Cat Mysteries, Or A New Way Of Choosing Books

15 years ago

Recently I bought a "cozy" mystery, a rather pleasant, bland little book which featured a male librarian who took his cat everywhere. It was okay, like eating a Hershey bar. My mother, however, loved it. Now this is woman who can do the New York Times crossword on Sunday in about 45 minutes. She is not lacking brain power. But she loves these mysteries with cats in them. (She does not have a cat, or any pet.) She has read all the Rita Mae Browns and all of the Cat Who books. So, I went to Sherman's and bought the mysteries with cats on the cover, or if I opened the book and there was mention of a cat - sort of a weird I Ching method of cat book buying. She loved those too. Now I am running out of cat books and Christmas is around the corner. The problem is I have bought all the ones at the local bookstores, and since I have to actually see the book, I can't very order them up from Amazon. Anyone have any ideas?

BTW, nothing bad can happen to the cat. My mom would definitely not like that. No sex, no real violence - the murder or bad stuff has to happen off page.

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Comments (12)

pam_25f
15 years ago
Check out the author Marian Babson at the Stop You're Killing Me site.
annpan
15 years ago
If you have not already come across them, the Suzette A. Hill series "Bones....." features a cat and also a dog (a bonus, pardon the pun!). These books are very amusing and the animals behave like normal animals. Some books have animals doing fantastic things!!
They must be read in sequence as the story is ongoing.
The murder only happens once in the first book and is very genteel.
I am in awe of your mother's crossword solving abilities. I occasionally try to finish one that has been started in the magazines at my doctor's surgery but I need a dictionary to help out and this is not usually something I carry around!
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ccrdmrbks
15 years ago
also, on the stop you're killing me website, there is a "read-alike" feature, and these appear under mysteries featuring cats:
Garrison Allen
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Penelope Warren: ex-Marine mystery bookstore owner, and Mycroft (Big Mike), a 25 pound Abyssinian, in Empty Creek, Arizon

Marian Babson
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Non-series mysteries featuring cats

Lorna Barrett (L.L. Bartlett)
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Tricia Miles: running a mystery bookstore, HavenÃ¢ÂÂt Got a Clue, and the cat Miss Marple, in fictional small-town Stoneham, New Hampshire, a town full of bookstores

Lilian Jackson Braun
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Jim Qwilleran: journalist, with cats Koko and Yum Yum in Pickax, northeast central United States

Rita Mae Brown
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Mary Minor Haristeen: postmistress and her cat, Mrs. Murphy, in Crozet, Virginia

Susan Conant
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Felicity Pride: author of a mystery series about cats, in Massachusetts

Carole Nelson Douglas
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Temple Barr: public relations freelancer, and Midnight Louie, tomcat sleuth, in Las Vegas, Nevada

The Gordons
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ D.C. Randall: a Persian cat in Los Angeles, California

Evan Marshall
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Jane Stuart: widowed literary agent, and Winky the cat, in Shady Hills, New Jersey

Alex Matthews
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Cassidy McCabe: psychotherapist, and her calico cat Starshine, in Oak Park, Illinois

Shirley Rousseu Murphy
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Joe Grey: cat and private investigator

Clea Simon
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Theda Krakow: cat-loving, freelance writer in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Dulcie Schwartz: Harvard doctoral candidate living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the ghost of her cat Mr. Grey

Fran Stewart
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Biscuit McKee: librarian, and her cat, Marmalade, in Martinsville, a small town in northern Georgia

Leann Sweeney
Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Cats in Trouble series

and one of Carolyn Hart's series, the Death on Demand books, feature two cats and a mystery book store.

In M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series, Agatha has two cats-but sometimes the only mention of them is they are off to stay with her charwoman while Agatha is solving the mystery.
annpan
15 years ago
I have checked my reading history file at the library for cat books and have two more authors you may not have come across.
Lydia Adamson and Blaize Clement.
As the Adamson books are quite old they may be OOP and I didn't care for the Clement one, I think it had rather more violence in the murders than I could tolerate, if I recall correctly. This is a matter of preference, of course but you did say that your mother did not like violence.
You did not mention which book was the one that started this quest or which authors you have tried. You may be getting more info than you need!
I read a very good cat mystery a long time ago written by a woman (I cannot recall her name) who ran a tapas bar in Spain. I wonder if she ever wrote another? Ring any bells with anyone?
kathy_t
15 years ago
Ask and ye shall receive, heh? This is certainly the place to get answers to inquiries about books! (I have no suggestions. I'm just impressed with the outpouring of helpful information from RPers and felt compelled to comment.) -- Kathy
mudlady_gw
15 years ago
Wow! I read the Conant dog mysteries and have read one of the cat books mentioned here. Are there also a ton of dog mysteries?
Nancy
J C
Original Author
15 years ago
Wow! And thank you! These are wonderful, I will be able to get through her birthday too! And some of these I think I will like - she actually really likes it when I read the book first, then send it to her. I think it is a Mom Thing.

I too am impressed with the helpful information, RPers never stop amazing me with their kindness and knowledge. And if there are any more to add, keep 'em coming!
annpan
15 years ago
Nancy, there certainly are lots of dog mysteries. One of my favourites is the Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn. The story is told by the dog.
ccrdmrbks
15 years ago
Of course there are dog mysteries! ;-D
The link below will take you to the page. Scroll down to dogs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stop You're Killing Me pet page
mudlady_gw
15 years ago
Thanks, ccrdmrbks,
I added this page to my Favorites!
Nancy
Chris_in_the_Valley
15 years ago
Wow, I'm impressed.

Nancy, Michael Bond, known for Paddington Bear, wrote a delightful mystery series about a food critic traveling around Europe with his dog Pomme Frites.
J C
Original Author
15 years ago
A big shout out to everyone who responded here - I sent my mother several books from these recommendations and she was thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. And I still have plenty for her birthday and other occasions. You should all give yourselves give yourselves a big pat on the back for making my mom's Christmas happy.

Cat Mysteries, Or A New Way Of Choosing Books

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