Cat, Elvis, Takes Lead Sleuth in Second Chance Mystery Series by Sofie Ryan - Character Review, plus spotlight excerpt on "Scaredy Cat"...

 

The story goes a little like this...a stray cat. maybe from a ghetto, showed up around the big garbage bin of a local restaurant and the owner came out and gave him a little food. Much later that night, the cat showed up during the Thursday Night Jam and decided to sit down and listen while the owner and his band was playing a set of Elvis' music. The cat stayed until that set was over and they moved on to "Satisfaction." The cat immediately left, but came back the next morning and the owner saw him and called to him, "Come on, Elvis, you ready for breakfast?" And the cat followed him...

Later that day, Sarah stopped in for coffee and stayed to talk. Seeing the cat, she immediately asked her close friend and owner of The Black Bear, Sam, where it had come from. Sam told her the story, but added that he couldn't exactly call him Mic, when the cat had left when they started playing Satisfaction. And so the name stuck... 

And, when Sarah was ready to leave, Elvis immediately followed her and jumped up onto the front seat! Yeah, you all are going to enjoy meeting Elvis in this very special and wonderful series! Now Sarah was...all shook up...when she couldn't get the cat to leave her car and wondered just how she was going to be able to live with a pet for the first time. Well, let's just say, Elvis was a one person cat and intended to stay, so he treated her gently until she started to love him tender... Soon she was a cat lover just like me! LOL

I added the above, after I started this article--so much has happened since I originally read this tenth book in the series. Namely, I have gone back, started from the first book and read straight through! During that time, I lost my baby, Stevie. She was borne by the cat who lived at my cabin when I first came well over a decade ago. Bill, my brother-in-law fed her so she stayed. The country is not an easy place for cats, and I remember once, years ago, Stevie had disappeared for a few days and then one day she came wobbling back. I was so upset, that I went to her, picked her up and brought her into the cabin, wrapped her up in a towel, and just held her. She stayed mostly inside thereafter. I really miss her and even though there are other cats that live outside, it had taken many years to establish our relationship. She was a one-person cat and she had selected me, just as Elvis chose Sarah... Although Elvis, unlike Stevie, was quite amenable to meeting and greeting other people, especially if they had food to offer... 

Stevie was growing old with me... and I am reminded of many of her antics and changes as she slowed down as well...

While I was reading I also started physical therapy 3 days a week, which cuts into my time, since it was nearby but I still had to leave the house and go there. Additionally, I developed an infection and had to have tests to determine what medication I could be given. So I'm still weaker than normal and finding it hard to find time to writing about all the Second Chance books I read (most of the time at bedtime and even during the night if I woke up)...

So, back to this wonderful series, in addition to talking about Elvis, I decided to talk about the characters in this series. I must first say that I've never read a book series that has included such loving characters... Some are related, but most of the relationships have been formed as friends, as well as relatives... And that does make a difference, doesn't it? Many of you will know what I mean. You may love relatives as relatives, but a very few also become close friends... I've been thinking about each character for days, trying to fit somebody you might know to "play" each of them...

Sarah is the focal, main character and owns a shop called Second Chance, which means that they sell just about anything that somebody has thrown out just because it was old, broken, out of fashion... and more. I must admit that this basic business activity was a main reason for my high level of enjoyment. We live in a "throw-away" world, it seems... What is in fashion quickly goes out of fashion, so that new can be purchased! 

But not when Sarah is around! Most of the time you'll see her in work clothes as she sands the top of a new cabinet or shelf. You may recognize Angie Harmon as Ruzzoli and know how she moves and thinks... Sarah takes one look at what the options are and selects based upon her "vision" of what it could become...and moves on from there... Second Chance has just about anything you can think of but they do more with the shop, they "create" the scene where you might place this new addition to your home--a refurbished dining set will also may be covered with pristine white lace or an older and precious heirloom tablecloth that was saved for when guests came. That's the time they also brought out the cloth napkins that matched and used the silver that somebody had received for their wedding years ago and sold at an estate sale. 

