The leaves have turned and autumn has finally come to the small town of Ashbrook, New Hampshire. Beatrice Young, the sixty-two-year-old owner of the Cozy Cat Café, is busy slinging coffee for tourists. Yet when her ever-perceptive Maine Coon cat, Hamish, sniffs out a fake twenty-dollar bill, the hunt is on to find its maker. And then there’s the fact that Jordan Clark has disappeared – he was seen walking out of a bar towards the woods, never to be seen again.
With the help of the ever-grumpy sheriff, her black cat Lucky, and her ex-husband and best friend Matthew, Beatrice finds intriguing links between the two mysteries. Jordan has a complicated past, one that could draw out a dangerous killer and place him squarely in Beatrice’s path. In the end, it’s up to her feline companions to find the clues that will keep her safe, put the culprit behind bars, and restore order to Ashbrook once more.
The Counterfeiter-Catching Cat is the first book in the Beatrice Young cozy cat mystery series. These books can be read in any order but are extra delightful when enjoyed in sequence.
"Charming, definitely one for cat lovers, and for cozy mystery fans it's a lovely entertaining read."
Reviewer: Reader for Bookangel.
(I should admit up-front that we're biased. One of the club members has a rescue Maine Coon hybrid.)
The story is told from his owner, Beatrice, point of view, in third person. Hamish is just a cat - a large, curious, intelligent cat who likes to steal. Fortunately he normally steals evidence that Beatrice needs for an investigation, because otherwise he would drive the neighbours mad. Her other cat, Lucky, is just beginning to pick things up from him.
What is really lovely about this book is that the male and female leads, Beatrice and Matthew, really are just friends. They've tried being married, it didn't work, and they know they are better as friends. The sheriff's constant irritation with the amateur sleuth, who he knows can solve the case but might not do so in a way admissable in court, is completely believable. The focus on procedure is really tight, and Beatrice knows when to let the sheriff take the lead.
The writer knows cats. Having to put a lock on the kibble cupboard door rings so true (one of our members had to put a brick against the fridge). I'm not sure what the rules are on evidence stolen by cat, but the way the thieving Maine Coon gets his clues is hilarious. His poor owner is in the middle of telling him off when he drops a smartphone in her lap.
The mystery is fairly simple and straightforward with no really unexpected twists, but it is the way it unravels, and the characters they meet along the way, that gives the story its charm. Hamish sometimes seems a little too smart, but then I've seen Maine Coons figure out levers and pull out power cords when they aren't getting enough attention. The only problem I have is that he is too biddable, and on one occasion actually does what he is told!
Charming, definitely one for cat lovers, and for cozy mystery fans it's a lovely entertaining read.
