Pages

Friday, 1 December 2023

**FELINE FICTION FIX** Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library #259 featuring **The Mystery Before Christmas** by Kathi Daley **PLUS** Friendly Fill-Ins

Amber's Book Reviews ©BionicBasil® December 2023

Happy December Supurr Library furiends

and

Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ

Many thanks for joining me in the stacks again, and this week I found a really cute throwback to December 2019, just after the P.A. made the Catmas Pudding bed with the catnip holly leaves, and yes I am still quite partial to a bit of catnip.

Amber's Book Reviews #259 ©BionicBasil® Amber's Catmas Flashback to December 2019

Mew know that pudding was so comfy to snooze on, I'm going to request that its put in my library for my use only this week! MOL

The P.A is going to rerun all the Catmas crafting posts throughout this month, so if mew feel like making some fun festive things for cats, we've got mew covered, so stay tuned for those popping up.

Anyhoo, let's look at what I read this week. 

Part of The Mewton-Clawson Library ©BionicBasil®
Amber's Book Review Library Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®
Today the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.
1. I feel like ___________________________________.
2. By the end of the year, I want to __________________________________.
3. December is the month that I _________.
4. My house looks _________ during the holiday season.

The P.A.'s answers are...

1. I feel like time has sped right up at the moment. It doesn't seem like two minutes since it was July! LOL

2. By the end of the year, I want to try and get the craft room tidied up a bit more, and that means that some stuff has to go. But Parsely told me that I'm not allowed to get rid of any of the crafting projects I've made, and they take up such a lot of space. I can't have them in the house as Smooch's in-built Feng Shui meter might take offence, and then then the Phantom-Widdler could possibly be unleashed, and I don't want that again! LOL

3. December is the month that I literally countdown, as I can't wait for the 21st and then the nights start drawing out again.

4. My house looks moderately festive during the holiday season. I don't tend to go mad, as the thought of putting it all away in January prevents that! Though I do make sure that all my festive decor matches, it's not a haphazard affair, and sometimes I even make my own decorations if I can't find what I want.

Holly Divider ©BionicBasil® December 2023

Amber's Book Review Divider ©BionicBasil®

Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!

Amber's Book Reviews #259 ©BionicBasil® The Mystery Before Christmas by Kathi Daley
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy

The Mystery Before Christmas

A Cat in the Attic Mystery

by

Kathi Daley

 Here's a snippet of the book blurb:   

After a serious accident leaves Calliope Rose Collins unable to continue with the career that has owned her soul for most of her life, she returns to Foxtail Lake, Hollister House, Great Aunt Gracie, and childhood friend, Officer Cass Wylander, where she begins to rebuild her life from the ashes of what she once had.

In book 2 of The Cat in the Attic series - In addition to the time she spends at the animal shelter, Callie has a new sideline writing human interest stories for the regional newspaper. It is a job she loves and hopes to grow until she is asked to reveal the man behind the mask when Secret Santa comes to town and begins committing random acts of kindness.

Amber's Book Review Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®

This week I read the second book in the Cat in The Attic Cozy Cat Mystery Series.

And if mew have Kindle Unlimited this book is included in the catalogue, plus there are another four books in the series, and I've already reviewed books one and five, check out the links below.

So what did I think about book two? The plot centres around a Secret Santa who's been gifting expensive treats to certain townsfolk in need, and Callie keeps bumping against roadblocks in her quest as a news reporter for the town's local paper to unmask the generous benefactor, this combined with a murder of a local man who'd just inherited a substantial sum of money, and then a further murder complicates the situation even more.

Our heroine is on the case with Officer Cass (a maybe future love interest), as they try to uncover the killer and the Secret Santa.

The cats don't really feature so much in this book, they are more of just a mild distraction from the main plot. The book is filled with the usual red herrings and plot twists, though I did find that this one moved moderately slower than the previous two I reviewed.

A lot of the previous characters also pop up, as do places, so the world and character building are coming together really well, creating a real sense of place with a relatable cast.

While I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the other two more as they were slightly faster-paced, but that's not to say that the slowness detracted anything from the story at all. This is a great book for a lazy afternoon read in front of the fire when mew have all the time in the world to go at a leisurely pace.

Another Top Paw Read!

Here are the titles of the other four books in the series, with links to the ones I've already reviewed:


The Case of the Cupid Caper ~ 3

The Secret of Logan Pond ~ 4 


Audio:  4 hours 31 mins

Hardback: 175 pages
Amber's Book Review Library Mice Divider ©BionicBasil®
My Ratings Scale

Amber's Book Reviews Paw Rating Scale ©BionicBasil® Red

Holly Divider ©BionicBasil® December 2023

Ratings of:

The Mystery Before Christmas

Overall Enjoyment

Amber's Book Reviews 4 Paw Rating ©BionicBasil® Red


Amber's Book Review Divider ©BionicBasil®
  
Other Fun Blog Hops to Join Today


   
Holly Divider ©BionicBasil® December 2023

I'm off to prepare for next week's review, as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time!

I always look forward to your company as I share a specially paw-picked book just for my epic readers!

Don't forget, if mew are looking for great books with cats, check out the Book Review page, just click the link here or at the top of the page, as that's the place to visit to get your feline fiction fix.

Until next week...

Keep calm and read more books

Amber 









Holly Divider ©BionicBasil® December 2023

Follow me at @BionicBasil® on Instacat

Don't furget to subscribe and never miss another review! 

Holly Divider ©BionicBasil® December 2023
 graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com 

10 comments:

  1. I agree the worst part of decorating seasonally is having to put it all away after.

    The book sounds like a nice read, although I'm sorry to hear the cats don't play much of a role.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The book sounds like a nice read for a cold dark winter's night sat by the wood burner.
    Like you, I look forward to December 21st and the slow return to lighter evenings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amber, you look lovely with yer puddin' and decorated with poinsettias . I think that's
    fur-lenty of decorating, mol. Lynn and I have the small tree and that's it folks. Hope yer
    PA gits some sorting of craftys done. And Lynn says Kathi Daley is at her library, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for the book report, Amber.
    Here's hoping that you are doing well, as a senior cat.
    Am counting down the days until the Winter Solstice too; may even log online to watch the sunrise over Stonehenge this year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amber, what a darling picture of you! Good fill ins, time is going much too fast to suit me, and I'm tired of early dark and can't hardly wait for more light too. The book, and the series it comes from, sounds good!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You look darn happy sweet Amber! Those were good fill-in answers and a really good review too! Thanks for joining Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amber, I LOVE this photo of you. I certainly hope it gets put in the library for you only. Great review, a perfect book to read right now. Thanks to the PA for participating in the fill-ins, great answers. We would have a lot of fun crafting together. I tend to make a lot of things I want, but can't find at the store. XO

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your bed and can't wait for the Christmas crafts to begin. Sounds an exciting book pity about the cats.😽

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've always loved that Catmas Pudding bed! This book sounds really good. I've read some of Kathi Daley's books but none in this series.

    ReplyDelete

❤️*Waves Paw* we love comments, thanks so much fur leaving one ❤️
FYI Comment Moderation is on due an influx of SPAM - so if mew don't see your comment straight away, DON'T PANIC!