2014 was a particularly good year for cat cozies. She of Little
Talent and I read and reviewed quite a few of them. We read about cats in cat
shows, cats in libraries and shops of various sorts, cats and witches, cats and
ghosts, cats who are friends with dogs (fiction, obviously), and cats who are
detectives.
That’s a lot of stories about cats, and we couldn’t even get
to many, many more stories that are just waiting to be read. (Old SoLT said
something about “needing her beauty sleep,” but I’ve seen her in the mornings and,
believe me, that sleep thing is not doing her any good.)
Anyway, I had quite a hard time picking the best books of the
year. My planned title for this list was “Top 5 Cat Cozy Mysteries of 2014,”
but I just couldn’t whittle it down to only five titles. As for choosing an
absolute, #1 favorite book of the year—forget it. So, in no particular order,
here are my favorite cat cozy mysteries of the year:
Professional photographer Janet McPhail becomes an
investigator—and suspect—in the murder of an all-around d
espicable man. When things get rough, she takes comfort in
her dog (whatever) and cat, a spunky fellow named Leo.
Hamlet the black cat goes to a cat show, gets catnapped, and
helps solve a murder. All in a day’s work for a true celebricat.
Lee Barrett moves back home to Salem, Massachusetts, and
lands a late-night TV job as a call-in psychic, but only after discovering the murdered
body of the previous psychic—and tripping over said psychic’s cat.
Glasgow’s finest cat sleuth commutes into the city to prove
that his person is not a crook.
A reincarnated cat and an ectoplasmic dog team up to solve a
murder and protect an animal cemetery.
Eddie the bookmobile cat rides along as librarian Minnie
Hamilton first helps a stroke patient and then tries to prove that said patient
is not a murderer—or is he?
Cat lover Jillian Hart cares for a big orange tabby named
Clyde and helps solve not one but two murders.
