A Review of Curiosity Thrilled The Cat by Sofie Kelly

This summer, I’ve read several new first-of-series books that are engaging reads, two of which are by fellow SinC and Guppy members. This week, I review Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly. E. B. Davis

Librarian-with-cats mysteries are common, and yet there are no dull moments in Curiosity Thrilled the Cat, by Sofie Kelly. Streaks of intuition and pertinaciousness propel it out of mediocrity and into the winner’s circle.

When the body of a visiting musician is found by town librarian Kathleen Paulson, she becomes the first suspect in his murder. The victim was in the library hours before his death. A suspicious note implicates Kathleen. The investigating detective, is no dummy. He is also a cat lover. But due to the evidence, and perhaps due to his good taste in women, he keeps Kathleen on his radar. Of course, Kathleen solves the murder with the help of her extraordinary cats, but not before stumbling into small-town relationships fraught with old grievances and secrets.

Kathleen Paulson is a likeable main character. She is polite to a fault and a recent transplant to the small town set in the lake region of Minnesota. Her two new pets, former strays, have special abilities. When not baking for the detective interrogating her, she makes sardine flavored treats for her kitties. Who wouldn’t like Kathleen?

Charm is to cozies as stickiness is to marshmallows—without it, neither is fresh. Kelly’s conversational first person is as charming as the lake setting, phone calls from her mother, an intuitive actress, and the not-so-sweet cats. Her secondary characters are easily identifiable during their sporadic appearances.

Sleight of Paw, the next book in the series, is due for release the end of August and will be in my beach bag.