Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday

Welcome to this week's edition of Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday!

We hope you enjoy our choices.

Siren Song (Miss Cuddlywumps Investigates Book 3) by Roby Sweet

From the publisher: A joyous New Year’s Eve in Historic Brooksford, Maryland, ends in tragedy when fireworks give way to murder during the tiny town’s inaugural First Night celebration, and once again Rory Roberts and her cat are right at the center of it all. This time, though, Rory is more in the center than she’s ever been, as she finds herself caught between her new boyfriend (who happens to be the county sheriff) and the prime suspect (who happens to be her neighbor and lifelong best friend). She may not want to choose sides, but friendship trumps romance as Rory is so sure her nice-guy best buddy could not have committed such a vicious crime. But will her loyalty leave her on the wrong side—and alone?

Meanwhile, Rory’s fluffy-tailed calico, Miss Cuddlywumps, is loyal only to the truth and to crime solving. A classically educated feline who is also well versed in mysteries, Miss C considers the slate of rather obvious suspects while trying to lead Rory in the right direction—hardly an easy task. As the cat sees it, she has only to follow the clues and her instincts to identify the killer, but as she soon learns, sometimes instincts can be wrong.

Tortie Shorties Review: I read a ton of cat mysteries. Honestly, I've gotten to the point where I don't read much else. As I get to meet so many fictional felines it's hard not to fall in love with each and every one of them, yet none has stolen my heart the way Miss Cuddlywumps has. She's adorable, she's hysterical, and she's brilliant. In this third book in the series Rory is at odds with her new beau (the sheriff) when he suspects her best friend of a murder during the town's New Year celebration. Life has been turned upside down in Miss C's home and she simply must help her human solve the murder so things can return to some semblance of normalcy...but is she in over her head this time around? Just as with the first two books in the series, the cozy little world that Rory and Miss C share is pure purrfection. It's a place I long to return to again and again.

Wrong Side of the Paw (A Bookmobile Cat Mystery) by Laurie Cass

From the publisher: As the bookmobile rolls along the hills of Chilson, Michigan, Minnie and Eddie spread good cheer and good reads. But when her faithful feline finds his way into the middle of a murder, Minnie is there, like any good librarian, to check it out.

Eddie turns a routine bookmobile stop into anything but when he makes a quick escape and hops into a pickup truck…with a dead body in the flatbed. The friendly local lawyer who was driving the pickup falls under suspicion. But Minnie and Eddie think there's more to this case than meets the eye, and the dynamic duo sets out to leave no page unturned.

Tortie Shorties Review: Loads of changes are afoot in Minnie's life in this sixth installment of the Bookmobile Cat mystery series, both in her personal and professional life. Her living arrangement is in question, her new boss at the library is a bigger nightmare than the last, and she comes to a startling revelation about her love life. The only constant in Minnie's day to day is darling little Eddie, who stumbles on yet another dead body while out making bookmobile rounds. The little guy's attempt at making Minnie run after him in a parking lot leads to the discovery of a dead body under a tarp in the back of a pickup truck. The victim is the father of Minnie's friend Leese, who has just returned to Chilson to open an elder law practice. When Leese falls under suspicion and her new business is about tank, Minnie and Eddie take on the case.

Each book in this series is like reuniting with old friends, and the mysteries aren't terribly complicated, making for fun little puzzles to be savored with each page. If you're like me and find your bliss in cats and books, this is a series that will make you purr with delight.

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