You'll be watching a relationship develop for Sarah and Mac, so I'm not going to talk much about him except to select a hottie that I was able to picture from Sarah's descriptions, sighs, and later, hugs  that seems to fit how Sarah describes him as she slowly considers her future... If you don't know Shemar Moore from Criminal Minds, I've even seen him pulled into some daring acts for commercials recently! But as he and Sarah watch each other carefully, he hides a big secret and shyly works beside her quietly proving to her that he could do just about anything at Second Chance...and, maybe, for her, starting with moving into a small space in the shop attic and having coffee ready each morning when she gets there...

Now the fun part... Let me tell you about the Angels!

No, not the ones that work for the hidden boss on Charlie's Angels! But, a group of friends that have, based upon helping with a few mysteries, now formed Angel Investigations or just The Angels...For surely, in the time to create ten books--and counting, the Last Chance crew has increased greatly and has a staff that are also now involved in another enterprise --Angels Investigations has officially opened an office that is now part of the fairly large complex where friends have come together to work, play, and solve crimes as needed...LOL

This unlikely character eating ice cream and commonly called Mr. P, is actually the genius and official licensed private investigator who officially began (Charlotte's) Angels! He has a way with computers that far surpasses anybody I ever knew... Plus in his spare time, he is teaching and coaching his assistant to sit for the test to become a PI... So, just so you know, this character probably solves most of the crimes because she provides all the baked goodies for their meetings...

Yes, if you haven't already picked up on it, all of the team, except Sarah, is what you might call of the silver generation...

Sarah's early years brought her to the small, but bustling, town where she decided to settle when she lost her job on the radio by being replaced by "canned music" with stops for commercials. Almost as bad a chopping block as I went through years ago... 

Anyway, the lovely lady that does most of the baking for everybody is Rose, who was also a school teacher and now works part-time at Last Chance. She is the one that has the greatest interest in helping people in need, even if it it as small a task as helping to find a missing cat... And, yes, she's very involved with the PI, who often stays overnight--working on cases, of course...

Another teacher, Charlotte, is also a member of the Team of both Angels and those working at Second Chance... and Nick's mother She is also very much interested in having Sarah a member of her family and has been pushing her son about possible marital bliss so that she could have grandchildren. She also keeps those needy people who cannot cook or wish not to, to eat a good meal once in a while. If you have watched Rachel Maddow, a newscaster on MSNBC, you just may be able to picture how she will be found in this series...

Nick is her son and Sarah's best friend since early school years. They love each other, but everybody around them wants much more than friendship for them... Nick is a law officer who is decidedly against senior citizens working as PIs...until he, too, is pulled in to help once in a while...

I love Seely Booth in Bones so you can now consider just what you might find with Nick as he and Sarah work together... Of course, that did end in marriage, but I don't think Seely, is Sarah's type... For one thing, Sarah and Mac are sympatico... and that's what evolves into a great relationship it seems to me...

And then there is Liz. I immediately thought of how Elizabeth Warren speaks out and moves quickly to act... In fact, I thought I'd include the book descriptions on her:

Liz was Elizabeth Emmerson Kiley French. She was elegant and imposing and she had zero tolerance for people who had no thought for others. She ran her family’s charitable foundation, the Emmerson Foundation, and she was also very generous with her own money, although she tended to keep that kind of thing quiet. She was not someone who took no for an answer when she had decided to do something... Of course, I admire Warren and think of her as a role model for women...so Liz struck me in the same way, although Warren is probably a lot more outspoken whereas Liz wa subly sneaky, at least in my opinion. For instance, when she wants Sarah to go with her as part of a case, she will often tell her what to wear...and remind her to show her legs (See pic above, you rarely saw Ruzzoli in other than slacks.)

In other words, Liz had been around enough to know how to play the games that people play and if it involved possible financial malfeasance, Liz was the Angel they had conduct any interviews...

Her grandmother, a minor character timewize, who married a much younger man is away touring on a long honeymoon for most of the series, but it is her friends that have stayed close to Sarah and soon bonded into a close-knit and extremely intelligent group of ladies! Can you think of a sassy older woman who married...and became a "cougar?"

