The Big Kitty
(A Sunny & Shadow Mystery)
Brand New Series
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
The Berkley Publishing Group
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Tony Mauro
Cover Design by George Long
Meet Sunny Coolidge, a New York journalist who has returned home to Kittery Harbor, Maine, to take care of her father after his heart attack. She finds work at the local travel agency for Ollie Barnstable a.k.a “Ollie the Barnacle”” but she hopes it is temporary and that she will be able to land a job at a local newspaper.
She is surprised one day when Ada Spuance, the eldery woman everyone calls “the cat lady” comes into the office and asks Sunny to help her find a winning lottery ticket. Sunny is not sure the winning ticket even exists but agrees to help Ada search her cat filled home. She thinks there may be a story she can write for the paper to impress the editor enough to hire her.
Sunny arrives to begin her search and she has a “Shadow”, a stray tomcat has followed her right up to the house. When there is no answer at the front door they stroll around to the back of the house and find an open entrance to the basement. Her investigative nature pushes her forward and she discovers poor Ada Spuance dead at the bottom of the stairs.
Did her fall have something to do with the lottery ticket? Was it an accident or MURDER? With her tomcat sidekick Sunny is going to find out. “Following the trail of the purrloined ticket” Sunny and her feline friend better be careful or the made find their very own tickets punched.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Sunny made some interesting decisions which made this a very interesting mystery. I may not have agreed with her actions but they set in action quite a chain of events. Shadow’s inquisitive nature also drove this story. They are purr-fect partners.
It had several humorous moments, but the ladies of the neighborhood, especially one special lady, sneaking rich, sweet and “unhealthy” food to Sunny’s dad really made me giggle.
This is a light hearted romp with plenty of suspects in a quirky little town. It is a great start to a series that shows much promise.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
