Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway: Mr. Monk and the New Lieutenant (Mr. Monk #19) by Hy Conrad

An all-new story starring Adrian Monk by Edgar® Award–nominated Monk screenwriter and coexecutive producer Hy Conrad.

It’s compulsive, page-turning fun.

Monk and Natalie have finally settled into a new office routine. Now they just need to work things out with their neighbors—a print shop run by hippies whose music leaks through the walls, driving Monk nuts. But the detectives soon have a more serious conflict to deal with: Captain Stottlemeyer’s new lieutenant, A.J. Cartledge—a man of limited skills whom Monk finds insufferable.

Even the presence of Lieutenant Cartledge won’t keep Monk and Natalie from attending the funeral of Judge Oberlin, and it’s a good thing. In typical fashion, Monk examines the body in the casket—and finds evidence of poison. The judge was murdered.

While there are no traces of the poison at the judge’s house, Monk detects that there had been an intruder. The next rainy day, when Captain Stottlemeyer begins to show the same symptoms, Monk deduces that there’s a diabolical killer at work, someone who wanted both the judge and the captain dead.  Monk and Natalie turn to the captain’s ex-lieutenant in Summit, New Jersey for help, but even that might not be enough to solve this crime. With his friend in danger and an enemy close, Monk will have to put his reservations aside to crack the case in time.

As a fan of the television show, it has delighted me to see the series continued on through literature.  I've enjoyed spending the last few books with Hy Conrad and his brilliant storytelling abilities.  It's bittersweet to think that the series is finally coming to an end (if the rumors are true), but I truly have enjoyed this ride.  

That being said, I want to tip my hat to Hy for going out in true Monk fashion!  This book was true to the character.  I enjoyed his quirkiness and I certainly enjoyed the mystery and the subplots at play.  It was yet another thrilling addition to the world of Monk.  

I'm sad to see the author end their run at this series.  With any luck, someone else will pick up where they leave off.  But if they don't, it certainly has been one heck of a fun ride! 

Rating: 4.5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own.  

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Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway: The Book Stops Here (Bibliophile #8) by Kate Carlisle

You never know what treasures can be found in someone’s attic. Unfortunately for bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright, some of them are worth killing for.…

Brooklyn Wainwright is thrilled to be appearing on the San Francisco edition of the hit TV show This Old Attic as a rare-book expert and appraiser. Her first subject is a very valuable first-edition copy of the classic children’s story The Secret Garden, which is owned by a flower vendor named Vera.

Once she hears what her book is worth, Vera is eager to have Brooklyn recondition it for resale. But after the episode airs, a furious man viciously accosts Brooklyn, claiming that Vera found the first edition at his garage sale, and he wants it back—or else. Brooklyn is relieved that she’s put The Secret Garden in a safe place, but Randolph Rayburn, the handsome host of This Old Attic, is terrified by the man’s threats. He confides in Brooklyn that he fears he is being stalked. He doesn't know who might have targeted him, or why.

In the days that follow, several violent incidents occur on the set, and Brooklyn is almost killed, leaving both her and her security expert boyfriend, Derek, shaken. Is someone after Brooklyn and the book? Or has Randolph’s stalker become more desperate? And then Brooklyn visits Vera’s flower shop…and discovers her dead. Is the murderer one of the two obvious suspects, or is something more sinister—even bizarre—going on? Brooklyn had better find the clever killer soon or more than her chance at prime time may be canceled…permanently.

One of the things that I enjoy about this series is the author's ability to create a story where the victim of the crime at hand is given the chance to be known.  She takes time to introduce the victim and give you the opportunity to get to know them.  For me, that creates an investment in discovering who committed the murder and throws me right in to the middle of the story and the subsequent investigation.  The author does just that in The Book Stops Here. 

Another thing about this book that I just loved was the whole concept of finding an item at a garage sale that was worth a relatively small fortune.  It's something we all hope for but few are able to discover.  And the fact that it led to the eventual demise of the person who discovered it - brilliant!  Of course the investigation is exciting, even though the outcome wasn't all that surprising.  

This series is always so exciting. The books are well written and Brooklyn is such an extraordinary character.  Her next adventure should be a lot of fun!  

