Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Winter in Montreal can be very cold and snowy indeed, and Agnes Aubert is desperate to find a new place for her cat shelter.  The old shelter sustained a great deal of damage when some out-of-control magicians (are there any other kind?) staged a duel in the streets.  It’s said that one of them might even have been the Witch King himself, the notorious Havelock Renard, already wanted for nearly causing the end of the world a few years back.

It really doesn’t matter who was involved. The results speak for themselves.  The cat shelter had already been struggling; people tend to see cats as vermin, not pets, and while her sister helps as she can, Agnes has to carry most of the load.  Agnes is also still grieving for her late husband, Robin, who helped found the shelter. Now they’re almost out of money and have to find a place to stay before winter sets in in earnest.

But Agnes is on a mission to find them all a safe place to stay. She finally finds someon who is willing to rent a space to her at a surprisingly—perhaps suspiciously-- reasonable rate. It isn’t long before Agnes begins to wonder if illegal magic is going on, but as long as she can care for the cats and help them be adopted into loving homes she will turn a blind eye.

Which Agnes is able to do until the shop comes under attack from a witch who believes Havelock Renard himself is on the premises. That’s bad enough but what’s worse is that she may be right.

Despite the admonition not to judge a book by its cover, I totally chose this book because of the delightful artwork that adorns the front. I was not disappointed.  It accurately portrays the feel of the book, the 1920s time period, and the charming contents.  Agnes is a no-nonsense, highly organized woman whose courage and determination have seen her through many trials.  Her sister Elise is much more glib and silver-tongued, but intent on seeing Agnes safe and settled.  Havelock is abrupt and darkly handsome, or Agnes thinks he would be if he weren’t such a scoundrel.

He is also allergic to cats.

I thoroughly enjoyed the vividly realized setting of the book.  I could almost smell the baked goods from the oven, feel the cold wind and snow down my neck, and enjoy the sights in the shops along the street. 

Then there were the cats: the haughty and sometimes malicious Your Majesty, a regal long-haired tuxedo who only tolerates Agnes; the somewhat addlepated Banshee who silently yowls; and dear old Thoreau, an elderly cat who endeared himself to Agnes and to me.

This is a light but fun tale of magic mixed with adventure, danger, spells, and most of all, felines. Please forgive me but I have to say it:  this book was like catnip to me.

The Cat’s Eye Charm: A Witch Cats of Cambridge Mystery by Clea Simon

Reviewed by Jeanne

 

Becca’s life seems a bit fraught right now.  Business has been slow at Charm and Cherish the magic shop where she works, and the owner is making noises about turning the place into a (sigh) craft shop.  Becca doesn’t seem to be making much progress in honing her own magical skills, which truth to tell seem to be pretty much non-existent. Well, except for that pillow she conjured, but that was a long time ago.  Even the coven seems to be slowly falling by the wayside.

So it seems like a good omen when Trina comes into the shop wanting to hire Becca in her other capacity as a witch detective. Maybe all Becca needs is a good focus, a challenge, to help her bring out her powers.  The cause is certainly a worthy one: Trina is desperate to find her beloved cat, Mr. Butters.  He was an indoor cat, but has gone missing.  Can Becca do a spell or something to bring him home?

Becca may not be able to wield a lot of magic but she still has help nearby.  Unbeknownst to her, her three cats do have some supernatural abilities.  That pillow Becca thinks she conjured?  That was luxury-loving Harriet who fancied a new bed.  Siamese Laurel can subtly influence human behaviors (usually to Laurel’s benefit) and sweet devoted Clara can become invisible. Clara adores Becca and often follows her to make sure she’s safe, but Clara is careful to remain unseen so Becca has no idea.

What seems like a relatively straightforward request soon turns out to be more complicated and more dangerous than Becca expected, involving kidnapping and a stolen gem.  Even worse, it’s becoming difficult for Becca to know who to trust.

This is the fifth book in the Witch Cats of Cambridge series, but it can be read as a standalone.  I have to say this is probably my favorite entry in the series. I loved seeing the magical cats’ world expand with the addition of a kitten who may be much wiser than they realize.  Kitten is an absolute peach-toed charmer even if she does have a penchant for knocking things off shelves. There’s also Mr. Butters, who has some surprises of his own.  All this makes for some delightful feline world-building.  On the human side of things, the mysterious Elizabeth takes on a somewhat bigger role.  And even though we’re told not to judge-- I adore the cover!

