Book Review: Purrfect Murder, by Nic Saint

On this Mysterious Monday, we are pleased to introduce another series that is new to us, The Mysteries of Max, by husband-and-wife writing duo Nic Saint. The first book in the series is Purrfect Murder. It is a fun read with a well-plotted mystery and—most importantly to us—plenty of cats.

The body in the outhouse & the new cop with the sketchy background

Odelia Poole is a reporter for the local newspaper in Hampton Cove. That means she’s really nosy, asks a lot of questions, and doesn’t stop digging until she finds answers. Oh, and she can talk to cats, but more about that later.  When a body is discovered at the bottom of the outhouse pit, and the body turns out to be that of a famous author who disappeared months ago, of course Odelia is going to investigate. And the pushy new cop from New York City is not going to stop her. No matter how gorgeous he is.

This cop, by the way, is Chase Kingsley, lately of the NYPD. So what’s a big-city cop doing out in the quiet town of Hampton Cove? That’s the second mystery Odelia has to figure out, because if the stories about Kingsley’s past are true, he could be very bad news for her town.

And the cats…

Good thing Odelia can communicate with cats, because cats know a lot of things that humans don’t. Cats can easily listen in on conversations. Just think about that the next time you’re having a “private” conversation with a person while there’s also a cat in the room.

Anyway, back to the cats… The main one is Odelia’s cat, Max. He’s a “blorange” (orange and blond) tabby who’s “big-boned” (er, stout). He narrates portions of the book. Harriet is a lovely white Persian who lives right next door with Odelia’s parents, and Dooley is a Ragamuffin who belongs to Odelia’s grandmother. Dooley is a nice enough guy, but not the smartest cat you’ve ever met.

And then there’s the new cat in town. When Chase Kingsley rolled into Hampton Cove, he brought along a black cat named Brutus. Brutus lives up to his name. He is the sort of cat who likes to throw his weight around; his human is a cop, so he’s a cop too, at least in his mind, and he’s there to keep the cats of Hampton Cove in line. Harriet falls for him big time. Max and Dooley can’t stand him, but they fear that Odelia and Chase will end up falling in love and living together, and then they (Max and Dooley) would have to live with Brutus. The horror!

Our verdict

We had a great time reading Purrfect Murder. The plot is nicely done, and of course we loved the cats. There are many funny moments, and several evenings we found ourselves saying, “Just one more chapter,” before we closed the book for the night. Just the circumstances of the murder—the body in the muck beneath the outhouse—are amusing. It’s awful, of course, but admit it, it’s also awfully funny (what a way to go, right?), and it seems oddly appropriate once you find out just what kind of guy the victim was.

Recommended!

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the book through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!