Reviewer
Note: Sofie Ryan also writes as Sofie Kelley
Sarah
Grayson runs Second Chance, a shop in North Harbor, Maine,
where she refurbishes and repurposes furniture and other items
to sell. It is a unique business, and she's definitely found
her niche. Or one of her niches. The other seems to be working
with a group of senior citizens to solve murders!
Sarah
has been hired, along with her team from Second Chance, to
clear out the house of Edison Hall, who was a collector of
many things, to the point of bordering on being a hoarder.
Edison's son, Ethan, hired a specialist to appraise his late
father's wine collection. When Sarah, her store manager, Mac,
and her uniquely intelligent cat, Elvis, enter Edison's small
house, there is a terrible smell. A smell which leads them
to the body of the wine specialist, one Ronan Quinn.
Although
the police are on the case to solve Quinn's murder, they are
taking too long to suit Stella, Edison's sister, who is the
one who hired Sarah and crew in the first place. She steps
up to hire "Charlotte's Angels" to solve the mystery.
Charlotte's Angels is made up of Rose, her boyfriend, Mr.
P, Liz and Charlotte, all sprightly senior citizens, who are
actually now legally able to conduct investigations since
Mr. P (aka Alfred) got his private investigator's license!
While Sarah has vowed to stay out of any more murder cases,
she knows she'll end up in the thick of things, since she
usually ends up driving the Angels around anyway. Her cat,
Elvis, seems to have a nose for snooping too, and the intelligence
to convey his take on things.
Sofie
Ryan has a knack for penning an interesting, realistic cozy,
and making you almost believe the human characters are running
the show. The truth is, although it's subtle, Elvis the cat
has the best intuition of all! There is such a good mixture
of people in this book- teens, 30 something's, and retirees,
that it should have multi-generation appeal amongst cozy readers.
Add a dash of humor and a side order of romance, and you've
got the perfect mystery for a snowy day read. I recommend
this book - and series- to book groups, too. Four paws and
one tail up!
Reviews of other titles in this series
The
Whole Cat and Caboodle #1
Buy
a Whisker #2
A
Whisker of Trouble #3
Telling
Tails #4
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