Chazz reviews Black Cat and the Accidental Angel

 Merow! Chazz here!  I'm on my second review already, wow! ROCCO is really throwing me into the hot seat!

the book I'm reviewing today is BLACK CAT AND THE ACCIDENTAL ANGEL.

This is part of a series written by Elaine Faber. The main characters are Black Cat aka Thumper and his main squeeze, Noe-Noe. As he story opens Thumper and Noe Noe are returning home with their humans from a vacation.  A traffic incident finds one of the humans rushed to the hospital and the cats abandoned.  Thumper wakes up with amnesia, and his companion, NoeNoe promises to take care of him. "Call me your angel," she says.  And so NoeNoe becomes an Angel...accidentally.

As the cats struggle to find their way home, they end up being taken in by a farmer, John, and his daughter Cindy.  It seems that they face foreclosure on their family farm, and also someone has been playing pranks that threaten Cindy.  Thumper (renamed Black Cat by Cindy) and Angel immediaely set out to help the duo, a move that ultimately puts Angel's life at risk.

This book isn't as much a mystery as it is a tale of faith and redemption.  I won't share the ending- you'll have to read it for yourself - but those who believe in happy endings will love it. I'd have a box of Kleenex on hand while reading this book, and it did whet my appetite for reading the others in the series!

I would give this book a resounding five paws!

Chazz

GIVEAWAY!  Elaine Faber will give away an ebook copy of Black Cat and the Accidental Angel to one lucky commenter! Just leave your name and email address in our comments section below! Contest ends midnight April 5th.

BLACK CAT AND THE ACCIDENTAL ANGEL

Elaine Faber

Elk Grove Publications/Trade Paperback

Five Paws!

ROCCO and Chazz review....MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES

 ROCCO here!  I'd like to introduce everyone to my protegee, Chazz! Chazz will be helping out doing reviews and other things with the blog, so please give him a warm welcome!  His first assignemnt was reviewing Laura Child's latest Tea Shop mystery, MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES!

SPOTLIGHT!

MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES

A Tea Shop Mystery

Laura Childs

Hardcover/Berkley Prime Crime

Release date: March 5, 2024

Rating: Five Paws!

When Theodosia Browning reads the tea leaves on the set of the movie, Dark Fortunes, things go from spooky to worse. Lights are dimmed, the camera rolls, and red hot sparks fly as the film’s director is murdered in a tricky electrical accident.

Or was it an accident? Though the cast and crew are stunned beyond belief, nobody admits to seeing a thing. And when Theodosia’s friend, Delaine, becomes the prime suspect, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. But who among this Hollywood cast and crew had murder on their mind? The screenwriter is a self-centered pot head, the leading actress is trying to wiggle out of her contract, the brand new director seems indifferent, and nobody trusts the slippery-when-dry Hollywood agent.

Between hosting a Breakfast at Tiffany’s Tea, a Poetry Tea, and trying to launch her own chocolate line, Theodosia doggedly hunts down clues and explores the seemingly haunted Brittlebank Manor where the murder took place. And just when she’s ready to pounce, a Charleston Film Board member is also murdered, throwing everything into total disarray. But this clever killer will go to any lengths to hide his misdeeds as Theodosia soon finds out when she and her tea sommelier, Drayton, get caught up in a dangerous stakeout.

Hello everyone! I'm Chazz and I'm jazzed for Laura Child's latest book to be my very first review!   I have to admit, Im very much behind on this series, but after pawing thru this one, I've got to start form book one!  The book was excellently plotted and the characters vivid.  Laura Childs has a way of making her murders quite unusual and this was no exception. I liked the way Theodosia immediately stuck up for her friend Delaine and determined to clear her name. (Although i did think Delaine was a bit  much!  She's lucky Theo is her friend.)  the book combines cozy with thriller, another of my favorite genres, so suffice it to say I'm hooked!  I look forward to reading  more of Ms Child's books (and cat-ching up on the ones I've missed!)

ROCCO;  Yes, this one is a definite winner.  What Hollywood cast and crew hasn't thought about murdeirng thier director LOL. As usual, Theodosia noses around until the killer finally makes a move.  I'm only hoping boyfiriend Reilly can stick with her - they seem a good match!  (Unless you consider Drayton, her sidekick.)  One thing: I'd give Hayley a bit more to do other than cook!  And maybe add a cat......

Both Chazz and I give this a resounding five paws up

Giveaway!

Laura Childs will give a signed copy away to one lucky commenter! Just leave your name and email addy in our comments section and tell us who your favorite Tea Shop character is!  Chazz will select the winner!  Contest closes midnight, Friday March 22. US residents only please. 

