Max is the main character, along with his human, Odelia.
Odelia is excited to be attending a weekend party at the home of famous actress, Emerald Rhone. Her cats, however, are bummed to have been left at home. Odelia's enjoyment is short-lived when an up-and-coming young actress is found dead in her room, apparently of suicide. When Odelia's Gran finds out, she loads up the cats and rushes to the scene, convinced there's been a murder and that Odelia needs her help. While pleased to be reunited with Odelia, all of the cats (Max, Dooley, Harriet, and Brutus) are reeling after learning that they've all been "fixed". In addition, Brutus is beginning to question his gender identity. Now Odelia not only has a crime to solve, but she must also deal with her cats' tender feelings.
First up, it's been mentioned throughout the series that the cats have all been spayed or neutered, so I don't know why this came as a big revelation to them in this book. I swear some authors completely forget what they've written previously. Introducing gender ambiguity was bold, but it added nothing to the plot. In fact, most of this story was more about cat drama (again!) and less the mystery it purports to be about. If you want to write about cat drama, write about cat drama. I like cats; I'd probably read it. But, if you're going to write a mystery, then write a frickin' mystery! Eesh.
Favorite lines:
♦ She wasn't a big fan of people who weren't big fans of cats.
♦ "Don't go near the litter box if you don't want to suffocate."*
I laughed for ten solid minutes over the litter box line, having experienced that pain myself. I needed that laugh, which is why a book I would have given an average score to gets elevated to four stars.