Cats, magic, gems—what’s not to love?

Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire

Reviewed by Jeanne

Henric Nagg lives on a cursed farm with his wife in a marriage of mutual disrespect and heavy-duty annoyance.  It’s really not as if anyone around has much better luck, living as they do near a goblin valley with its yearly goblin infestation.  Fortunately they have a wizard named Badgemagus who keeps the goblins in their place (more or less) and can occasionally be called upon to perform some wizardly service—or not.  He does brew potions that require some interesting ingredients, which is what brought Mr. Nagg to Badgemagus’ hovel with a collection of mandrake leaves. 

But Badgemagus isn’t at home. Since Mr. Nagg doesn’t want to face the derision of Mrs. Nagg should he return home empty handed, he decides to take one of the wizard’s books. This decision is not well received as Mrs. Nagg is of the opinion that to steal from a wizard is just asking to be turned into a weevil. 

It seems that, as per usual, Mrs. Nagg is going to have to clean up Mr. Nagg’s mess and return the book to Badgemagus. Perhaps if she pleads and apologizes and reminds the wizard of Mr. Nagg’s many shortcomings, they will not be turned into weevils. . . but first she may take just the tiniest peek inside the book.  And maybe, just maybe try a little spell. . . .

This is a witty, madcap adventure with dark undertones.  There are some laugh out loud lines as well as parts that are more than a bit creepy.  Darkshire creates a whole cast of over the top characters, including an entrepreneur with blonde hair and spiked heels who is intent on building a goblin fruit empire.  There’s a talking donkey, a one-eyed creature who is sort of like a cat and who offers unsolicited advice, and most of all, there’s a pot of basil.

This isn’t exactly  straight-forward fantasy, and I wouldn’t use the word cozy in connection with it at all.  There are some fascinating twists and turns in store for readers and an ending I mostly enjoyed for reasons I can’t divulge without spoilers.  It’s no surprise to learn that my favorite character was the cat-like grimalkin.

There are footnotes and excerpts from the book of magic to add entertainment.  Fantasy readers may be reminded of Terry Pratchett in some ways—the footnotes and the witty comments for example—while others may think more of Douglas Adams.

If you are in the mood for a clever, moody read, this just might fill the bill. 

 

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Tao is a travelling fortune teller, but will only tell “small fortunes,”minor things that do make a difference but aren’t life-changing--usually. Not only do major predictions take a lot out of her, but they also draw unwanted attention.  Tao needs to keep a low profile, and that’s already difficult since she is a Shinn woman in Esthera. Then a small prediction has greater consequences than she expects, and she ends up with not one but two travelling companions:  a mercenary and thief (possibly reformed), who are not going to give up until her prediction comes true. . . if it does.

This was my choice for the “debut novel” for Book Bingo, though it could have gone for “judging a book by its cover” for that enticing drawing of a woman with a cat sitting on the steps of a brightly colored wagon under the stars. The cover is an accurate one, because this is a charming tale indeed.  I liked all the characters.  Tao is a brave and determined young woman who is trying to make her way in the world but is forced to keep a low profile or risk being commandeered into the Guild. Mash, the soldier is seeking his young daughter who was lost, probably kidnapped by raiders while his companion Silt is just along for the ride.  And possibly to lift a few valuables.  Reforming is a process, not something one can do cold turkey. They are soon joined by Leah, the baker’s apprentice, whose baked goods taste marginally better than they look.

While I can’t say that this book broke new ground, it is a fun and cozy fantasy full of adventure, characters we enjoy rooting for, a dash of romance, and family.  Tao has more than a few secrets of her own, and there’s a whole backstory to gradually unravel.  Leong has some points to make and she does so elegantly and without fanfare. There’s humor and heart in this book, and I’d be ready to join in on another adventure should one be in the offing.  

And yes, there is really a cat with a role to play!

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

London, 1921: Twenty-one year old Opaline Carlisle has just been informed by her brother that he has arranged a marriage for her with someone she has never met.  A spirited girl, she has no intention of being forced into wedlock, so she pretends to agree. Instead, that night she slips away with some books from her late father’s prized collection and escapes to Paris with the intention of becoming a bookseller.

