Read: Checking out Crime (#70-2022)

Checking Out Crime by Laurie Cass

(Bookmobile Cat Mystery series, Book 9)

Significant life changes are sort of, kind of happening for Minnie in this one.  One being the relationship with Rafe that she absolutely didn't see coming in the last book. But there is of course another mystery to solve and Rafe wants to be involved, at least to try to keep Minnie out of trouble.  

It's not the ideal crime-fighting duo when Rafe is also trying to finish the house he's been building so that Minnie can move out of her houseboat before it's too cold to stay there. And Minnie is not terribly helpful at making the choices she needs to make to expedite that process. Some of her phobias are absolutely ridiculous, but they are also endearing, so I won't critique them too much. 

This is the last of the series at the moment - a new one comes out in October and I'm kind of excited about it.  Let's see what future mischief Minnie and Eddie can get into. 

(#70-2022)

Read: Gone with the Whisker (#69-2022)

Gone with the Whisker by Laurie Cass

(The Bookmobile Cat Mystery series, Book 8)

It's summer season in Chilton, and Minnie has taken in her niece for the summer.  Katrina is an interesting addition to the dynamic of Minnie's life and her roommate doesn't exactly fit into the idyllic aunt/niece summer fun expectation that Minnie held for the event. 

Especially when Katrina haphazardly comes across a murder victim at the 4th of July celebrations.  We see how Katrina copes with trauma (and how similar she is to her aunt) while both of them try to solve the mystery and come to terms with some significant changes in their lives. 

This is the novel that really turned me around on Minnie.  She's been growing on me novel by novel, but this one really made her feel like a person.  There are some pretty significant changes to her life here, and the way she deals with them and still keeps things stable on some level are telling.  She acted like a real person, rather than just a character in a book. 

The events are still a bit outlandish, but I wouldn't want to read the story if things weren't at least a little bit crazy. 

(#69-2022)