You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was a fun first book. I really enjoyed the cat content;). And the mystery was pretty good, too. I find it interesting that this is the second series with a librarian in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Appears to be a trend. Looking forward to checking out more books in the series.
As much as librarians and their magical cats appeal to me in mystery format, I was a bit hesitant when I first picked this book up. It was either going to be enjoyable or inspire an oh-dear-God-my-eyes sort of reaction. Fortunately, it was definitely the former.
In fact, the most enjoyable part of the book - the mystery itself - surprised me by its quality. I love a good mystery. I loathe it when a mystery book stumps the reader, not through skill, but because the author didn't lay all the clues out for the reader to pick up on if they could. Conversely, I'm pretty well versed in the mystery genre and can usually solve the mystery before the book does because I know what to look for. I love it when the author can lay it all out and still keep me guessing, and this book does exactly that. I was fairly certain I knew what was going on, but Kelly planted enough red herrings and twists that I couldn't pin it down exactly. As a result, the conclusion of the book satisfied me that the guess I had made were right, while still managing to surprise me a little: the best kind of mystery!
I also enjoyed how true to its genre this book remained. Curiosity Thrilled the Cat is quite firmly planted in the cozy mystery subset. Kelly keeps things realistic: the main character gets hurt and is certainly not infallible. But, that realism never overrides the cozy aura of the novel, making this a great book to curl up with.
I've saved the best for last, though. Kathleen's cats are awesome. Hercules is a Tuxedo cat who hates getting his paws wet and may or may not be able to walk through walls. And Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction, whose ferocious hunting skills are likely aided by his powers of invisibility. These two are so completely cat-like and well characterized I felt like I could reach out and pet them (not that they'd let me). They took a regular old mystery and made it something special and worth reading.
In fact, the most enjoyable part of the book - the mystery itself - surprised me by its quality. I love a good mystery. I loathe it when a mystery book stumps the reader, not through skill, but because the author didn't lay all the clues out for the reader to pick up on if they could. Conversely, I'm pretty well versed in the mystery genre and can usually solve the mystery before the book does because I know what to look for. I love it when the author can lay it all out and still keep me guessing, and this book does exactly that. I was fairly certain I knew what was going on, but Kelly planted enough red herrings and twists that I couldn't pin it down exactly. As a result, the conclusion of the book satisfied me that the guess I had made were right, while still managing to surprise me a little: the best kind of mystery!
I also enjoyed how true to its genre this book remained. Curiosity Thrilled the Cat is quite firmly planted in the cozy mystery subset. Kelly keeps things realistic: the main character gets hurt and is certainly not infallible. But, that realism never overrides the cozy aura of the novel, making this a great book to curl up with.
I've saved the best for last, though. Kathleen's cats are awesome. Hercules is a Tuxedo cat who hates getting his paws wet and may or may not be able to walk through walls. And Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction, whose ferocious hunting skills are likely aided by his powers of invisibility. These two are so completely cat-like and well characterized I felt like I could reach out and pet them (not that they'd let me). They took a regular old mystery and made it something special and worth reading.
For a book picked up on a whim because it had cats on the cover, this was a real gem. Great cozy mystery involving two of the greatest things ever -- cats and libraries! I enjoyed the characters in the book and the cozy small town setting and of course the cats. The mystery was well done with great red-herring clues that had me fooled up til the end and believable interactions and motivations. I did find the book made me hungry, though, because Kathleen kept baking things like banana bread and muffins and cinnamon rolls. I could not decide if I was sorry the recipes were not included in the back of the book or not. If the recipe for the homemade cat treats had been included I might have made those -- my kitty is not a catnip fiend like Owen, but she does love sardine and cheddar.
When I picked this book up at the Goodwill in Williamsburg (the museum and such being closed due to ice storm) I also grabbed the next two in the series, so I will be reading them in the near future. In the meantime, I will hopefully be able to pass this one along to my friend FURBALL who is a cat lover with similar taste in mysteries.
When I picked this book up at the Goodwill in Williamsburg (the museum and such being closed due to ice storm) I also grabbed the next two in the series, so I will be reading them in the near future. In the meantime, I will hopefully be able to pass this one along to my friend FURBALL who is a cat lover with similar taste in mysteries.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First in series: Magical Cats Mystery #1
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I put this on one of my library wishlists a few years ago.
