Faux Paw: A Magical Cat Mystery (Magical Cats, #7)

by Sofie Kelly

Fantastical felines Owen and Hercules are ready to help librarian Kathleen Paulson pounce on a killer art thief in this novel in the Magical Cats Mystery series.

Normally, the arrival of an art exhibition at the Mayville Heights library would be cause for celebration. But thanks to the overbearing curator and high-tech security system that comes with it, Kathleen’s life has been completely disrupted. Even Owen and Hercules have been affected, since their favorite human doesn’t seem to have a spare moment to make their favorite fish crackers or listen to Barry Manilow.

But when Kathleen stops by the library late one night and finds the curator sprawled on the floor—and the exhibition’s most valuable sketch missing—it’s suddenly time to canvass a crime scene. Now Kathleen, her detective boyfriend Marcus, and her clever cats have to sniff out a murderous thief, before anyone else has a brush with death...

• ISBN10: 0451472152
• ISBN13: 9780451472151
• Publish Date: 6 October 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: New American Library
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451472151

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

This is an example of a great cozy mystery series that makes the 'cute' factor work for it, instead of against it.  Owen and Hercules are definitely cats with magical gifts: there's no possibility of logical explanations when you have cats that can do what they can do.  But the author never takes it further, never tries to expand on the whys and wherefores; that might drive some readers nuts, but I like it and I think it's more authentic.   

Aside from the cat magic, the rest of the book is firmly rooted on terra firma.  A hardworking MC with two hardworking best friends, a spectacular love interest who is spectacular because of his flaws instead of in spite of them, and an incredibly well plotted mystery with a fairly reasonable ending and no TSTL moments.  The writing is solid and always keeps me coming back for more.   

I deducted 1/2 star because there were an overly large number of missing articles (especially 'a') throughout the copy and because I think the author started exploring something a bit with Gavin (not a love triangle) and it sort of fizzled mid-way, as though she lost control of it so just dropped it.  I'm just as glad she did really, but it did feel a bit unfinished.   Definitely a series I'm sticking with.

[Silvara]

Check out my other reviews, discussions and link ups at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon.

I received this book for free from Obsidian in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


I loved pretty much everything about this book. It's totally made my keeper shelf, and I'll be going back and reading the earlier books at some point as well. When I received it in the mail, I thought it sounded like a me book. And then when I started reading it, I realized it was perfect.

It has a bit of a fantasy element, in that Kathleen's two cats have magic powers. Hercules is able to walk through walls or closed doors, and his brother Owen can literally disappear. They both appear to be smarter than normal animals, and help Kathleen solve part of the mystery. However, other than the mentions of their otherworldly gifts, and helping her find a few tiny clues, most of their part of the plot revolves around being normal house cats and serving as listening ears to Kathleen bouncing ideas off of them. So if you don't like fantasy/paranormal in your mysteries, that's pretty much the extent of it.

One of the many things I loved, was that unlike a lot of cozy mysteries where the main character ends up in mortal danger at the end as the killer is revealed? Kathleen was smart enough to enlist help, and thus didn't need to be saved at the last second.

I also liked learning about the characters lives in the town. All the characters had interesting personalities, and were fleshed out enough I didn't get any of them mixed together. I liked the minor subplots that were woven in with the main one, and the small tidbits thrown in about past capers made me even more curious to go back and read the series from the beginning.

If you like mysteries, especially ones where animals play a large role in the lives of their humans, you need to read this series.

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

[Mystereity Reviews]

After the last book I read, I needed a light and fluffy story to read, and this was just the ticket.  Enjoyable story and a well paced plot with a few twists and turns. 
 
Kathleen once again finds herself at the center of a mystery when she finds the body of Margo, the curator brought in to stage an art exhibit at the library and the star exhibit - a valuable sketch - turns up missing.  Can Kathleen and her supernatural cats solve the crime?
 
The antics of Owen and Hercules were a bit more subtle in this book; I'll liken it to how Koko "helps" solve the mystery in The Cat Who series.  Nothing overt, just nudges in the right direction.  Kinda clever.
 
Overall, an good, quick read.