cheryl6of8's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars here. I would give it 4, but the things I liked best were not really related to the plot (an essential part of a mystery novel, IMHO).
I always enjoy spending time in Crozet with Harry and Miranda and Susan and Coop and all the animals (would have liked to see Simon the Opossum make more than a cameo appearance). I actually even enjoyed Big Mim in this book, which is a first. The mystery was pretty good, over all, but a lot of time was spent focusing on a red herring that really was not as plausible as the characters seemed to think it was. And there were a couple of things that were never explained -- the first victim early on talks about manners of death and mentions what happens to him, but that is never tied in to the actual solution; the second victim seems to have known something, but we never really find out what (we can guess one thing, but even so, there is a question as to its accuracy). In short, there are loose ends which in real life would probably not be tied up, but which I like to see resolved in books. Points go to the author for bringing in the real feel of Central Virginia and for the identity of victim #2; you could see it coming but not believe it would really happen.
I always enjoy spending time in Crozet with Harry and Miranda and Susan and Coop and all the animals (would have liked to see Simon the Opossum make more than a cameo appearance). I actually even enjoyed Big Mim in this book, which is a first. The mystery was pretty good, over all, but a lot of time was spent focusing on a red herring that really was not as plausible as the characters seemed to think it was. And there were a couple of things that were never explained -- the first victim early on talks about manners of death and mentions what happens to him, but that is never tied in to the actual solution; the second victim seems to have known something, but we never really find out what (we can guess one thing, but even so, there is a question as to its accuracy). In short, there are loose ends which in real life would probably not be tied up, but which I like to see resolved in books. Points go to the author for bringing in the real feel of Central Virginia and for the identity of victim #2; you could see it coming but not believe it would really happen.
yum_oreos's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
amylee218's review against another edition
3.0
I thought the animals in this book were charming, I liked the small town friendships, and it was significantly less political than a later book that I read in the series. One thing that bugged me is that in the beginning chain letters were repeatedly mentioned, then towards the end it states that Harry is reeling from finding out the author of the chain letters. Except the book never mentions this. I don't know if it was edited out or what, but as it's written, Harry magically ascertains the chain letter author (and perhaps whether or not they were actually significant to the story) while the reader is left in the dark.
kketcham327's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
Much better than the previous book.
kayess19's review against another edition
2.0
i got this book as a christmas gift because it was purple and about cats:) for a book about cat detectives it was ok i guess. the town was cute and that was nice to read about, but there were way too many characters to keep straight and the hunting part was too detailed.
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