The Cat, The Lady and The Liar by Leann Sweeney is the third book in the “Cats in Trouble” mystery series. Publisher: Obsidian (Penguin), April 2011
When cat quilter Jillian Hart tracks down the owner of a gorgeous stray cat, the trail leads her to none other than fabulously wealthy, undeniably quirky Ritaestelle Longworth. The gossips in town are questioning Ritaestelle’s sanity, and the high-society grande dame isn’t helping matter with her wild accusations that someone is drugging her to keep her away from her beloved cat.
Before Jillian can get to the bottom of Ritaestelle’s charges, a body turns up in the lake behind her house—and her cat Chablis discovers Ritaestelle standing nearby. Can Jillian’s three wise cats aid her in solving a mystery with roots that are decades old? Jillian knows from experience that to find the purr-petrator, she’ll have to prick up her ears and follow the paw prints straight to a killer.
You know how you can tell when a book has truly captured your attention? When it leaves a smile on your face after you have finished and you don’t want it to end. Ever. Looking to return a rescued cat to her owner, Jillian visits the home of Ritaestelle and finds the place in chaos. She leaves before getting a chance to speak with Ritaestelle about her cat, but later finds her on her doorstep having run away from home with the claim that someone is trying to harm her. When a body is found near Jillian’s dock and Ritaestelle is covered with blood, Ritaestelle begs Jillian to help prove her innocence. And Jillian does that with assistance from her feline friends. This was a great mystery filled with intrigued that kept me turning the pages as I needed to know who was behind this plot. It was a pleasure to see the interaction between the characters and the introduction of new ones that fit in perfectly delighting us with great dialogue and friendliness. This cleverly-written story is the best one yet in this fantastic series.
FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book