loribonesscaswell

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Sabrina Tate, an aspiring author, comes to Lavender, Texas to help her Aunt Rowe take care of her rental cabins while her broken leg heals and to finally get the book out of head and down in print. She quickly learns about a Bad Luck Cat in the area. She is surprised when a black cat is right outside her cabin door, it has to be the same cat. She can’t help but follow the feline and wishes she hadn’t when he leads her right to a dead body. The body of Bobby Joe Flowers, her Aunt Rowe’s conniving cousin who had just come back to town. The body of a man her Aunt Rowe argued with earlier. She knows this is going to be bad, she knows her aunt his going to be the number one suspect. Since the cat led her to the body maybe he can lead her to the killer. How is she ever going to get her book written if she has to solve a murder case while the police have their sights set on Aunt Rowe?

I liked Sabrina right away. She does not believe there is any such thing as a Bad Luck Cat, in fact she is going to do everything she can to save him from the superstitious folks of Lavender. As a true cat lover I was totally rooting for the kitty she quickly names Hitchcock.

The author sets a very fast pace from the first page. Sabrina has her hands full – saving Hitchcock, writing her book, helping with the cabins, solving a murder and maybe an old murder too. Her friend even sets her up with a meeting with an agent when she barely has written 3 chapters let alone a whole book.

Writing the first book in a series is hard because all the characters need to be introduced and they have to be fleshed out enough so the reader can engage with them. The author also has to give us a good credible mystery that we cozy readers can try to solve before the protagonist. Kay Finch does a good job with this, but at times is was just a little too much. Sabrina just had so much going on. At times I wanted to jump into the book and tell Sabrina’s friend, Tyanne, to slow down. Seriously I get Sabrina may need a nudge to get going on her book but after she found a body on her aunt’s property and her aunt being questioned by police it was time to back off and reschedule the meeting. I am surprised Sabrina held it all together, a normal person would have crumbled with all the weight upon their shoulders.

With that said the mystery was good and had great twists and was very entertaining. I was totally surprised by how things played out. Hitchcock and Sabrina make a great team and I am looking forward to seeing what drama they get themselves wrapped up in next.