Rating: 4.5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own.  

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Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: One Foot in the Grape (Cypress Cove #1) by Carlene O'Neil

In California wine country, the town of Cypress Cove may seem peaceful. But someone’s about to pop their cork…

After losing her job as a photojournalist, Penny Lively is trying to get her life back in focus. Inheriting the family winery from her late aunt may be the fresh start she needs. Thankfully she’s got her niece Hayley and her handsome winery manager Connor to help. But the person in need of more urgent assistance is Antonia Martinelli, the owner of the neighboring winery, who has her own barrel full of problems. Someone’s spoiling her wine, and with the upcoming Autumn Festival, she needs Penny’s nose for clues to sniff out the culprit.

But Penny’s search for answers sours after the body of a staff member is found in a grape crusher. Since Hayley was the last to see him alive, she’s the prime suspect in the case. Now Penny must hurry to find the real killer before Hayley withers on the vine. 

Hi, I’m Penny Lively, owner of Joyeux Winery. Joyeux is a smaller winery in comparison to several of our neighbors, but enjoys a great reputation. As it happens, I’ve also managed to gain a reputation for my knack for finding bodies. I don’t know if knack is the right word…Connor would call it a gift, but the statement would be said under his breath and likely dripping with sarcasm. Connor’s my winery manager. My manager and nothing more. Yup, nothing more. He’s the best manager on the central California coast and I’m lucky to have him in that capacity, which is why I’ve stifled any urges I might have for him in any other capacity…

Where was I? Right. So after a long career as an investigative photojournalist, I came home to the winery I’d inherited. I’d been worried small town life would be too slow. Instead, I’ve been back less than a year and so far I’ve managed to find more bodies than I did in an entire career investigating situations where one might reasonably expect to find bodies. The local police can’t decide what to do with me, but it’s not like I’m asking for this. Although, I have to admit, once I’m involved I’m not about to walk away. Either the police manage to get it wrong, or someone I care about is a suspect and asks for my help. The first time it happened, my neighbor, Antonia Martinelli, thought someone was sabotaging her winery. She didn’t want to go to the police because she thought one of her children might be involved. Simple, right?  Nobody mentioned murder. They never really do.

Between running the winery and running just ahead of whatever mess I’m no doubt in, I stay pretty busy. Connor does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to the winery, so I have free time on my hands. I spend most of it with my camera, a holdover from my last profession. My focus is on the landscape now, and this is a part of the country where it’s easy to find inspiration. The winery is beautiful, vineyards stretched across rolling hills in tones of bronze and umber, and just a short drive from Monterey Bay, Pebble Beach and the fabulous town of Cypress Cove.

That’s another thing; murder just shouldn’t happen somewhere so beautiful. The mean streets of Los Angeles? Sure. The underbelly of Chicago? Who’s surprised? Nobody. Here, when you find a body set against such beauty, it seems so much more shocking, vicious, and wrong. There’s a Latin saying, “It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one's present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason.” After what I’ve just been through I would include finding a body in your neighbor’s crusher. Just saying.

A winery as a setting and a protagonist that's quirky and spontaneous?  I'm one-hundred percent sold!  One Foot in the Grape is a wonderful debut book that I personally feel will be a spectacular and fun series.  

It's told in a first person point of view with Penny, our protagonist, at the helm.  It's funny, entertaining and of course, full of wine references left and right. It's a smart story with rich descriptive words that leave you feeling as if you've been transformed right in to the middle of this beautiful setting.  And the mystery is unique and leaves you scratching your head until the very end.  

I absolutely loved this book. Everything about it.  Penny, Antonia - the entire cast of characters.  The vineyards, the humor and most of all, the wine :)  Having read this story, I can honestly tell you that this series is quickly going to become a favorite of mine.  I can just feel it.  

Rating: 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own.  

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Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Fillet of Murder (Deep Fried #1) by Linda Reilly

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!

Talia Marby serves up delectable English deep fried fare in the heart of the Berkshires—but she soon discovers there’s something fishy going on…

Sometimes in this life, you have to fish or cut bait. After walking away from a miserable job and an even worse boyfriend, Talia Marby has no regrets. She’s returned to her hometown and is happy to help her dear friend Bea Lambert by working at Lambert’s Fish & Chips, a cornerstone of a charming shopping plaza designed to resemble an old English village.

