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Book Review of Meow If It's Murder (Nick and Nora, Bk 1)

Meow If It's Murder (Nick and Nora, Bk 1)
dollycas avatar reviewed on + 648 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


Dollycass Thoughts

I had not thought about The Thin Man movies in ages but I have to say Toni LoTempio has done them proud with her twist to use them as the basis of her new cozy series. In this case Nora isnt quite so ditzy and Nick happens to be a very smart and intuitive cat and together they make a great team.

Nora has come home to Cruz to take over her mothers sandwich shop but true crime reporting is in her blood and she cant let it go. Everything about the investigation into Lola Graingers death feels wrong to Nora and she just cant stop herself from doing a little investigating herself. When she finds out her new cats previous owner was a P.I. investigating the death and he has since mysteriously disappeared she jumps in with both paws, I mean feet. This is dangerous both for her and her new feline friend.

This story is full of twists and had it not been for Nick (the cat) helping her with the clues I dont think Nora would have figured it out. It is not blatantly spelled out but I think this cat is more than he appears to be. I think he is a special cat that takes on the spirit of his previous owner. When he belonged to Nick, the private eye, his name was Sherlock. I wonder who his owner was before Nick, maybe Mr. Holmes? I am very interested to see if the author addresses this in future installments. He is definitely a special cat with special powers regular kitty cats do not possess. Daniel Corleone is also a very interesting character that I want to get to know better.

The author has laid a nice foundation for the series going forward. There were many parts that drew directly from the original Thin Man and tested my memory, but you do not have to be familiar with the movies or the original story by Dashiell Hammett to enjoy this story. Nick and Nora are off to a great start. I am excited to see what crime they investigate next.