Tailing a Tabby: A Bookmobile Cat Mystery by Laurie Cass

              I’m in kind of an odd position.  I recommended the Bookmobile Cat Mysteries to my mom after I read the first one.  Now she’s read them all and I’ve only read the first two.  When she asks me a question, I don’t have any idea what she’s talking about!  I have a lot of catching up to do.

                It makes librarian Minnie Hamilton very happy that the bookmobile she drives is doing so well.  Her cat, Eddie, is a big reason for the success, but that doesn’t matter.  As long as the bookmobile is a success, the how or why is not important.

                Even though Minnie has fun with the bookmobile, there is always the chance for unexpected things to happen.  Like the day a woman flags her down and asks Minnie to help with her husband who is having a stroke.  Barb and Minnie thankfully manage to got Barb’s famous artist husband, Cade, to the hospital, but the problems for all three of them don’t end there.

                During his rehabilitation, Cade receives a phone call that his wife is in danger.  He goes to help her as quickly as he can, only to be found over the body of a murdered woman.  The woman was a fan of his, and since the police cannot find a record of the phone call Cade received, Cade becomes the prime suspect in her murder.  Out of concern for those who have invested in his work, Cade ask Minnie to see what she can find out about the woman, Carissa Radle.  He only wants Minnie to ask questions, not do anything that will put her in danger.

                With Minnie, only asking questions is not an option.  That’s because the more questions Minnie asks, the more involved she gets.  This leads her to getting a threat in the candy guessing game she has set up in the bookmobile.  Not that this threat deters Minnie.  She has found out that Carissa was often seen in the presence of an older man, and that she had a boyfriend she was trying to get away from.  There have also been strange accidents happening around town, and Minnie has to wonder if they are somehow connected to Carissa.  If only she could figure out how.

                As much as I enjoy the mysteries of this series, I must say the scenes in the actual library drive me crazy.  I don’t think I particularly care for anyone Minnie works with, especially her boss, Stephen.  He is a very unpleasant man, and I am waiting for him to find out about Eddie being on the bookmobile.  He doesn’t like the bookmobile at all.  Finding out a cat has been on it may be just what he needs to get rid of it, and possibly Minnie in the process.

                Someone else I have to wonder about is Minnie’s sort-of boyfriend, Tucker.  He keeps ditching Minnie (and not only for work emergencies) and jumping to jealous conclusions.  Then there’s the fact that he’s allergic to Eddie.  It all makes me wonder how long this relationship is going to last, especially with Minnie asking questions about a deputy she occasionally runs into.  I really hope the deputy isn’t allergic to cats.