But not all the shop owners are charming. Phil Turnbull has been pestering Bea to sign a petition against a new store opening up, and his constant badgering is enough to make her want to boil him in oil. When Talia and Bea stumble upon Turnbull murdered in his shop, the police suspect Bea. Now it’s up to Talia to fish around for clues and hook the real killer before her friend has to trade serving food for serving time…

Includes delicious recipes!

When I began writing Fillet of Murder, which features a fish and chips eatery in the Berkshires, I wanted readers to like my people . . . maybe even find a few of them quirky. Isn’t that one of the things we love about cozy characters? Since I grew up in the region where the series takes place, I scrolled my mind backward (way, way backward) to my younger days, to some of the wonderful “characters” I was lucky enough to know.

I was seventeen when I first got a summer job at an old-style restaurant called The Willows (long gone, I’m afraid). The owner, Gladys, was a generous soul and one of the best cooks I’ve ever known. Throughout that entire summer I flipped burgers, made sub sandwiches, and washed a never-ending stream of dirty dishes and pans. I even scrubbed clam shells for the soon-to-be steamed clams, never realizing they were still alive until one of them snapped shut and sent my heart into overdrive!

That summer left me with so many treasured memories. I can still recall how appreciated Gladys made me feel after working long, hot hours in a kitchen cooled only by a table fan. She overpaid me and over-praised me—she was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.

Those are the days I thought back to when I first began writing the Deep Fried series. I wanted Talia Marby, my main character, to have those same warm recollections of her first summer job. So I created Bea Lambert.

As characters go, Bea is one of my favorites. Picture a petite, sixtyish woman with springy black curls, leaf green eyes, and a darling British accent. Originally from the UK, her speech is populated with words like “luvvy” and “bloke” and “wanker.” Bea is the co-owner, with her hubby, of Lambert’s Fish & Chips—an eatery located in a cobblestoned shopping plaza designed to resemble an old English village.

Talia was a teenager when she got her first job at Lambert’s. Troubled by a rift between her mom and dad, she bonded with the childless Bea, and Lambert’s became her refuge. Even when she wasn’t working, Talia could often be found mulling over homework at one of the tables at the back of the restaurant. Bea couldn’t have loved Talia more if she’d been her own daughter.

Talia learned the fish and chips biz that summer, never dreaming she’d return there more than fifteen years later to help out Bea in a pinch. What she also never imagined was murder, right there in that charming plaza. When Bea is accused of murdering a fellow shopkeeper, Talia dives right in to rescue her friend from a certain stint in the pokey.

Looking back, I realize that Bea and Gladys didn’t have all that much in common. Not unless you counted their many kindnesses, their overwhelming generosity, and their love for humankind.

Were you ever lucky enough to have a Bea or a Gladys in your life? Do you have a story you’d like to share about your first summer job?

Since this is the first book in the new series, I feel a little pros and cons list is in order :) 

What I Liked: 

The Characters
Talia and Bea are WONDERFUL!  They play off of each other beautifully and have formed a tremendously admirable friendship. The kind that we all wish we could have.  Their supporting cast of characters are a fantastic addition as well.  

The Setting
Naturally, who wouldn't love a shopping center that's poised to look like an Old English village?  There's a certain kind of charm to a place like that, and it's embodied perfectly in this story. 

The Food
Ahhhhhhhhhh the recipes they include! One of my favorite things about cozies - they include delicious recipes that give you the chance to feel even closer to the characters that you've grown to love and admire.  

The Mystery
I love the puns that could be inserted here to describe the mystery.  I'll refrain for the sake of anyone reading this, but I truly enjoyed following these ladies on their quest to discover the culprit of the murder.  It left me guessing until the reveal and I was actually surprised at how it unfolded.  

What I Didn't Like: 

Honestly?  There wasn't anything that I didn't like. And I truly mean that.  This book was wonderful! 

Overall: 
This is a well written, very good mystery with characters that are easily likeable.  I'm thrilled to have been able to read and review it, and am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.  

Rating: 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own. 

