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Claws of Action
Claws of Action
Claws of Action
Ebook315 pages6 hours

Claws of Action

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Purr-suing a killer …
 
The only thing that could make the High Cliff Shelter for Cats even cozier is a reading room where kids can snuggle up with a furry feline and a book. But as Lara and Aunt Fran prepare for the reading nook’s official opening, the health inspector in their New Hampshire town, Evonda Fray, decrees that the shelter qualifies as a “cat café,” thanks to the free snacks it serves to visitors—and that it must be shut down.
 
When Evonda’s body is found in her car clutching a copy of the cease-and-desist order, suspicion naturally falls on Lara and Aunt Fran. But there’s a whole litter of potential culprits, including a tenant in one of Evonda’s buildings who’d been ordered to give up his rescue cat, a disgruntled daughter-in-law, and more. Now Lara—with some help from her aunt and her spirit cat, Blue—has to pin the tail on the right suspect …
LanguageEnglish
PublisherLyrical Press
Release dateAug 13, 2019
ISBN9781516109852
Claws of Action
Author

Linda Reilly

Linda Reilly is the author of several mystery novels, including the Cat Lady Mysteries, the Deep Fried Mysteries, and the Grilled Cheese Mysteries. A member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Cat Writers' Association, she can be found prowling the shelves of a local bookstore or library when she’s not pounding away at her keyboard. A dyed-in-the-wool New Englander, she lives with her husband and rescue cat in southern New Hampshire. For more information, visit LindaSReilly.com.

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Rating: 4.125 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lara and Aunt Fran are preparing for the official opening of the reading room - a cozy place where kids can cuddle up with a cat and a book at the High Cliff Shelter for Cats. But the health inspector, Evonda Fray, shows up and says that the shelter qualifies as a cat café and that it must be shut down. When Evonda is found dead clutching a copy of the cease-and-desist order, suspicion falls on Lara and Aunt Fran. It's up to Lara to find the killer.

    I finished a five-star book before picking this one up and I could see the flaws in the writing, but it is a cozy and it did what it was supposed to do. The thing that drove me crazy was the shortened words - sitch, pics, sibs. I can't stand it!! This book has the same likable characters as before, lots of cats and the mystery was good. I liked getting the story on the unlikable victim, it was interesting to see how she ended up a miserable person (who, of course, did not deserve to die.)

    Thank you to Netgalley and Lyrical Underground for an ARC.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lara Caphart and her Aunt Fran own and run the High Cliff Shelter for Cats; not your usual shelter. The shelter is their Victoria Home, the cats are allowed the run of the house, and on 'adoption days' they are taken to the room that serves as a meet-and-greet, where Fran and Lara offer the guests snacks and something to drink. But, according to the new health inspector, Evonda Fray, who showed up unannounced, it qualifies as a cat café, and says she's coming back the next morning to shut them down. Then a man, Brian Dowling, shows up at their home unannounced and begs Lara to care for his elderly cat, Smuggles, while he finds another place to live. It seems Evonda is his new landlord and hates cats, and told him he'd have to get rid of the feline immediately. Softhearted Lara agrees to the situation, even though she struggles with the fact that she doesn't want their facility to become a boarding place for cats.However, the health inspector never gets a chance to follow through on her threat. When the chief of police arrives at their doorstep that morning, it's to tell them that Evonda's dead, and had a cease-and-desist letter in her hand. After learning this, neither women want to host the new reading nook's opening, and put it off for another time.When the chief warns Lara to stay out of the investigation, she vows to do so, since it has nothing to do with her. At least until she's hauled in for extensive questioning -- questioning that seems to put Brian Dowling in the limelight as Evonda's killer. While she doesn't want to believe it, she doesn't know where else to turn. Only a matter of sheer coincidences puts her in the sights of a killer -- who may or may not be the person she expects...This is the fourth book in the series, and I enjoyed reading it. Lara and her aunt are beginning to grow on me; I already liked the cats in the book. I do like the fact that the cats eventually get adopted, but I miss certain ones every now and then. I especially have a soft spot for Brian's elderly cat Smuggles, since I lost my own 17-year-old cat just before Christmas, and it still tugs at my heart.The mystery is quite interesting - when Evonda is murdered Lara wants to know more about the woman but can't find much about her online. It takes a chance meeting before she discovers the truth, and by then the woman is dead. It's rather sad what made her the way she was, and I can't even imagine something like that happening to another person.The reason for the murder was as simplistic and as old as murders have been committed; still, it never should have happened, and we know that all decisions have consequences, some that will never leave us, no matter what we do. It was done well enough that it was believable, and the reactions of those left behind carry it through. When the ending comes and everything is getting back to normal (or as normal as it can be when you have a spirit cat), it gives us a bit of a teaser of things to come in the next in the series. Recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lara and Aunt Fran are excited and looking forward to a grand opening of their cat reading room at their cat shelter. But when Evonda Fray, the new health inspector, shows up and threatens them with a cease-and-desist order, declaring they are a cat cafe because they serve lemonade and cookies on adoption day, their happiness quickly turns into despair. Evonda is found dead the next morning, and Lara and Aunt Fran are on the list of possible suspects. Lara really doesn’t plan to get involved in the investigation, but her spirit cat, Blue, keeps prompting her with new clues. This is a fun addition to a lovely cozy mystery series. Grab your kitty and a glass of iced tea, and enjoy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A fun, cozy mystery for cat lovers. Lara has a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong at the wrong time. Need not read the ones that came first, this worked well as a stand-alone.

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Claws of Action - Linda Reilly

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