Pawsome Crime Solvers

Cozy Cat Mysteries...there really is such a thing!

  There is a whole genre of mystery stories built around the theme of cats (and their owners) solving mystery cases, many of them "who done it" murder mysteries. This was a revelation to me, I had no idea such a thing even existed, let alone is so big/popular that on a quick check of Amazon, when I typed in Cat Mystery, a list of over 30 authors showed up! I even found a book challenge with Cat Mysteries as the subject, listing various cat related words for the categories of numbers of books read. You're purring right along if you read 5 books, etc.

Well, being the curious, cat owning, love to read type of person that I am, and it being the beginning of a new year when readers are thinking about book challenges and reading goals, such a thing peaked my interest. I remember years ago when I worked at the University Hospital there was a table for a book exchange set up in the cafeteria and I would peruse the books there and give or take one periodically. One book I happened to pick up was The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers by Lillian J. Braun. I read it and was not impressed, so I just forgot about things such as cat mysteries. Then when looking at second hand shops, where I like to find books, I started noticing that this author had other Cat Who...stories but I was not interested because the other one was not too interesting so I did not take a second look. I have since found out that the particular story (60 Whiskers), that I read happened to be the last in a long series of supposedly better cat mysteries by that author and it was pretty despised by fans of the series because it was published after the author died and thought not to be a complete story, but the publisher, with dollar signs in their eyes, went ahead with it anyway since it was a popular series.

 

So! Maybe the Cat Mysteries genre deserves a second look? Especially after I made the discovery of a reading challenge built around cat mysteries. They seem to be what is termed a "cozy" mystery which is another term I am learning about. It means that this is a sub genre of crime fiction where the sex and violence are minimized, the detectives are often women, humor and romance are sometimes added in, and the characters are amateurs at sleuthing. Brother Cadfael, Miss Marple of Agatha Christie fame and the Cat Who...mysteries by Lillian J. Braun can all be included in this category. (The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith probably fits in the cozy category as well, and I have enjoyed reading a bunch of those.)

To get you going on discovering some Cozy Cat Mysteries, here is a list of authors and series, it is by no means exhaustive, but it will keep someone interested in sampling these books busy. If you find a series or author you love, you know there are more stories waiting for you to discover at your local library, on your nook or kindle, or at your favorite new or used book shop. Any recommendations you have can be left in the comments. I have focused on books written for adults, but there are bound to be some of these written for kids, and I am almost afraid to ask but could there be a dog mystery category too? I'm sure there is, I just haven't looked yet.

 

Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries by Ali Brandon

Mrs Murphy Series/ Sneaky Pie Brown by Rita Mae Brown

Cat Who Mysteries by Lillian J. Braun

Cat Latimer Series by Lynn Cahoon

Midnight Louie Series by Carole Douglas

Inn at Holiday Bay Series by Kathey Daley

Paws and Claws Mystery Series by Krista Davis

Sunshine and Shadow Mysteries by Claire Donelly

Black Cat Mysteries by Elaine Faber

Klepto Cat Mysteries by Patricia Fry

The Cat that...Series by Karen Anne Golden

Cats and Curios by Rebecca Hale

Scottish Wildcats Series by Lucinda Hare

Cat in the Stacks Mysteries by Miranda James

Witch's Cat Series by Delia James

Mr and Mrs North Series by Frances and Richard Lockridge

Cat Rescue Series/ Nick and Nora by T.C. Lo Tempio

Joe Grey Series by Shirley R. Murphy

Second Chance Cat Series by Sophie Ryan

Theda Krakow and Dulcie Schwartz Series by Clea Simon

Tarot Cats Series by Diane Stuckart

A Cat's in Trouble Series by Lee Ann Sweeney

Witch Cat Series by Vicki Vass

Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Capers by Cindy Vince

Happy Reading!!

Find The Purrfect Reading Challenge here: http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-purrfect-reading-challenge-2019.html