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Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Some Like It Witchy (A Wishcraft Mystery #5) by Heather Blake

Wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather can charm desires into reality, but as the national bestselling Wishcraft mysteries continue, she won’t be able to magically avoid trouble when death holds an open house….

The Enchanted Village is abuzz when the old Tavistock house finally goes up for sale. Darcy’s friend Curecrafter Cherise Goodwin is hoping she will have the winning bid on the home, but Darcy can’t shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen—and her magical instincts are usually right.

Sure enough, while Darcy and Cherise are looking at the property, they discover real estate agent Raina Gallagher stone-cold dead on the floor. Clutched in her hand is a gemstone amulet and, on the wall above her, a large red A. While Raina had no shortage of enemies, there’s also a dark legend about the house itself. To track down the killer, Darcy must unlock the secrets of both the deceased and the estate—and she’ll need to act fast, because revenge is a deal that never closes. 

One of the taglines for my Wishcraft books, featuring loveable Wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather, is “Where there’s a witch, there’s a way.”

Which (witch?) is so true of the whole series, actually.

The phrase, however, started me thinking about witchy-type powers. Darcy can grant wishes. Others Crafters can disappear into thin air, bake a mean cupcake, grow amazing flowers, craft a spell...

But what power would I want?

There’s something to be said about invisibility. Think of the conversations you could overhear, the hilarious pranks you could pull.

Or maybe telepathy. Knowing what others are thinking. On second thought, cross that off—there are some things I probably don’t want to know.

Ooh, flying. That could be...amazing. Broomstick optional.

Oh, oh! Or maybe unlimited free shopping? Groceries, clothes, tile and drywall (can you tell we’ve been renovating our bathroom?).

All pretty good options, but ultimately I think I’d choose teleportation. Only being a blink or a twitch away from another destination holds a lot of appeal. Especially when stuck in a traffic jam.

What would you choose for your witchy power?

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber) is the author of the Wishcraft mysteries, the Magic Potion mysteries, the Nina Quinn mysteries, and the Lucy Valentine novels, and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She's a total homebody who loves to be close to her family, read, watch reality TV (especially cooking competition shows), drink too much coffee, crochet, bake (mostly cookies), and occasionally leave the house to travel to the beautiful mountains in the northeast. Heather grew up in a suburb of Boston, but currently she lives in the Cincinnati area with her family and is hard at work on her next book.

www.heatherblakebooks.com

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherBlakeBooks

Yet another wonderful trip to the Enchanted Village with Darcy and friends! This magical addition to the series proves just how enchanting Ms. Blake's imagination must be.  She has gifted us with a brilliantly written mystery and has incorporated the paranormal beautifully into the plot.

This book made me laugh, and it certainly left me with the need for more as it wraps up with some unanswered/unresolved issues.  And of course, the main twist in the plot - the murder mystery.  It was creatively done, and had me scratching my head when the murderer was revealed.

I love these books. I love everything about them and my only suggestion - that they get written faster! :)

Rating: 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own.

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Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Flourless to Stop Him (A Baker's Treat #3) by Nancy J. Parra

The author of Murder Gone A-Rye and Gluten for Punishment returns to Oiltop, Kansas, where gluten-free baker Toni Holmes has to separate the wheat from the chaff to clear her brother of murder… 

It’s never a good time for a crisis. Toni’s busy whipping up gluten-free holiday treats when a murder forces her to put baking on the back burner. A dead man has been found in the bathtub of a local inn—in a room registered to her brother, Tim.

With her sibling now a prime suspect in a mysterious homicide, Toni is determined to find out who set him up. But she’s about to get some unwanted assistance from former investigative journalist Grandma Ruth, who won’t let anything slow her progress in running down a killer. 

We asked Toni Holmes from the Baker's Treat gluten-free mystery series a few questions.

1.) What new thing would you try?:  Barrel racing
What would make you say no?:  Bull riding

2.) What do you get too much of?:  Family opinions
And not enough?: Sleep

3.) What fear have you conquered?: Fitting in
Not quite yet?:  Failure

4.) What are you getting better at?: Baking Gluten-free
What are you getting worse at?: Dating

5.) What would you pay good money for?:  A new mixer
What wouldn't you take even if it were free?:  An apartment in Chicago

6.) Do you have a career highlight?:  Opening my gluten free baker, Baker's Treat
And low point?:  Struggling to catch the guy who is framing my brother Tim.