Will I read more of the series?Probably Not Maybe Likely Most Likely Definitely This mystery was okay. It was slow, so I listened to most of it at 1.2 speed.
The narrator was Cassandra Campbell. No complaints.
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I put this on one of my library wishlists a few years ago.
Will I read more of the series?
The narrator was Cassandra Campbell. No complaints.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Vomit, Murder
Kathleen moves to Mayville after her boyfriend returns from a two-week fishing trip - married. The library in Mayville needs someone to supervise the renovation of the library and she accepts to show her ex-boyfriend that she can be spontaneous. She goes for a walk along Wisteria Hill after moving and finds two kittens - or rather, they find her. And they refuse to be left behind. So she takes them home and names them Hercules and Owen. She talks to them - a lot. They refuse to allow anyone but her to touch them, although they appreciate other people and come close. Then the guest conductor at the music event is killed. The detective suspects Kathleen at first. He's decided they knew each other when they lived in New York (they didn't). She is highly offended because she couldn't stand him. She begins noticing that her cats are behaving strangely and things she is seeing things.
relaxing
slow-paced
Very cozy little mystery. Maybe a smidge too cozy.
Por fin, a la tercera fue la vencida y encontré un cozy decente.
Y la portada no miente, hay dos gatos e intervienen continuamente.
La historia se centra en Kathleen una joven bibliotecaria cuyo nombre está escrito en una nota comprometedora en el bolsillo del cadáver de un famoso conductor y músico quien un día anterior tuvo un altercado con la chica. Ella no se queda de brazos cruzados e intenta descubrir el quien, por qué y cómo, con la ayuda de sus gatos Owen y Hercules hará sus pesquisas, por cierto, ambos felinos tienen un truco bajo la pata.
Es una novela entretenida, los gatos son un amor y aparecen lo suficiente en la historia, con su comportamiento variando del “normal” a un incremento de inteligencia aunado al despliegue de sus poderes para darle pistas importantes a su dueña. Con esto, es divertido leer a Kathleen intentar entender que significa dichas pistas, después de todo los gatos no le pueden explicar todo.
Sin embargo, la chica tiene hasta tres aliadas para recabar información, pero no siento es tan chocante, pues ella se desplaza a diversos puntos y habla con los personajes, y a la larga uno va anotando sospechosos y motivos, pero cuidado con esos giros!!!
Hay romance en el aire, pero ella según no está interesada y él es quien anda haciendo ojitos, y la escena del mercado me dio risa.
Puntos extras por el trabajo realizado con una colonia de gatos callejeros, a pesar de no profundizar con este problema espero mueva conciencia en los lectores y quien no lo ha realizado opere a sus animales y adopte en vez de comprar.
Y la portada no miente, hay dos gatos e intervienen continuamente.
La historia se centra en Kathleen una joven bibliotecaria cuyo nombre está escrito en una nota comprometedora en el bolsillo del cadáver de un famoso conductor y músico quien un día anterior tuvo un altercado con la chica. Ella no se queda de brazos cruzados e intenta descubrir el quien, por qué y cómo, con la ayuda de sus gatos Owen y Hercules hará sus pesquisas, por cierto, ambos felinos tienen un truco bajo la pata.
Es una novela entretenida, los gatos son un amor y aparecen lo suficiente en la historia, con su comportamiento variando del “normal” a un incremento de inteligencia aunado al despliegue de sus poderes para darle pistas importantes a su dueña. Con esto, es divertido leer a Kathleen intentar entender que significa dichas pistas, después de todo los gatos no le pueden explicar todo.
Sin embargo, la chica tiene hasta tres aliadas para recabar información, pero no siento es tan chocante, pues ella se desplaza a diversos puntos y habla con los personajes, y a la larga uno va anotando sospechosos y motivos, pero cuidado con esos giros!!!
Hay romance en el aire, pero ella según no está interesada y él es quien anda haciendo ojitos, y la escena del mercado me dio risa.
Puntos extras por el trabajo realizado con una colonia de gatos callejeros, a pesar de no profundizar con este problema espero mueva conciencia en los lectores y quien no lo ha realizado opere a sus animales y adopte en vez de comprar.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No