A Night's Tail

July 1, 2019

Kathleen Paulson's brother, Ethan, and his bandmates in The Flaming Gerbils are in town while they perform around Minnesota and offer a songwriting workshop in Mayville Heights. They're all at a bar when they witness drunken businessman Lewis Wallace harass a veteran and his service dog, and band member Derek handles the situation. When Wallace is found dead in a hotel meeting space, it's logical to suspect Derek. Although Kathleen is dating police detective Marcus Gordon, Ethan begs her to investigate and find the killer. Kathleen doesn't want to get involved, but the more she learns about Wallace, the more suspects there are. Kathleen juggles her time between the quilt show at the library and investigating a businessman who lacked business skills. VERDICT From the opening scene in this follow-up to The Cats Come Back, there are too many characters to keep straight. This cozy has the requisite number of likable characters, but the large cast means that it's really directed at fans of librarian Kathleen and her magical cats that disappear and walk through walls.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2019
Determined to clear a friend in a businessman's murder, a Minnesota librarian gets invaluable help from her two magical cats, who are there for her as long as the sardines don't run out. Kathleen Paulson is psyched when her brother, Ethan, and his band, the Flaming Gerbils, come to stay with her in Mayville Heights, her adopted hometown. Ethan's excited not only to spend some quality time with his sister, but also to get to know her closest friend, Maggie, who seems as if she could be more than a friend to him. Good vibes abound until Ethan's newest band mate, temporary lead guitarist Derek Hanson, gets into a tussle with a man at a bar the whole crew is visiting. Though Kathleen doesn't condone violence, the man in question, businessman Lewis Wallace, seems to have had it coming to him after kicking a veteran's service dog. Kathleen doesn't know much about Wallace, and what she hears isn't good, but rumors that follow the skirmish suggest he's come to town to turn over a new leaf. After the incident with Derek, Kathleen, a born animal lover, doesn't find Wallace sympathetic until she stumbles on his dead body. Kathleen's boyfriend, town detective Marcus Gordon, is fairly certain that Wallace has been murdered, but it's hard to know who had a motive besides Derek. In an effort to clear the guitarist, Kathleen tries to figure out who else had reason to do Wallace harm. Variously supported by her two magical cats, Owen and Hercules (The Cats Came Back, 2018, etc.), Kathleen uses her research skills and social networks to suss out the truth. Kelly's cats are magical, but not magical enough to distinguish them from a clowder of kitty cozies.

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July 29, 2019
Kelly’s pleasant 11th Magical Cats mystery (after 2018’s The Cats Came Back) finds Kathleen Paulson, the director of the Mayville Heights, Minn., Free Public Library, hosting her younger brother, Ethan, for two weeks while he and his band, the Flaming Gerbils, are in town. When Derek Hanson, one of Ethan’s bandmates, punches drunken businessman Lewis Wallace for kicking a disabled veteran’s service dog, Derek’s admirable deed makes him a murder suspect after Lewis turns up dead. Kathleen is determined to leave the investigation to her detective boyfriend, Marcus Gordon, until Ethan begs her to help clear Derek. With a nudge in the right direction by her two delightful and perfectly ordinary cats (save for the fact that one can walk through walls and the other can disappear at will), Kathleen finds several people around town who had the means, motive, and opportunity to do away with the unpleasant Lewis. Kelly stocks a charming small-town setting with plenty of colorful characters, mystical cats, and muffins. Cozy readers will be well satisfied. Agent: Kim Lionetti, Bookends Literary Agency.