#Review / #Giveaway – The Cat, The Collector and the Killer by Leann Sweeney @penguincozies

Dollycas’s Thoughts

A feline filled fun mystery!

Married life is off to a great start for Jillian Hart and her “acting” police chief Tom Stewart. When Minnie Schultz is found disoriented wandering down a street in Mercy, Tom calls his wife for a little assistance. Minnie was carrying a kitty in a tote bag on her unexplainable walk around town. Jillian heads to get the kitten and calls Shawn, the owner of the local shelter. He knows Minnie very well and they take a trip to her house to check on the rest of her cats. They not only find many more cats, but also dead man. There is no way Minnie could be a killer, but there has to be a reason she was disoriented. Both Shawn and Jillian know the dead man and they know he had plenty of enemies as does Tom. They are going to need more than a clowder of kittens to solve this mystery.

I love, love, love this series! Jillian and Tom are not only a great couple but a great team. With a houseful of cats there is never a dull moment, especially when Jillian brings home a foster cat or two. Tom’s cat, Dashiell is just settling in with Syrah, Chablis, and Merlot when Jillian brings home Minnie’s Otto into the house. Dashiell is not one bit happy about that but Jillian knows how to handle these cats and I just love everything she does with and for them. Playtime, cuddles, special food for Dashiell, plenty of love to go around. She doesn’t spend as much time with them as they would like during this story. Tom has asked Jillian to help with the case. There is so much evidence to be cataloged that he really needs an extra set of hands and eyes. Of course she is no stranger to investigating murders so her observations are very valuable.

I am always captivated by the way the author writes these characters and the way the all work together. Yes, Tom and newly promoted Detective Candace, tell Jillian that things need to be kept confidential, by Jillian and stepdaughter Kara both make good sounding boards. Then they talk things through and MOST of the time tell Tom their thoughts before running off to get themselves in trouble. The key word here is MOST.

The new characters introduced in this book are very engaging, Minnie, a psychiatrist and her brother. Minnie’s children are an interesting bunch, estranged from their mother since their father died. Circumstances bring them all together in a very realistic way. I hope they pop up in future stories.

The mystery this time was also challenging with a lot of moving elements. I had an idea of the who but the how and the why just never fell into place until the very end. Twists and turns galore and I turned out to be only about 10% right in my deductions by the end of the book. That is why I love Leann Sweeney’s stories, she always surprises me.

Again I have a new favorite in the series, The Cat, The Collector and The Killer.  I bet that will change next October when The Cat, The Boy and Bones is released.  She gives us a sneak peak at the end of this book and I am sorry but I just couldn’t read it. Waiting until next October to read the whole thing would be excruciating.