Also, another character I really enjoyed is Avery, Liz's granddaughter who is staying with Liz... She also started working at Last Chance and soon began to exhibit some rally great creative skills, as well as an above-average teenager intelligence... Can you think of anybody that could "play" Avery in a movie? Well, I have one idea... She's Rachel, with a portrait below who is already in a similar business of refurbishing furniture. Her skills in bringing mid-century furniture back for use today is, to me, quite exceptional at her early twenties age!

Now that you've heard about the main characters who appear or are mentioned in each book, check out a short preview of Scaredy Cat!

~~~

I looked around the office. “Was Elvis with you?” “I haven’t seen him this morning,” Mr. P. said. “The furball is probably sleeping on your desk,” Avery said. “I’m going to get a muffin.” She looked at Mr. P. “And I’ll get your coffee.” He smiled at her. “Thank you.” Elvis wasn’t on the workbench or anywhere in the workroom. He wasn’t in the shop, either, and Avery said she couldn’t find him anywhere upstairs. “I’m going out to make sure he didn’t wander over to the workshop,” I said. Elvis wasn’t there. He wasn’t hiding under my car, either. How could a small black cat seemingly vanish? I was about to text Mac to see if he had any ideas when I saw Emily Hastings coming along the sidewalk with Elvis in the wicker basket of her bike. I felt a rush of relief. Emily raised a hand in hello when she spotted me. I walked down to meet them. “Hi, Sarah,” she said. “I found this guy two streets over just sitting at the corner. I thought I better bring him back.” She reached down to stroke his fur. “Thank you,” I said. “We’ve been looking everywhere for him. He’s never wandered off like that before.” I looked at Elvis. “What were you doing?” He ignored me and nuzzled Emily’s hand. “I think you have a friend for life,” I said. She smiled. “Elvis is a great cat. I’d like to have a cat of my own but some guests can be allergic or just afraid of them.” She looked down at Elvis. “How could anyone be afraid of him?” Elvis murped his agreement. “How’s the case going?” Emily asked. “Mr. P. is working on a couple of things,” I said. Looking at Emily standing there scratching behind Elvis’s ear I just couldn’t believe she had killed Mark Steele. With her warm smile and kind eyes I couldn’t imagine her stomping on a cockroach. “Good,” she said. “I wish I knew who killed Mr. Steele or that there was at least some kind of way I could help figure that out. And I really wish that stupid car of Gram’s hadn’t gotten a flat tire.” So she had been driving Annie’s car. “I know,” I said. “Gram says I’m lucky. Because of that flat tire everyone knows I didn’t kill Mr. Steele, but if that hadn’t happened, I might have been a suspect.” She shook her head. “I better get going,” she said. She picked Elvis up and handed him to me. “Thanks again for rescuing him,” I said. “You’re welcome to stop in and visit him any time. He really does like you.” “Thanks,” she said. “I will.” Emily waved to Elvis, got on her bike and rode away. I shifted the cat so we were face-to-face. “You scared me,” I said. He licked my chin. 

I thought about the expression on his face while Emily was stroking his fur and talking about the murder. He had looked blissfully happy the entire time. No sour look of annoyance. “Did you go looking for Emily?” I asked. He didn’t blink or so much as twitch a whisker. I realized how crazy what I was thinking was. My cat hadn’t orchestrated a meeting between Emily and me so he could prove she hadn’t killed Mark Steele. That wasn’t possible. He’d just gotten bored and wandered off while Charlotte and I were talking. It was the only thing that made sense. That and the fact that Emily Hastings wasn’t our killer. So now what?

I met Elvis in 2016 in The Whole Cat and Caboodle. Check out my review and get a feel about how this series began... Recently, I saw the notice that a new book was out - and it was tenth(!) in series! I got it immediately and was thrilled that it explored something that I've gained a new interest and appreciation for! You see, my caretaker, in addition to helping me get to appointments on time and to help deal with medical and other issues, my niece Rachel has started a refurbishing business as well! I've been so proud of what she has done to mid-century furniture to give it a new face that others will want to buy for their homes. 

I was so invested that I went out and bought books 2 through 9 to read and digest any ideas that I may be able to pass on to her! But Rachel gets her interest and some training from her parents who enjoy shopping for antiques and her father builds furniture... Still, it's the business management that I find interesting in this book in particular. 

Especially how work gets done while solving criminal cases!

We stepped into the store proper. “Perfect timing,” Charlotte said. She was with a customer who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was checking out our selection of guitars. “Tell me about this one,” he said, pointing to my latest find. I lifted the instrument down from the wall and offered it to him. -

Once someone played one of our guitars they were more likely to buy it. “This is a Seagull guitar,” I told him. “They’re made in Canada. The top is solid spruce and the sides and back are cherry.” He tried a couple of chords, adjusted the tuning a little and then played something I quickly recognized as Neil Young’s “Long May You Run.” I saw a smile play across the man’s face and I knew I’d made a sale. 

A couple of weekends ago Mac and I had driven down to Port Clyde to see a man who was building his third wooden boat. While they talked I had spent some time prowling around a flea market that was being held at the local high school. I’d spotted the guitar in a back corner of one of the booths. I’d offered forty dollars for it, seeing the amount as a point to start dickering over the price. To my surprise my offer was accepted. The woman running the booth wrapped the guitar in a large blue recycling bag and as she took my money something about her smile and the gleam in her eye gave me the feeling that as far as she was concerned she was the one who had gotten the deal. The rest of the afternoon was busy. Right after the guitar player left, a tour bus returning home to Nova Scotia after a couple of days in Atlantic City stopped in. Two of the picnic baskets sold, along with several of the framed maps, a set of dishes that Rose and Avery carefully packed for the bus ride home, and a small table I swaddled in an old moving blanket, which Mr. P. and the bus driver managed to fit in the luggage compartment of the bus in a space that it really shouldn’t have fit in but somehow did.