7.) What are you endlessly curious about?:  How to make food gluten free
And zero interest in?: Cow tipping

8.) What do you empathize with?: Innocent people accused of a crime they didn't commit
What do you have no sympathy for?: Killers

9.) What is worth the wait?: Love
What do you have no patience for?:  People who dismiss food allergies

10.) What's always cool?:  Birthday cake - gluten free, of course
What's never cool?:  Dismissing someone for needing a special diet

I've said it once and I'll say it again - this series makes me SO happy! To start, it's set in Kansas.  KANSAS!  Being a Kansas girl, it's rare to see a book or series set in this state.  So when you find one that is, it's incredibly exciting.  And everything portrayed in the books is exactly how the towns and people of Kansas are.  And that makes me happy :)  

The characters are another reason why I love this series so much.  Toni is a fantastic sleuth with the smarts to be a detective.  I love her personality and I especially love all of the characters this series has to offer.  It's such a wonderful group of people - the kind that you'd want to spend a lot of time with!  

The mystery in this one was an edge of your seat, thrilling ride with the stakes high for Toni and her brother, Tim.  I was enthralled with the route this story took, and when the culprit of the crime is finally revealed, it is literally jaw-dropping.  

Ms. Parra has crafted a wonderful book in Flourless to Stop Him, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she's got up her sleeve for Toni and friends in the next go-round. 

Rating: 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own.  

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Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Seven Threadly Sins (Threadville Mystery #5) by Janet Bolin

Threadville, Pennsylvania, is famous for its fabric, needlecraft, and embroidery, so it’s only natural that it would become the home of the Threadville Academy of Design and Modeling. While Willow Vanderling has certainly never wanted to be a model, here she is, voluntarily strutting her stuff in a charity runway show in outrageous clothing, all to support the Academy’s scholarship fund.

But the lascivious, mean-spirited director of the academy, Antonio, is making the fashion show a less-than-fabulous affair. After Antonio plays a shocking prank on Willow and her friends that doesn’t exactly leave the ladies in stitches, he mysteriously winds up dead—and someone is trying to pin the blame on Willow.

Now, she must do whatever it takes in order to clear her name, even if it means needling around in other people’s secrets. 

Which Came First?

Sometimes, my life parallels the lives of the characters in my books in mysterious ways. In the fifth Threadville Mystery, SEVEN THREADLY SINS, my protagonist, Willow, models in a charity fundraiser fashion show. I’d already written the manuscript when I joined an Improv group. They asked me to participate in a fundraiser, a murder mystery dinner theater play. . .

Here are excerpts from Willow’s runway stint in SEVEN THREADLY SINS, along with the true story of me acting the part of a rather nasty but slightly clueless old lady.

Willow Vanderling in SEVEN THREADLY SINS: I sashayed out onto the runway with an exaggerated sway of hips, turned, started back, and looked saucily over my shoulder.

Janet Bolin in her acting debut: I stood behind another actor, waiting for our cue to go on. I was both excited and nervous. Speaking her first line, the other actor tripped out onto the stage. I followed, pirouetted to make my character’s admiration of the set obvious, and responded.

Willow: I was supposed to gracefully drop a chunky faux gold chain over my head and shrug out of the jacket to reveal the sleeveless dress. I hadn’t anticipated wrestling with the necklace, the jacket, and a cardboard briefcase at the same time, and my dropping and shrugging were anything but graceful. Finally, I unsnagged the chain from my hairdo and subdued the jacket.

Janet: I wasn’t supposed to wear my glasses. Partway through the first scene, I realized I had them on. I removed them (gracefully!) but then had to figure out how to keep them unscratched. My character had a purse, but it was for carrying the pie server and the rock  . . .

Willow:  she . . . unpinned what was left of my glamorous hairdo after the “gold” chain had pulled tendrils from it, and arranged my hair in two ponytails, one above each ear. Glancing into the full-length mirror near the stage curtains, I mistook myself for a two-year-old in a fun house mirror, the kind that stretched one to a ridiculous height.

