Book Review - Depawsit Slip (Vanessa Abbot Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by Nancy C Davis by L. A. Keller

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This is most definitely a cozy mystery and includes the elements required. There is a murder very early in the book, a non-professional sleuth, no graphic sex or violence and a touch of romance.  This review includes spoilers so be forewarned.

The story revolves around Vanessa a forty-nine year old woman who runs a cat shelter and resale store.  The shelter also happens to be her apartment over the shop. She lives with twelve rescue cats who can not only solve crimes but apparently talk to her.  After a local barber is murdered the new detective in town recruits her (seemingly out of nowhere) to assist him on the case.

"Oh, you've got the brains, all right," he told her. "How would you like to help me solve this crime?"
Her eyes widened. "I couldn't do that. I'm just a lonely old cat lady."

I take issue with these sentences. First, no detective is going to ask a woman he just met, who may be a suspect, to help him solve the crime. How can he tell if she's smart since he just met her?  Secondly, the comment, "I'm just a lonely old cat lady." bothers me. I love cats. I've had cats most of my life AND I'm older than forty-nine but I don't consider myself to be 'lonely' or 'old'.

The first time Vanessa responds to one of her cats I had to re-read the section prior to see if someone else had entered the scene. Honestly, I talk to my cats constantly but I don't hear them speaking back to me. I can read their moods, I know what the hungry cry and angry cry are but they don't make suggestions about people or situations.

This was a pleasant enough read but I felt it stretched the imagination but not enough to make it work. If the cats really spoke and included dialogue then I might have found it amusing. The romance was too quick without any foundation and the main character too much of a cliché.  This author has written several series and I hope her later efforts included better developed characters.




Happy Trails,

Leslie

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