~~~

This is the first cat mystery cozy series that includes a number of individuals working on the inevitable "murder mystery."  A legit PI also is rare in cat mysteries, at least in my experience. And, in addition, having a group with the majority main characters  in their retirement years and having a new, second professional career makes this, indeed, My Own Type of Favorites! May this series run far into the future! I loved every single story that was written for the Second Chance crew to solve! Tell others about these books!

GABixlerReviews

PT Reade debuts New Noir Series with Thomas Blume!

The months weighed heavily.    I woke up early the next morning. In fact, I woke up early most mornings. If I slept more than five hours, I was useless the next day. It probably came down to my body’s confusion. In New York, my go-to drug of choice had been caffeine. Sarah had always called me the Man with the Styrofoam hands because I always had a cup of bitter precinct coffee in my hands.   Sarah…  I ate a quick breakfast of dry toast and coffee and reminded myself to buy some butter. I brushed my teeth and looked in the mirror.   Jesus, I looked like crap. I’d once been called “handsome,” by a female D.A. back in New York. The boys in the precinct had found it hilarious. But those days were just a memory now. 
Echoes of former glory etched by history, my face was worn by deep creases and hair flecked gray at the temples. I wasn’t the man I used to be, and I had never thought that he was up to much.  Moving into the stale office, I was smacked by memories of the day before.  I looked outside and opened the window a crack into the cool, moist atmosphere that seemed to pervade the English capital. People were coming and going everywhere, surrounded by the morning smells of London — baking bread, tea and coffee, car exhaust, and the after-scent of rain. In the distance, tower blocks clawed at the gray sky. Beneath my window, a narrow street crowded with hustling couriers and black taxis signaled the start of another day.  It was all pleasant enough, but I simply couldn’t let myself be swayed from my somber mood.  
I’d been in this dark place for a while now. Most people told me that the best way to overcome it was to think of the great memories I had of Sarah and Tommy, but trying to do that only reminded me of how badly I missed them.   I had come to London with the express purpose of finding out what had happened when my family had been murdered on the wrong side of the world. Six months later, those thoughts still burned in my mind. Murdered. Even now I could barely believe it was true, or perhaps some part of me just didn’t.   Remorse ambushed me again when I recalled the events.  I had let Sarah take the job in London while I had remained in New York to finish my night course at Columbia University. I had been gunning for Captain and the forensics qualification was my ticket.  I had encouraged her to go for the interim Editor position and had even agreed to her taking Tommy over the summer to see her home country.  I had. Me. I had sent my wife and son 3,500 miles away for a “temporary situation.”  Now they were dead and there was nothing temporary about it. They were never coming back.  
I could remember the night I found out like it was yesterday; a knock at the door. An officer’s voice on the other side.  “Detective Blume? I’m afraid I have some bad news.” 
The memories threatened to break me again, so I collapsed into the chair behind my desk and looked around, desperate for a distraction that didn’t come in a bottle. The tiny office space looked quaint enough, cluttered with papers, files, magazines, and folders. The beat-up laptop on my desk should have been euthanized years ago; I had no idea how it had survived this long…at least nine years. I sat down behind it, but rather than power it up, I reached for my digital camera, still sitting in the middle of the desk from yesterday’s meeting with Anthony.  
Frame and shoot.  I looked through the pictures and saw that I did indeed have a few clear pictures of the man. He looked to be in his early forties, a little overweight, and very pale. If I wanted to, I could probably track him down. I’d start by asking the desk clerk at the hotel and then —  My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. I clicked the camera off, not wanting any visitors to see Anthony’s wife in such a way, and answered the door.  
