Kathleen Paulson may seem like a quiet librarian, serving her community with books and information, but she’s also someone that people feel like they can talk to. That’s why she thinks she can help solve crimes, well, that and the help of her magical cats Hercules and Owen. And it’s a good thing she can solve mysteries, because there are some odd things happening around her.
The library has a prankster. There is a gazebo out back, and over the summer someone had started leaving them gifts. First, there were 15 bales of hay, perfectly stacked. Then there was the inflatable pool filled with Jell-O, which was a big hit with the local squirrels. Then things were quiet for several months, and Kathleen thought maybe the prankster had moved on. But then she saw their latest creation—a sort of centaur, with its head missing. It’s a headless horse/man, and no one can figure out who is doing this to the library. But Kathleen and her staff decide to use this one as part of their Halloween decorations, with some spooky lighting and lots of pumpkins.
The library is also planning a Halloween party for their Reading Buddies program, and Kathleen has hired local baker Georgia Tepper to make cupcakes for the kids and cookies for the adults, all with fun holiday decorations and delicious flavors. They are finalizing the plans when an elegant older couple walk into the library. Georgia pales when she sees them and explains to Kathleen who they are.
Hugh and Margery Wyler are Georgia’s in-laws. Georgia says that they had never liked her. They had always wanted better for their son Scott. But Scott loved her and married her anyway. They had a daughter together, and they were talking about moving to a different part of the country, to get away from his parents, when he was killed in a car accident. The Wylers had threatened to take her daughter from her, so Georgia took her daughter and left. She changed her name and started a new life in Mayville Heights, where she thought she was safe from the Wylers. But they have money and influence, and they have discovered Georgia’s new name and tracked her down.
But when Margery is found on the beach, Kathleen’s boyfriend, detective Marcus Gordon ends up arresting Georgia for her murder. Kathleen is convinced that Georgia couldn’t have killed her former mother-in-law, and she starts asking some questions, even though almost everyone warns her not to. It’s gotten her into danger before, and it might again. But she just can’t stop herself, or stop her cat Hercules, who apparently has a way with internet research.
Kathleen’s research into the Wylers’ legal problems, and her questioning their former lawyer, who just happened to show up in town around the time Margery was killed, nets her some information. But it also puts her in the sights of the killer. Will Kathleen and her magical cats be able to break the case in time, or will this Halloween be her last?
Whiskers and Lies is the latest in Sofie Kelly’s Magical Cats Mystery series, the fourteenth book in this series. At this point in the series, these characters feel like old friends, and the world has been created so seamlessly that reading about it is effortless. The plotting is smart, the characters are friendly, and the ending satisfies.
While I’m not a big fan of magic in cozy mysteries, Hercules and Owen are quietly powerful but also limited in their magical abilities, and they come across as fairly normal pet cats, with their frequent requests for treats and general stubbornness. They add charm and texture to this story, but Kelly also adds plenty of humor, with the prankster leaving a pool full of Jell-O in the library’s backyard. I think cozy readers will really like Whiskers and Lies. I thought it was smart, whimsical, charming, and a joy to read. I only wish that there were recipes for those desserts, because I could really use a slice of apple galette with vanilla whipped cream or (even better) a piece or two of that chocolate pudding cake.
Egalleys for Whiskers and Lies were provided by Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley, with many thanks.