Janet: I didn’t find a wig that suited my dotty character. Instead, I put my hair in pin curls (strange talents can survive years of disuse.) I planned to comb the curls out before the play, but the pin curls looked so funny that I asked the director if I should leave them in. We finally decided that I would take the bobby pins out, but I wouldn’t comb my hair. The curls became springs all over my head. Yes, it was ridiculous. But so was the character I was playing, and the jouncing curls reminded me to stop grinning like myself (the other actors kept making me laugh) and to frown like my character . . .

Willow: This was supposed to be a cocktail dress. It was, to say the least, a very unusual cocktail dress. Following the sketch and instructions that Antonio had given me, I had concocted a tiered, ruffled, balloon-like mini-dress from white and baby blue organza, with tiny flowers machine-embroidered at the edges of the ruffles.

Janet: It was my character’s big day. She wanted to dress up, all in lime green. A friend found the perfect, though outsized, jacket in a used clothing store. I made a matching full-length, elastic-waisted satin skirt, and pulled them both over the outfit I’d worn in earlier scenes. (In theater, aren’t you supposed to be larger than life?) My character insisted on wearing her comfy lime green sneakers with her dressy outfit. I obeyed her.

When she’s not reading, writing, playing with her embroidery and sewing machine, or hanging out with people who make her laugh, Janet Bolin walks her dogs near Lake Erie.

Visit Janet at her website: http://ThreadvilleMysteries.com/

Like her on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Janet-Bolin/267325191115

Find her on twitter: https://twitter.com/JanetBolin

This was a fun story! It started off with excitement - I mean, a Design Academy? How cool is that?! - and ended with a twist.  It was exactly the kind of story I've come to expect and enjoy from Ms. Bolin and her Threadville mysteries.  Great characters, a well-paced and thought out mystery, and of course, a lot of thread :)  I thoroughly enjoyed the concept of Seven Threadly Sins, and loved the experience of Willow's attempt at proving herself innocent come to life with each turn of the page.  

This is a wonderful story that added even more depth to an already great series.  I'm looking forward to whatever is in store for Willow and her clan next.  

Rating: 4.5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own. 

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Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Hiss and Tell (Sunny & Shadow #4) by Claire Donally

In this Sunny & Shadow Mystery from the New York Timesbestselling author of Last Licks, a fat-cat wedding is making waves in Kittery Harbor, Maine. 

Political heiress Priscilla Kingsbury is about to marry Carson de Kruk, son of business mogul Augustus de Kruk, at the Kingsburys’ waterfront compound. For reporter Sunny Coolidge, an assignment from the Harbor Courier to cover the event is like catnip.

But when Sunny photographs men pulling the body of a dead woman out of the water, the Kingsburys’ private security isn’t happy. They claim the woman’s death was an accident, but the story seems fishy. Now, with a little help from her police officer boyfriend and her cunning cat Shadow, Sunny is determined to get the scoop on a killer. 

A Love/Hate Relationship

For Sunny and Shadow's latest outing, I decided to throw a little ailurophobia into the mix, with a billionaire, a really domineering alpha male, going to pieces whenever Shadow crosses his path. The dictionary definition of this psychological condition describes an irrational aversion to cats, a fear and even a loathing of them. And while I play the situation for laughs, it's serious for the sufferers. They can suffer panic symptoms – trembling, nausea, shortness of breath, even heart palpitations.

What causes this phobia? It could be due to an unfortunate experience with a cat during the sufferer's childhood, picking up anti-cat attitudes from parents, or an intense belief in cats' bad rep in terms of evil magic. I like a semi-Buddhist friend's theory – cat-haters must have spent several recent reincarnations as mice.

Let's face it, though, loving cats is just about as irrational as hating them. The ancient Egyptians worshiped cats as gods and even mummified them. The darker side of that was the temple kitten mills where cats were raised to become mummies and sold to the devout. X-rays of some of those remains show the embalmed “gods” had broken necks. And they certainly didn't get much love in later days. Some 38,000 pounds of mummified cats were exported to England for use as fertilizer in the late 1800s.   