There were two men on the other side, holding up Police badges. They were detectives, and, as was my habit, I found myself sizing them up right away.  “Mr. Blume?” the cop in front asked. He was tall but not muscular. He wore a mustache that looked almost chiseled on and had eyes that made me think he did a lot of squinting.  
“That’s me,” I said. “What can I do for you?”  
“There’s a situation we hope you can provide some answers to,” the second cop said. This cop was bulky but looked like he had done a lot of drugs during high school. You could see it on his slack, pock-marked face. He reminded me of a dog, but I couldn’t remember which type. They both looked at me like I was going to invite them in.   I didn’t. 
“What situation is that?” I asked.  
“Mr. Blume, do you know a man by the name of Anthony Taylor?”  Alarms instantly went off in my head, but I tried not to let it show. 
“I do,” I answered as nonchalantly as I could.  
“Well, Mr. Taylor committed suicide last night.”  
“Jesus,” I muttered, as guilt hit me again. Was there anything else I could screw up?  “And we also saw in his planner that he met with you yesterday,” the first cop said. “As you were an acquaintance of his, we thought we’d check to see what, exactly, you were meeting about?” 
“That’s private information,” I said, but I was pretty sure they’d tear that defense to shreds…which they did, promptly. 
“He killed himself and as far as we know, you are the last person that saw him alive. You know that the privacy shite won’t work here,” Moustache said.  
They were right, so all I could do was shrug. “He thought his wife was cheating on him but didn’t have the courage to confront her about it,” I informed them. I had stepped in front of the doorway, making sure they knew damn well that I wasn’t going to invite them in. Yes, they were just doing their job but for a reason I could not explain, I had a sense of responsibility for Anthony…not what he had decided to do, but in the personal ramifications of working with him. 
“And?” the dog-faced cop with the hazy eyes said.  
“And he turned out to be right. I presented him with the evidence yesterday.”  “Evidence?” 
“Yeah,” I said. “Pictures.”  The two cops shared an expression that enraged me…an expression that basically translated to: Get a load of this worthless son of a bitch. And damn them if it didn’t make me feel like shit. 

~~~

Hard Fall:
The Thomas Blume Debut

By PT Reade

I admit it; I'm a sucker for characters who have lost their family through a violent act and chooses to search for the answer to what had happened.  Blume had formerly been a NY cop, but had left the United States six months earlier, heading for London where his family had been murdered. He had been doing private investigative work in order to have the money to stay as long as he needed...

Now he was mostly using a camera instead of a gun. Which is what had called him to the attention of the local police. His last client had committed suicide after seeing pictures of his wife with another man, intimately involved... Blume couldn't be seen as legally responsible for his client's actions, but it saddened and then angered him... Most of his clients required his type of evidence to file for divorce--not this time...

Now the cops had given him two weeks notice to make his stay permanent or be sent back to America. Blume was not willing to give up the hunt to discover what had happened to his family. His landlord, who'd become a friend, tried to talk to him, with no success...

Not that I had much future, I thought. At least not in London. Even if the cops didn’t deport me, I was going to run out of money soon. Eventually I was going to have to figure out how to get some cash flowing in. Still, the thought of letting Sarah and Tommy’s case go cold made me hate myself. “No,” I shook my head. “This is too important.” 
“Why?” Amir demanded. “Why is it important to chase the killers of the dead? What do you hope to accomplish?”  
“Justice.” 
“You don’t want justice, you want revenge. And with revenge you will find only more pain and more guilt.”  
“What would you have me do, huh?” I asked.  
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “You seem incapable of helping yourself. Maybe you should try helping others.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean use the talents God gave you. You’re a brilliant detective, Thomas. My sister owes her life to you. That is a gift I will never forget. Use your skills to help the living. Become a proper investigator.”