Dublin, the present: Martha is also running away, trying to escape an abusive husband. With no firm plan in mind, she ends up in Dublin and takes a job as a live-in housekeeper for the flamboyant and imperious Madame Bowden. She’s startled one day to find an Englishman pacing beside the house. Henry is an odd young man, a scholar, who claims he is looking for a bookshop that is supposed to be beside the house.  The bookshop was supposed to belong to a renowned bookseller and collector, Opaline Gray.  Martha is a bit skeptical, but there’s something attractive about him.

Henry, for his part, realizes that Martha is perhaps the most intriguing woman that he has ever met. Unfortunately, he also realizes that he has not made the best of impressions.  He’s going to have to find some charm if he is going to learn anything about the bookshop—or the woman.

The book goes back and forth between these three characters, telling us of Opaline’s life as Henry and Martha search for clues—and deal with their own feelings.  They all have secrets, but as we all know secrets have a habit of not staying buried for long.

This is a charming book with beguiling characters who draw you into their stories.  There’s a thread of magical realism running through the book, and not just the mysterious bookshop. Opaline’s story is darker, though, and at times a sad and sobering look at women’s rights in past eras, or rather lack thereof. Overall the book is a beautiful tribute to readers and books, and the transformative power to be found there.  I was invested in all three of the main characters, and anxiously turned pages to discover their fates. There were a number of surprises along the way as well.

One of my favorite parts is when Opaline ends up in Paris where she gets a job at the legendary bookstore, Shakespeare and Company.  In the 1920s, the store was a second home to many great writers, including James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzagerald, all of whom were supported by the store’s owner, Sylvia Beach.  Woods did a lovely job of evoking that era—I wish there had been more chapters!

I am very much looking forward to her next book, The Story Collector, which deals with an Irish farm girl who helps an American translate Irish folk and fairy tales. It’s due out in August, and promises to be just as magical as this book.

The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Former stage magician and current designer for Secret Staircase Construction Tempest Raj is invited to a recent client’s home for a housewarming of sorts.  This particular housewarming is more than a bit atypical:  Lavinia Kingsley wants to celebrate by having a séance to banish the spirit of her soon-to-be ex-husband Corbin.  Corbin isn’t dead, just obnoxious but that’s a minor detail.  She’s enlisted Tempest’s friend and fellow magician Sanjay to perform a symbolic séance complete with some appropriate illusions, to be followed by the burning of some of Corbin’s papers.  Lavina’s book club members will be in attendance along with a few others, including Tempest and her grandfather, Ash. 

As the séance begins, the group is gathered around the table, holding hands in the dark. There’s a sudden crash. The flickering light reveals a body in the center of the table.

Now they can do a real séance, because Corbin Kingsley is actually dead.

Someone in the room had to have killed him—but how?

This is the second in Pandian’s wonderful Secret Staircase Mystery series and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one.  It’s a classic locked room mystery series, and there are many references to Golden Age mystery authors such as John Dickson Carr and Agatha Christie. The illusion element is a fine addition:  as a magician herself, Tempest is well aware of misdirection and she doesn’t believe for a moment that anything supernatural has occurred.  The problem is proving it, a task that becomes more difficult as it turns out that the victim had apparently been in two places at once.

Pandian has created a cast of memorable characters, not to mention some truly wonderful settings.  The Secret Staircase Construction Company specializes in creating hidden rooms, sliding bookcases, and such, but more than that, they create a story. Gardens with gnomes, gates with dragons, or illusionary waters are all their stock in trade, but there are other wondrous places as well. My personal favorite is the faux train car that serves as a library for classic mystery fans.  All of which is to say that I found it wonderfully atmospheric.

While this one can be read and enjoyed as a standalone, there is an ongoing plot thread about the mysterious disappearance of Tempest’s mother and the family curse:  the eldest child will die by magic.

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Eighteen-year-old Zoey is ready to spread her wings.  After her mother’s death and her father’s remarriage, Zoey has felt the odd person out in the family.  Now the summer before she starts college, she decides to move to Mallow Island, SC where her mother owned a condo.  She’s hoping to find some trace of the woman she barely remembers.  Instead, she finds a community of diverse characters, all of whom have something to hide. . . and not all of them are alive.

I have loved all of Sarah Addison Allen’s books.  They have a warmth and a sweetness that lingers long after the last page has been turned.  They also feature characters that I come to know and love and want to spend more time with.  Allen never leaves you hanging but she also tends to leave her characters on the cusp of their greatest happiness, so that the reader has a sense of hope at the end.  However, I had heard that this book was a bit different from her others, darker, and with more characters.  I put off reading it, a bit afraid that I might not like this new direction.