A lot of websites list historical figures like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Genghis Khan as ailurophobes. More recent members of the cat-haters club include Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, and Joe Stalin. A lot of this seems to be more myth than history, however. It's an intriguing notion: Mighty despots who could order millions around couldn't stand little furry creatures with a famous independent streak.

Of course, if you ever tried to order a cat around, a quick descent into irrationality is the least you could expect. 

And it's not just bad guys who suffer from ailurophobia. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the general who won World War II and became 34^th president, apparently ordered his staff to shoot any feline trespassers wandering near his home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I have no reports regarding the situation around the White House during his presidency. Artists, too, have been afflicted with this cat hostility – Shakespeare, the dancer Isadora Duncan, even La Toya Jackson.

But creative folks have also been cat lovers. Hemingway, Mark Twain, and Stan Laurel all were friends of furballs. When it comes to the powerful, two figures from the American Civil War, Lincoln and Lee, were kitty-lovers. One of the greatest leaders of the Twentieth Century didn't just love cats, he continued to do so from beyond the grave. During World War II, Winston Churchill not only attended dinners but Cabinet meetings with a cat named Nelson sitting beside him. During Churchill's final years, he was given a marmalade cat whom he named Jock. When the former prime minister passed away, he arranged that a similar cat should continue to live at Chartwell, his stately family manor, which is now run as a national historic site. At present, Jock V is living there, although he's not allowed in the historic rooms for fear he'll destroy the antiques.

Perhaps the sorest point of the ambivalent relationship between humans and felines lies in the field of religion. St. Gregory the Great, an early pope, was apparently very fond of cats.  Eight Gregories farther on, though, Pope Gregory IX denounced cats as limbs of Satan,  issuing a papal bull against them in the 1230s that resulted in cats being burned. A few centuries later Pope Innocent VIII wasn't so innocent when he issued a bull branding cats as co-conspirators with witches. Any woman burned at the stake would be accompanied by her supposed familiar. That was in 1484. Apparently the faithful did such a good job thinning the cat population that the bubonic plague, carried by flea-infested rats, repeatedly ravaged Europe. The city of London alone suffered outbreaks in 1563, 1593, 1603, 1625, 1636, and 1665, killing off ten to thirty percent of the population during those years. 

More recently, though, cats had a friend in the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI was a cat-lover from when he was young and had a feline companion while he was a cardinal. Vatican rules, unfortunately, do not allow a cat in the papal apartments. However, Benedict had many furred pals on the streets of Rome, a city with many strays. Onlookers report that the cats knew the Pope when he went out for strolls and would come running to him. On one occasion, a procession of about ten cats followed him back to the Vatican, forcing the Swiss Guards to warn the pontiff about a “cat invasion.”

We still don't have a pill to cure cat-phobia (or cat-mania, for that matter). But science has come to the defense of cats and the way they behave around ailurophobes. The kitty that makes a beeline for the one person in the room who's uncomfortable around cats isn't using some feline sixth sense to make his victim miserable. It's simply a cattish reaction to two-leggity behavior. Among cats, a prolonged stare is a challenge. So for somebody like Shadow, strangers making kissy noises, calling “puss-puss,” or trying to pick him up would be seen as threatening types. The person who's sitting still and not looking his way comes across as pleasant and non-threatening, the perfect lap to hop onto. How's a cat to know that will cause cold sweats and pounding hearts?

Maybe the ailurophobe should react like my character in Hiss and Tell, having a loud meltdown whenever he catches a glimpse of Shadow. At least then the cat has a little warning. . .

What a fun story! To begin, I must say that I absolutely adore Shadow. Characters like him make me laugh and they bring an air of comforting ease to an otherwise dark situation.  I also adore Sunny. And with a name like Sunny, how could you not?!  She's the perfect protagonist and no matter what situations she finds herself in, she always manages to get her way out (with Shadow's help of course!) 

The theme for this book was a wedding. When Sunny goes to photograph and she finds men pulling a woman's body out of the water, she then finds herself caught up in the whirlwind of a homicide investigation of which she feels she has to solve.  

Superbly written, Hiss and Tell is a great addition to this series. It's clever, funny and absolutely adorable.  This is one series that I'd read again and again!  

Rating: 5 Stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own. 

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