~~~

Then one day he noticed her...he'd seen her car out front of his building. This time she'd actually gotten out of her car and made her way to the door, only to turn around and go back. Who was this mystery woman?

His curiosity made him follow her... What did she want with me? He did something he'd never done before, he started investigating without a case. He'd learned that she was a recluse, lost her husband, and that her son had disappeared. It was enough to stir his memories of actually being on an important case...it felt good... And when he looked at the picture of Jack Ellington, her missing son...he couldn't help but notice a resemblance to his own son...

Jack Ellington had disappeared when he was ten, while walking home from soccer practice. He thought of what his friend had suggested and realized that he might be able to help this woman learn what had happened to her son...he would be helping the living with his work... He couldn't bring his own son back, but just maybe he could find Jack....

As he continued his research, he found a notice that another young boy had disappeared after band practice. Could there be a connection? Finally he decided to approach his mystery woman...

“You know about my son’s disappearance?” she asked.  
“I do,” I spoke quietly. “I recently did some digging when I knew that you were looking for me.” 
“And how did you know I was looking for you?”  I smiled and said, “I’d be a terrible ex-cop if I hadn’t noticed you at my apartment. Especially when you were so bold as to knock on my door.”  She blushed, and it was that blush that helped me to see how Elizabeth Ellington had been incredibly beautiful one day — likely one day in the very recent past. Now, however, she looked deflated and tired like the faded glamour of a grand old hotel, shadows of the glory days clinging to its facade.  “Do you have any suspects?” she asked.  
“I do.”  She hesitated here and gave me a tired-looking grin. “I suppose I need to hire you, don’t I?” 
“That would be nice.”  
“What do you charge?”  I shrugged. There was no way I could tell her that researching her son’s case had managed to make me want to drink less. It had cleared my mind more than it had been cleared in the last six months. So I simply answered: “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

~~~

The results of his investigation closed the Ellington case... What actually occurred is hard to read about...but it is happening in today's world and we must face it, and talk about it...to help stop it!

The climax of the story is actually the Epilogue...you won't believe it...

While this is a short novella, it is a book I highly recommend mainly because I loved the main character. The author opened up this character to readers almost immediately and we find him hurt, sympathetic, determined, and still caring. This debut sets up a series through strong story development and leaves us hanging for how Blume proceeds into the future. Will he stay in London? Still searching for what happened to his family? Here's one reader that hopes so... Highly recommended.

Please note: This is a dark noir story. If you don't like that type of story, don't buy it and then rank it low when you don't. That's not fair to the writer in my opinion...


GABixlerReviews

I work hard to create captivating and gripping stories that contain the best elements of Noir, Mystery and Hard Boiled Detective thrillers, but always with a twist...

As an independent, first-time fiction author your input makes a world of difference so if you enjoyed one of my books please leave a review and help shape future stories!

Get your free book at my site:
www.PTReade.com