Nine Lives

Guess whose latest release is debuting at #9 on the New York Times bestseller list this week?



Yep, that's Cat Trick, the latest Magical Cats mystery by Sofie Kelly, aka our pal Darlene Ryan. I've loved this series since the first book hit the shelves so you know I'm a very happy girl. There is also nothing more awesome than seeing a friend who is such a gifted storyteller skyrocket to the top of the lists.

I know how I'm going to celebrate: by giving away some copies of Ms. Kelly's brand new bestseller, of course. If you'd like one of them to be yours, in comments to this post tell us what you'd name a magical cat by midnight EST on Friday, February 22nd, 2013. I'll draw nine names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners an unsigned copy of Cat Trick by Sofie Kelly. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Cool Cats

Bideawee is an animal adoption center in New York City that has a web cam and remote-controlled toys set up in one of their kitty rooms. Visitors to the web site can have a 2-minute play date with the cats that are up for adoption by entering a special chat room and controlling the toys from there while watching via the web cam. While you only get two minutes at a time to play with the cats, you can join the queue of cyber visitors as many times as you like and have virtually as many play dates as you want. I love the internet.

I also love cats, so I have to mention how much I enjoyed reading Sleight of Paw, Sofie Kelly's second novel, which continues the story of small-town librarian Kathleen Paulson. Kathleen is trying very hard not to become Mayville Minnesota's crazy cat lady. Only Kathleen has two furry feline friends at home, Owen and Hercules, who aren't what anyone would consider normal (unless your cats can turn invisible or walk through walls and doors.)

Right now Kathleen is trying to decide if she wants to return to the life she left behind in Boston, or stick with the new one she's made for herself in Mayville. She loves her friends, her job and her cats, and there might even be something brewing between her and fellow cat lover, police Detective Marcus Gordon (Kathleen is in denial, but I'm pretty sure there is.) But Mayville doesn't seem quite as cozy or friendly when Kathleen discovers the body of an elderly woman, one who devoted her entire life to helping others in the town -- one of whom may have murdered her.

I love cat stories where felines are portrayed like their real-life counterparts but come with a little something extra. It's that lagniappe that we cat lovers suspect they possess but can never actually prove. That probably only makes sense if you're owned by a cat. The two-legged characters in this series are also becoming like old friends, and the puzzle in this one was totally absorbing -- and not that easy to solve, either; at some point I think I suspected almost everybody in the story except Kathleen. I think Sofie Kelly (aka our blogpal Darlene Ryan) really delivers with this one.

Together Bideawee and Sofie have given me an idea of something different to do with the extra Nightshine ARCs I have on hand. In comments to this post, tell us something about a pet you've loved (or, if you've never had a pet, toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Friday, October 21, 2011. I will draw three names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners a signed ARC of Nightshine by yours truly, an unsigned copy of Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly (and if you haven't read the first book, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat, I'll throw in an unsigned copy of that one, too.) By entering this giveaway you'll be helping animals as well, as I will donate one dollar for every comment left for this giveaway, up to a maximum of $100.00, to Bideawee. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Cat Magic

As anyone who shares their home with a furry feline friend will tell you, sometimes cats are a little spooky. They can get through doors we thought we closed, find the catnip we thought we put away in a safe spot, and always know when we need a cuddle (sometimes before we know it ourselves.)

Then there is this mysterious business of feline teleportation. I can't tell you how many times I've lost one of my cats, ransacked the house and then searched the neighborhood looking for him, only to come home and find the missing feline sitting next to the empty food bowl and giving me that smug look, as if to say Silly human, you'll never find my secret hiding place. And to date, I haven't.

Cats are maddening, infuriating creatures who do exactly as they please, which is probably why I've always loved them. I also collect books with great cat characters in them, so I was pretty happy to start reading Curiosity Thrilled the Cat, the first book in by Sofie Kelly's new mystery series.

Owen and Hercules own a nice, funny human named Kathleen Paulson, a librarian who has moved temporarily to their small town in Minnesota to oversee the renovation of their library and its historic Carnegie building. Kathleen is a kitty charmer, too, and lured Owen and Hercules away from the feral life to share her home. They all get along fine, although sometimes the cats do things Kathleen knows are impossible, like vanish into thin air, and just as quickly appear. Like the odd and painful accidents she's been having at the library, these seemingly magical powers trouble her. The real shocker, however, is when Kathleen finds the body of another visitor to the town who she disliked, who may have been killed in her library -- and who she is suspected of luring there just before his murder.

I haven't read a good mystery in quite a while, so it was a pleasure to follow the cats and the clues along with Kathleen. The plot certainly kept me guessing, to the point of when I began to suspect everyone in the town of being in on it. But in the end (with a little help from her magical furry friends) Kathleen discovers many things, including the reason why she's been so accident-prone. I appreciated Kathleen's sense of humor and keen insights, as well as the fine detailing of the writing that paired beautifully with easy flow of the story (you usually get one or the other; not both.) The cats had me at Hello, though, and are keeping me for the series. It might have a little to do with the fact that Owen and Hercules could be twins of my two boys, Jak and Jeri.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. In comments to this post, name your favorite type of non-human character to read about (or if you're not a critter fic fan, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. I'll draw five names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners an unsigned paperback copy of Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly (who, btw, is the pseudonym of our own Darlene Ryan.) This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.