ROCCO introduces Chazz!

 Hello Folks! ROCCO here!

As some of you know, I've been blogging here since 2008!  Im no spring chicken anymore, so the human and I decided it was time for  me to train a protegee!  and here he is!

Meet Chazz!

Chazz is a senior boy (though not as senior as myself) He will be 9 years young this September.  He is a rescue cat. He was rescued from a house that had 83 other cats living in it!  Chazz has a few health issues but overall is in remarkable shape!  He is a loving, affectionate kitty who enjoys a good chin rub and a good book!  

I hope that you all will give him a warm welcome! I look forward to sharing my knowledge with Chazz!

ROCCO    

ROCCO'S FEBRUARY COZY REVIEWS!

 Ma Row! Here are our February Cozy Reviews!

Up first....the newest Second Chance Cat mystery!

FUR LOVE OR MONEY

SOFIE RYAN

BERKLEY; MMPB

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

FIVE PAWS

Secondhand shop owner Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis, sniff out the suspect in this new, delightful Second Chance Cat Mystery from New York Times bestselling author, Sofie Ryan.

Sarah Grayson is taking a break from her bustling secondhand shop in small-town Maine to spend time with a friend and her dog. But their purr-fect visit comes to an end when the dog leads them to a storm cellar on a nearby property, where they discover a dead body.

The deceased turns out to be a sticky-fingered financial adviser who swindled millions from investors and who has been presumed dead for almost three years. Unfortunately, suspicion falls on the owner of the property where the body was found—and that owner is a good friend of Charlotte’s Angels’, the senior citizen sleuths who work out of Sarah’s shop. It’s all paws on deck, as the Angels are determined to clear his good name. But with a tight-lipped widow, a possibly shifty sister, and a slew of unhappy investors in the mix, the list of murder suspects seems endless. Sarah, Elvis, and the Angels have a lot of webs to untangle before they can catch the culprit.

What can we say about this series that hasn't already been said?  Good characters, compelling mysteries, and a charming cat named Elvis contnually put this as the top of our TBR list.  Five Paws.

FATAL FIRST EDITION

JENN  MCKINLAY

LIBRARY LOVERS  MYSTERY

HC/BERKLEY/2/13/24

FIVE PAWS

People are dying to get their hands on a rare, valuable book in the newest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Plot and the Pendulum.

Briar Creek Library director Lindsey Norris and her husband, Sully, are at a popular library conference in Chicago to hear book restoration specialist Brooklyn Wainwright give a keynote address. After the lecture, Lindsey looks under her seat and finds a tote bag containing a first edition of Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, inscribed to Alfred Hitchcock. Brooklyn determines the novel is one of a kind and quite valuable, so Lindsey and Sully return the book to the conference director, not wanting to stir up any trouble.

But just hours after the pair boards the train back to Connecticut, rumors that the Highsmith novel has gone missing buzz amongst the passengers, and they soon find the conference director murdered in his private compartment. And worse—the murderer planted the book in Lindsey and Sully’s room next door, making them prime suspects. Now, they must uncover the murderer and bring them to the end of their line, before they find themselves booked for a crime they didn’t commit.

Another excellent entry in a long runniung series.  Strangers on a Train was one of our favorite movies, so it was a hoot to read how it played out in this book!  Five Paws!

MURDER IN MASQUERADE

MARY WINTERS

LADY IN LETTERS MYSTERY

BERKLEY/TRADE PAPERBACK

FEBRUARY 20 2024

FOUR PAWS

Extra, extra, read all about it! Countess turned advice columnist Amelia Amesbury finds herself playing the role of sleuth when a night at the theatre turns deadly.

Victorian Countess Amelia Amesbury’s secret hobby, writing an advice column for a London penny paper, has gotten her into hot water before. After all, Amelia will do whatever it takes to help a reader in need. But now, handsome marquis Simon Bainbridge desperately requires her assistance. His beloved younger sister, Marielle, has written Amelia's Lady Agony column seeking advice on her plans to elope with a man her family does not approve of. Determined to save his sister from a scoundrel and the family from scandal, Simon asks Amelia to dissuade Marielle from the ill-advised gambit.

But when the scoundrel makes an untimely exit after a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Amelia realizes there’s much more at stake than saving a young woman’s reputation from ruin. It’s going to take more than her letter-writing skills to help the dashing marquis, mend the familial bond, and find the murderer. Luckily, solving problems is her specialty!

jSecond entry in a promising new series.