Review (+ Tour Giveaway): Telling Tails

Telling Tails
By Sophie Ryan
Second Chance Cat Mystery #4
Berkley, 2017


Summary

The New York Times bestselling author of A Whisker of Trouble  returns as secondhand shop owner Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis, get caught up in a case of she said, she said….

When Sarah Grayson opened a secondhand shop in the quaint town of North Harbor, Maine, she was expecting peace and quiet. Then she was adopted by a rescue cat named Elvis and a kooky trio of senior sleuths known as Charlotte’s Angels. Now she has nine lives worth of excitement…

Sarah’s friend and employee Rose is delivering a customer’s purchase when the quick errand becomes a deadly escapade. Rose arrives just in time to see the customer murdered by his wife, but before she can call the police, she is knocked out cold. When she wakes up, no one believes her, especially after the woman claims her husband is very much alive and has left her for someone else—and has a text message and empty bank account to prove it.

Despite her convincing story, Sarah is sure something is fishy—and it’s not Elvis’s kitty treats. Sarah, Elvis, and the Angels are determined to unravel this mysterious yarn, before the feral killer pounces again…


My thoughts

I’ve found another cozy mystery series to love – the Second Chance Cat Mysteries by Sophie Ryan. Telling Tails is well written with lots of humor, witty dialogue, and three older sleuths who are pure delight.

Telling Tails has the feel of a more traditional type of cozy mystery that I love. The setting is North Harbor, a small town on the midcoast of Maine, full of beautiful old buildings and eclectic businesses – and it was this setting that initially drew me to the story. Sarah might be the main character, but there’s also a strong ensemble cast feel that includes the three senior sleuths – Rose, Liz, and Charlotte. The characters are likeable, intelligent, caring, and just plain fun. One example of their humor is when Liz was talking about drinking Avery’s healthy smoothies:  “I can’t believe the good Lord intends for me to drink what is essentially a weed for breakfast, not when he created sausage.”

And who needs a lie detector when you’ve got Elvis the cat?! The mystery is well plotted and I enjoyed detecting right along with Sarah and the Angels. Reading the series in order would help to know the characters better, but Telling Tails works fine as a standalone also. I hope there will be several more Sarah and Elvis tales to enjoy.

Recommended.

I was provided a free copy of this book through Great Escapes Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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Sofie Ryan/Sofie Kelly is the pseudonym of author and mixed-media artist, Darlene Ryan.

Sofie/Darlene lives on the east coast with her husband and daughter. In her spare time, she practices Wu style tai chi and likes to prowl around thrift stores. And she admits to having a small crush on Matt Lauer.

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