I need not have worried.  While there are a lot of characters, I had no trouble following them along through all the twists and turns.  And there were twists in this one, but not the “gotcha!” thiller twists, but little surprises that, in retrospect, made perfect sense. There’s Mac the chef, who awakens to a sprinkling of cornmeal every morning; Charlotte the henna artist, who is running from her past; Roscoe, the apartment manager, who cares about all the residents; and the elusive Lucy, whom no one has seen in years, but who occasionally peers out the windows of her condo.

This was, for me, vintage Allen.  There were characters I loved and cared about; touches of magic with the (fictional, sadly) dellawisps, the little blue birds who give the apartment complex its name; ghosts who linger and want to tell their own parts of the story; and secrets, mostly of the human heart.  This is also a story of family, not just biological kinship, but a chosen family.

In short, I loved it and am sure it will be on my list of best books of 2024.

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Lolly Blanchard has lived a life of responsibility. After her mother died ten years ago, she gave up her vision of creating her own restaurant in Brighton, a place she loved since she studied abroad in England. Lolly also gave up Rory Shaw, the man she has loved since she was a teenager, as their paths diverged. Lolly stayed home to help her father Marty run the Eatery, their family diner on the west side of Seattle, and also to take care of her teenage sister Daphne. Lolly has done what she promised her mother she would do—keep their family together—but she certainly has collected many regrets along the way.

Lolly rises early every morning to make six lemon meringue pies for the diner. The Danish comfort food diner was started by her maternal grandparents half a century ago, even if it is looking a bit shabby these days. Mostly a family concern, Marty is the head chef and Great-Aunt Gert is often seen balancing plates of meatballs and potatoes with a pot of coffee in her other hand. Lolly is the one keeping the financial side afloat, not to mention those pies.

At the ripe old age of almost 33, as Lolly looks back at what might have been, Aunt Gert gives her a very strange gift: three lemon drops with magical properties. Each lemon drop will give her a chance to live one day in an alternate timeline, in a life that might have been. What if Lolly had opened her dream restaurant overseas? What if her mother had lived? What if she had chosen to follow her heart?

Lolly is not sure if Aunt Gert has lost her marbles or if the lemon drops really are magic. She decides to give it a try to see what path her life might have taken, if only…

This novel is so full of family and of the strings that tie us all together. The phrase “follow your bliss” comes up an unusual number of times, but I think that’s just Aunt Gert encouraging Lolly to discover what she has been missing, and also how to live her best life, regrets not withstanding. Aunt Gert is a most entertaining character and I wish the author had chosen to dive a little deeper into her past. At age 80, she certainly has led a most interesting life as a professor emeritus of religion and mythology, traveling the world and retaining her most unique fashion sense even as she now tromps through the diner in her orthopedic shoes.

All the way through I kept guessing what might happen, and while I was partially correct, the storyline still managed to surprise me pleasantly. I was so invested in the characters that the people Lolly lost, and her hopes for what might be actually brought me to tears a few times. The writing is highly engaging, and I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Nevermore Report: ShadowMan, Witch and Wizard, The Mathmaker: A Spy in Berlin, Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun

 

Reported by Garry

ShadowMan: An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of FBI Profiling by Ron Franscell is a fascinating look at the beginning of the field of psychological profiling in murder investigations. In 1973, a seven-year-old girl went missing from her family’s camping tent in Montana. Someone cut the tent and snatched the girl, leaving no traces at all. The largest manhunt in Montana ensued, led by the FBI. Special Agents Howard Teten and Patrick Mullany had come up with the radical new idea that killers had patterns in their behavior that could be tracked and used to identify them. The 1973 case was the testbed for this new idea which has now become a standard tool in the forensic investigation kit. Packed with information, this book is both humorous and terrifying in equal measures. Our reader stated how she couldn’t put this book down and was amazed by how much she learned from this true-crime case that gave birth to an entire field of investigation.  NH

 

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson, the first in the five book Witch and Wizard series, is a fun, fantastical romp, according to our reader. Wisty and Whit Allgood are siblings in a dystopian future where the government has seized control of all aspects of daily life, and are kidnapping children – including Wisty and Whit, who thought they were just normal teenagers, until their (highly illegal) magical powers start to show. Can these two survive, and overthrow the evil regime? Read it to find out!  MC

