A Tale of Two Kitties: A Magical Cats Mystery by Sofie Kelly

Only one more book to go, then I am all caught up with this series.  Getting caught up with a series can sometimes be difficult.  That’s because, once I do, I have to wait for the next book to come out!

Librarian Kathleen Paulson’s young employee, Mia Janes, is thrilled to show her grandfather Leo off around town.  She is not so thrilled about her great-uncle Victor (Leo’s twin brother) being in town as well.  Years ago, Victor had an affair with Leo’s wife, Meredith.  She ran off with Victor, leaving not only Leo behind, but also a teenage son, Simon.  Then, before anything could be resolved amongst these three adults, Meredith died in a car accident, leaving bad feelings between Leo and Victor.

Now Simon is an adult and the single father of Mia.  Like his daughter, he is not happy that Victor is in town.  It is Leo that wants him there.  Despite years apart and all that has happened, Leo wants his family to get to know his brother before it is too late.  Victor is sick, and too late could come very soon. 

And it does, except it’s Leo, not Victor, that ends up dead.  Kathleen finds him in his apartment when she goes to visit her injured friend in the apartment above him.  Mia is understandably upset about her grandfather’s death, but the situation is made worse when Simon is declared the suspect in the murder of his father.  Knowing she needs to help this family she has grown close to, Kathleen becomes determined to figure out what really happened to Leo.  While she does not know much, Kathleen’s instincts tell her Leo’s death has something to do with the situation involving Meredith so many years before.  All she has to do is prove it.

I’m glad that Simon Janes’s story finally got told.  He and Mia have been part of the Magical Cats Mystery stories for the last few books, but until this one, how Simon became a young single father was unclear.  Now we know.  We also know just how strongly Simon and Mia feel about Kathleen.  Mia would love for Kathleen to become her mother.  Simon would love that to happen for his own, very different, reasons.  There’s one problem with this plan, though.  That problem is Detective Marcus Gordon.

At least Marcus is a problem for Simon and Mia.  He certainly isn’t for Kathleen.  In fact, Kathleen’s relationship with Marcus is growing to the point that she’s thinking about telling Marcus about her cats’ magical abilities.  She suspects his cat has them too, but she has not told anyone what her cats are able to do.  When Kathleen finally does talk to Marcus about how one of her cats can disappear and the other can walk through walls, I suspect it’s going to be a very interesting conversation.