A review by sandlynn
The Girl with the Cat Tattoo by Theresa Weir
3.0
Theresa Weir, who also writes as Anne Frasier, is an author I greatly enjoyed in the past for her unusual, off beat tales. Girl with the Cat Tattoo, published in 2013 definitely qualifies. This book is a novella, coming in at 160 pages. The copy of the book I have has a different cover than the one that pops up on Goodreads, and I’m glad it does since the cover with the cat on it looks a bit amateurish.
In Girl with the Cat Tattoo, we are introduced to Melody who is a children’s librarian in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area. She is also the widow of a cop who was killed in their home two years earlier. The only witness was their tuxedo cat, Max. That may seem like an odd note, but Max factors very importantly in this book. In fact, we the cat’s point-of-view almost exclusively in the beginning of this story. It takes a little getting used to, but by the end, he’s actually a fully fleshed out character who is as important as the hero and heroine.
Ever since the murder of her husband, Melody has found it difficult to return to a normal life. She does her job, comes home, and every so often she goes out, parties hardy, drinks way too much, and brings home a stranger for the night. Max is concerned and disgusted by these unwelcome guests. He misses David too but wants Melody to have a responsible man in her life who will make them both happy. So, he makes it his mission to find one for her. With that, he slips out of their house one day and, for the first time ever, leaves the yard and ventures into the world.
Before long Max is having an adventure. He makes friends with what appears to be a homeless man and tags along with him to a food bank/shelter. Once there, a shelter worker named Joe takes pity on the “homeless kitty,” feeding him. At the end of the work day, he sees that the kitty has a collar with his name and address and proceeds to take him home.
Joe seems like a nice guy and Max is cautiously optimistic that he might have succeeded in his mission, especially since Melody appears slightly flustered around this new person and Joe looks interested as well. The only thing both Melody and Max don’t know is that Joe can’t afford to be interested in Melody right now and he is not what he appears to be.
As I mentioned above, this is one heck of an unusual story structure that I was uncertain of, at first, but ultimately, I bought into it. Initially, we do not get much, if any, of the inner thoughts of either the hero or heroine. Most of the action is seen through the eyes of Max the cat. Only later, do we transition to how Melody feels about Joe and vice versa. It put me off a little at the beginning because Melody and Joe start seeing each other and Joe even starts sleeping over and we still don’t get much of their inner monologue. Things do take a turn and we learn of Joe’s reluctance to reveal much about himself, where he lives, etc. and why. And, we share Melody’s frustration over getting involved with someone who appears to be hiding something. What we do know is that Melody does not want to get involved with anyone in law enforcement and that fact is clear to Joe as well.
For 160 pages, this story does begin to pack in quite a plot. We get a bit of a who-done-it, harking back to the what and why of Melody’s husband’s death and the fall-out of that discovery which even ends up with a guest appearance by — no joke — Ellen DeGeneres! (You’ll just have to read it to see how she fits in.) For all of its charm, this story did frustrate this reader by not including more about Melody and Joe’s feelings and musings in the beginning. This could’ve been a 200 page novel, easily. Some people might not like the over focus on Max, but I felt that this was one of the few times that an animal was used well in a very substantive way in a romance novel. Truly, the cat is a character and the ending was perfect for him. I could’ve used just a page or two more to wrap up that little, charming twist. Really, Girl with the Cat Tattoo didn’t blow me away but it left a smile on my face. I’ll give it a “B”.
In Girl with the Cat Tattoo, we are introduced to Melody who is a children’s librarian in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area. She is also the widow of a cop who was killed in their home two years earlier. The only witness was their tuxedo cat, Max. That may seem like an odd note, but Max factors very importantly in this book. In fact, we the cat’s point-of-view almost exclusively in the beginning of this story. It takes a little getting used to, but by the end, he’s actually a fully fleshed out character who is as important as the hero and heroine.
Ever since the murder of her husband, Melody has found it difficult to return to a normal life. She does her job, comes home, and every so often she goes out, parties hardy, drinks way too much, and brings home a stranger for the night. Max is concerned and disgusted by these unwelcome guests. He misses David too but wants Melody to have a responsible man in her life who will make them both happy. So, he makes it his mission to find one for her. With that, he slips out of their house one day and, for the first time ever, leaves the yard and ventures into the world.
Before long Max is having an adventure. He makes friends with what appears to be a homeless man and tags along with him to a food bank/shelter. Once there, a shelter worker named Joe takes pity on the “homeless kitty,” feeding him. At the end of the work day, he sees that the kitty has a collar with his name and address and proceeds to take him home.
Joe seems like a nice guy and Max is cautiously optimistic that he might have succeeded in his mission, especially since Melody appears slightly flustered around this new person and Joe looks interested as well. The only thing both Melody and Max don’t know is that Joe can’t afford to be interested in Melody right now and he is not what he appears to be.
As I mentioned above, this is one heck of an unusual story structure that I was uncertain of, at first, but ultimately, I bought into it. Initially, we do not get much, if any, of the inner thoughts of either the hero or heroine. Most of the action is seen through the eyes of Max the cat. Only later, do we transition to how Melody feels about Joe and vice versa. It put me off a little at the beginning because Melody and Joe start seeing each other and Joe even starts sleeping over and we still don’t get much of their inner monologue. Things do take a turn and we learn of Joe’s reluctance to reveal much about himself, where he lives, etc. and why. And, we share Melody’s frustration over getting involved with someone who appears to be hiding something. What we do know is that Melody does not want to get involved with anyone in law enforcement and that fact is clear to Joe as well.
For 160 pages, this story does begin to pack in quite a plot. We get a bit of a who-done-it, harking back to the what and why of Melody’s husband’s death and the fall-out of that discovery which even ends up with a guest appearance by — no joke — Ellen DeGeneres! (You’ll just have to read it to see how she fits in.) For all of its charm, this story did frustrate this reader by not including more about Melody and Joe’s feelings and musings in the beginning. This could’ve been a 200 page novel, easily. Some people might not like the over focus on Max, but I felt that this was one of the few times that an animal was used well in a very substantive way in a romance novel. Truly, the cat is a character and the ending was perfect for him. I could’ve used just a page or two more to wrap up that little, charming twist. Really, Girl with the Cat Tattoo didn’t blow me away but it left a smile on my face. I’ll give it a “B”.