Lissylaine Reads

...sometimes one cat, as adorable as he is, is not enough to carry the book.

The mystery was okay. I figured out some of the little "gotchas" before they were revealed, but the more I read this series (this is the fourth book), the more it is apparent that it's a man writing under a woman's pen name.

This is a cozy mystery, not a romance novel, I totally get that. But a lot of the phrasing is awkward. And that just constantly pulled me out of the story.

For example, when Charlie is out on a date with his lady friend Helen Louise (at her house, where she made dinner), the book reads, "I pulled her into my arms, and we spent several satisfying minutes before I released her."

Who says that or even thinks that? We spent several satisfying minutes? Doing what? Just holding each other? Kissing? Gazing into each other's eyes? Chatting? It was just awkward, and little things like that just get in the way of the story. If you're going to make it that vague, maybe just don't include it at all. I'd be fine with that.

It took a long time to get back to reading this one. Too long. Not sure I'll continue with the series, even though I love the glimpses of Diesel, the Maine Coon who doesn't really have anything to do with the mysteries, he's just a cool cat fairly prominently featured.