A Cat on the Case

November 30, 2020
Simon’s pleasing third Witch Cats of Cambridge mystery (after 2020’s An Incantation of Cats) finds Becca Colwin working at Charm and Cherish, a New Age shop in Cambridge, Mass. It’s the perfect place for the aspiring witch detective, even if she doesn’t really have magical powers, as her three talking cats—Laurel, Clara, and Harriet—know. One day, a woman stops by the shop and accidently leaves behind a violin case containing a “very old instrument.” The search for the violin’s owner leads Becca and her coven of two other aspiring witches, along with her skeptical best friend, into a complicated case involving theft and other crimes. Meanwhile, Becca is in danger of losing her apartment when the building goes condo. The three witchy cats, each with its own distinct personality, do what they can to help Becca, in addition to discussing such matters as how they fit into Becca’s life and their own hierarchy. Fans of feline cozies will be charmed. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune.

January 1, 2021
Clara, a small calico cat with the magical power to shade herself into invisibility, has the big job of watching over her human companion, Becca Colwin. It's easy enough when Becca goes to work at Charm and Cherish, a New Age magic shop in Cambridge, MA. But when Becca pursues her dream of being a witch detective, Clara's task gets more challenging; keeping up with Becca as she chases down leads and dodges threatening people in a blizzard requires help from Clara's domineering littermates, who have complementary magical powers. The case begins when a waiflike student enters the shop with a battered violin case but bolts, leaving the violin behind. Becca (and Clara) take the violin home, then see the girl again, talking with police in the apartment next to Becca's. The man Becca thought was the new owner is lying on the floor, dead. Throughout the action, Clara talks with her littermates, Laurel and Harriet, getting their assistance at crucial points. Cat-loving cozy fans with a taste for the paranormal will find much to like in this third in the series.

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