A Different Kind of Review: Guest Reviewer: Hercules!

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"I wasn't a police officer. I wasn't even a lawyer. I was a
librarian. I knew about books, grant proposals and the
Dewey decimal system. The thing was, because of my
parents' acting careers, I'd seen a lot of subterfuge and I
was pretty good at spotting a liar. Plus I have Hercules and Owen who had the ability to stick their furry noses--
literally--into places they probably had no business being. Of course, I couldn't share that with Marcus, or
anyone else for that matter.
"I tried to imagine his reaction if I told him that my cats' talents went beyond being able to hear a can of tuna being opened from a hundred feet away; that Hercules had the ability to walk through walls and Owen could disappear whenever it suited him, which was generally at the worst possible time for me. How could I explain it to anyone else when I didn't even understand it all myself? At best, I'd end up somewhere having my head examined, at worst the cats would."

CopyCat Killing:
 No More Pussyfooting Around...

 A Magical Cats Mystery

By Sofie Kelly


Hi, I'm Hercules, one of the stars in the Magical Cats Mystery Series. First, I want you to know that any pictures presented anywhere is really us--we use stand-ins for publicity. Otherwise, our lives would be just too, too tedious...you know how fans are...especially when they learn that we have special abilities. People are just so silly about that and I have to say, I need my quiet time--hence the decision not to reveal our true beautiful selves!

Sofie Kelly's latest has more humor and fun between Mom and us... And, a lot more mystery. What's more fun than having a mystery cozy with cats?! My Mom, Kathleen Paulson, is a very smart lady so she told us that cat lovers will enjoy her talking with me and Owen; while mystery lovers will be following deaths within an artist co-op and a long-ago murder that was literally uncovered!

Mom moved to Mayville Heights to become the head librarian and we all debuted in Curiosity Thrilled the Cat. I don't know why Owen got to tell you about that first story, because I am the main detective--just so you know, especially since I can go anywhere to find the clues! Anyway, Mom is also a volunteer who helps to feed and protect a group of feral cats in our town. In fact, she found Owen and me out there! It was during her scheduled feeding with Marcus--well, you would probably call him a potential beau...but we call him an interloper...

Anyway, while Mom and Marcus were out at Wisteria Hill, they both took a little time to check out the area around the building. There had been a lot of rain and much flooding and Mom had also been helping her friend Maggie because the artist co-op building had flooded. She made me promise not to tell you what she did while there...it's so funny but she's a little embarrassed about it--pssst, but it involved a big dead rat...that wasn't dead!

While Mom was looking around she heard rushing water and went to investigate. Whoosh! She was on a hillside and suddenly that hill slid down with her with it! If I had been there, I could have warned her, but, no, she had Marcus with her and he was clear across the property. Wouldn't you know, she had been able to hang on to the purple piece of stuff she had seen and stuffed it in her pocket, which is why she had gotten too close. Who knew it would be an important clue later?!

In fact, she had forgotten about it because of what she discovered at the bottom of that hill--a human skull!

"I looked at Owen. "I have to get up." He made grumbly
noises but he jumped down to the floor and trailed behind
me into the kitchen. Hercules came through the door from the
porch. Literally through. The energy in the kitchen seemed
to change somehow and there he was. It still made me jump.
"Owen looked at my keys on the table and meowed. "We're
still trying to figure out what happened to Tom." I said to
Hercules...
"Hercules interrupted my recitation with a loud
meow.
"I don't know how he knew Pearl was at Wisteria Hill. He
just did."
"The cat didn't raise any more objections..."

Did I tell you Marcus is a cop? Well, he was quickly there to help Mom, but as soon as she pointed to that big round bunch of bones, they both started to move very carefully. The skull had been bludgeoned; this was now a crime scene... Later they had discovered that the body, long dead, had been the father of our vet! I mean, we didn't really like her for "needle-point" reasons, but we sure were sorry for her finding out that her father had never left them--he had been killed and left there!

While all of the police people went to that scene for their investigation, Mom went to help Maggie again. They were heading out with boxes when Maggie decided to check the level of the water in the basement one more time...And almost slid down the steps when she caught sight of the man's body laying half-way into the water! Mom helped Maggie sit on a step and went to check if the man was alive...and saw that not only was he dead, but it was the man they had just been talking about that had caused a scene at the co-op's meeting and argued with Maggie...

Well, with two murders and two friends of Mom in the middle of things, you just know we had to be involved in solving those crimes--besides Marcus doesn't like it when Mom gets involved--we do take sides with Mom! Mostly though, we just listened and helped Mom work out all the clues and, of course, I found the pen part--a major addition to identifying one of the guilty ones involved!

I just know you're going to love CopyCat Killing! And, I'm supposed to add that this book is BRH Highly Recommended! If you know what that means, let me know... In the meantime, Meow! Which means see ya next time!


GABixlerReviews

Sofie Kelly is the pseudonym of young adult writer and mixed-media artist, Darlene Ryan. Sofie/Darlene lives on the east coast with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she practices Wu style tai chi and likes to prowl around thrift stores. And she admits to having a small crush on Matt Lauer.