The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin by Paul Vidich is a historical thriller set in 1989 Germany. Anne Simpson is an American whose seemingly normal marriage to Stefan, a charming German piano tuner, comes crashing down when Stefan disappears and the CIA and West German Intelligence arrive at her doorstep. Stefan was not a piano tuner; he was a spy for East Germany with ties to the KGB. Anne is now in a race to find the Matchmaker – the East German mastermind of a network of Stasi spies — before he escapes to Moscow in the turmoil surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall. Tightly written with believable characters and gripping suspense, our reader thoroughly enjoyed this Cold War spy story and recommends it highly.  ML

 

Our next reader read both Never Let Me Go and Klara and the Sun by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro. Our reader noted how Ishiguro writes mainly about the relationships between adults and how complex and forceful his prose can be. Never Let Me Go is set in a dystopian parallel universe where clones are raised in isolated “boarding schools” until they are old enough that their organs can be harvested for transplant into the “original” body. Klara and the Sun explores the relationship between Klara, an “Artificial Friend,” and the teenage girl she was purchased to accompany. Both of these works look at the dangers of technology to human lives, the future of our world, and what it means to be “human.”  WJ

Also Mentioned:

The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER by Thomas Fisher

To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change by Alfred W. McCoy

The Middle of Somewhere: An Artist Explores the Nature of Virginia by Suzanne Stryk

How Everything Can Collapse: A Manual for our Times by Pablo Servigne

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

Book Girl:  A Journey through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life by Sarah Clarkson

Sister Stardust by Jane Green

Scoundrel: How a Convicted Murderer Persuaded the Women Who Loved Him, the Conservative Establishment, and the Courts to Set Him Free by Sara Weinman

Never Simple by Liz Sheier

Inkblot Vol. 1 by Emma Kubert and Rusty Gladd

 

 Reviewed by Jeanne

As this graphic novel opens, we’re introduced to the Seeker, one of ten siblings of a powerful and magical family who gain strength and longevity by killing other magical creatures.  When those ran short, the eldest brother found a way to break into other worlds. While the other siblings have largely scattered in search of adventure, conquest, or whatever, the Seeker remains to record all the deeds and histories of her family. Over the years, these records become so unwieldy that she has to create a library to house them all.  She spends all her days writing to the point of exhaustion.   She falls asleep, quill in hand, and knocks over an ink bottle which seems to explode.  Out of the chaos comes a cat.

Or is it a cat?  It could be a demon, something she accidentally conjured.

Whatever it is, it seems to have the power to open portals in time and space, including the seven realms of reality.  Such power could unravel the universe. The Seeker tries to catch it—

And finds herself in another realm. One with giants, who want to take her apart.  She chases after the cat who seems bent on escaping and it looks as if they both end up back in the room where they started, except that she can’t find the cat.  It’s somewhere, she knows. And she WILL find it.

Meanwhile, the cat appears in a different setting and we meet a new set of characters, apparently in a different reality. This pattern is repeated for the rest of the book.  Some characters reappear, but at different ages.  Throughout it all, the cat stares with beautiful big green eyes and speaks:  “mow.”

I wasn’t sure where this was going, and frankly I’m still not sure.  This is a collection of the The episodes are rather choppy and, being easily confused, I had trouble keeping track of who was who.  But there was a dragon, what looked like a baby Nessie, family dynamics, giants, magical things, books, and a cat.

The artwork is lush and beautiful, the coloring is marvelous, and the cat’s big round eyes are mesmerizing.  The text hints that the cat is not a cat, and it does seem to have an agenda—don’t all cats?—but in other ways, I find it very catlike.  This is a big plus for me as we all know. I’ll put up with a lot for a good cat character.

And while I have been a bit bewildered by the narrative, I am also intrigued.  It’s obvious that the creators have a definite route in mind for this story and will draw these threads together.  I think it’s going to be worth the wait.
Inkblot, Vol. 1 collects the first six issues of the comic; Inkblot, Vol. 2 is due out in October and will contain issues 7-12.

Comic art fans will take note of Emma’s last name.  Yes, she’s one of THOSE Kuberts!  Joe is her grandfather, and her father is Andy. In my estimation, she is definitely keeping up the family tradition.

And did I mention adorable cat?