Purrder, She Wrote

Sheila and the Paradise Cove Murder Society ladies are helping out their friend Evelyn. Evelyn is hosting a convention of murder mystery writers at the Parrot Eyes Inn, and she's struggling. Since her husband died, Evelyn has barely kept the inn afloat. Her son, Kevin (who we met in Paw and Order when he tried to help Roger Cabot frame Sheila for a murder that Roger committed), is home under court supervision. I'm not sure if he's more help to his mother or if she's trying to help him, but he's at least marginally contributing assistance with the inn.

Kevin tells Sheila that he's afraid for his life, that Roger Cabot, in prison awaiting trial, has threatened him. He claims Roger has found a way to get out of prison and threatened the lives of anyone who will be testifying. He asks Sheila to meet him after conference events end for the evening, that he's got something to show her. Problem is, when Sheila goes to meet Kevin, she finds him, dead in the pool. And the evidence points to none other than Roger Cabot.

This is a clever variation on the locked-room mystery, only instead of the victim being locked into a room, the apparent murderer is locked in prison! There are misdirections aplenty – Chief Anderson supposedly checking out key evidence in Cabot's murder trial, the USB drive found on Kevin's dead body that belonged to one of the authors at the convention, Cabot's DNA and prints all over the scene. But Cabot's attorney insists that his client is securely in jail, and all of these goings-on cast enough doubt on his murder charge that he's going to ask the court to release his client for lack of evidence. So they're racing against the clock to solve the crime before the court makes a ruling that could set a killer free.

Would a writer of murder mysteries kill someone right under the noses of other mystery writers? And which one of them would have a reason to murder Kevin?

Sheila even comes under Chief Anderson's suspicion. You'd think he would have learned by the times he's tried to pin crimes on her in the past and she's been cleared of suspicion. Apparently not. (Detective Whiskers does not take kindly to the chief's casting aspersions on his person and responds in appropriate cat fashion. I laughed out loud!)

Sheila, Tarrie Ann, Becky, and Julia work to help piece together what happened and share their information with the police. And Detective Whiskers is the one who helps put all the pieces together. The ending is a happily ever after, with things tied up in a neat bow, and how it all worked out made me smile. Sadly, Chief Anderson hasn't yet seen fit to acknowledge Whiskers' contributions to crime solving, but hopefully that day is coming!

These books are sweet literary treats – light, engaging, quick reads that are absolutely charming. If you love a good mystery that has not only good human characters but delightful animal characters, too, you'll love the Detective Whiskers Cat Cozy Mysteries. Start with the first and read them all!