Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library #248 featuring **No Cats Allowed** A Cat in the Stacks Mystery - Book 7 by Miranda James PLUS Friendly Fill-Ins

Hello meautiful library guests 

and 

Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ 

Thank mew for joining me in the stacks today, and mew may have heard some rumours or it may have been inferred or implied on yesterday's Midweek News regarding what happened at Fudge's 8th Birthday Rave on Wednesday.

So let me set things straight 

I wasn't tipsy, or even remotely off my chops at all. 

I didn't fall off the bar four times. 

I didn't trip over Melvyn's favourite Hubbly Bubbly nip pipe and break it. 

I certainly didn't push Posie into one of the kitty droids delivering a food order to Smooch, and the food went everywhere. 

I didn't accidentally go into the boy's litter cubical by mistake.

 I didn't lead a drunken kitty-conga line through the bunker. 

I definitely didn't take over the kitty karaoke and sing, 'I did it my way!' 

 I didn't suggest to Snowie that opening Basil's secret stash of Dom Purrignom vintage champagne was a good idea.

I definitely didn't tell Pandora and Parlsey to get the Hover Trikes out and go for a blast around the bunker. 

 I also didn't try to get Basil's tank fired up in the garage on level 2 of the bunker. 

I most certainly didn't take the drunken kitty-conga line down to level 10 into the new R & D (Research and Development) Laboratory which Humphrey has built, and whilst there encourage all the pawty guests to try out many of his new inventions, I didn't do that at all. 

I also didn't then lead the drunken kitty-conga line up to level 8 to see Horice in the Biosphere, that never happened.

I most certainly didn't encourage Fudge to drink the last of Basil's vintage Dom Purrignom - NOPE. NO WAY would I ever do that.

For the record, I never encouraged the library mice to go on a rampage in the cheese room, NOT GUILTY! 

And I'm most definitely NOT sleeping off the effects of too many Tangerine Blast nip cocktails. I'm just resting!

Purrlease don't believe any of the tall tails that may be spreading rather profusely around BBHQ.

Now all that's cleared up, I just need a quick catnap, as mew know how exhausting reviewing books is! MOL

Today the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.

1. Never underestimate _________________________.

2. ________________makes me _________________________.

3. I need to _________ so that I can _________.

4. I didn’t realize _________ until _________.

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

1. Never underestimate a cat mum/mom or dad's love for their furbabies - this statement is true for most pet pawrents. Years ago, when Catkin went missing, and I was looking for him everywhere for two days solid, and asking anyone in the area if they'd seen him. One person said to me, "It's just a cat!" They just didn't understand, that 'that cat' meant more to me than anything. I did find him, he'd been hit by a car and someone had taken him to the local RSPCA. Luckily I'd already contacted that shelter the day before and they rang me to say they'd got him. You can read all about Catkin here, he was an incredible cat, but sadly he only lived until he was three and a half.

2. Chocolate cake (I've mentioned this before! LOL) makes me very happy. And even happier with ice cream! 

3. I need to get into the craft room so that I can make this year's Crafting For Your Shelters Day project, which will start on July 20th.

4. I didn’t realize it was nearly time for Crafting For Your Shelters Day until Ann from Zoolatry emailed me the other day to ask if it was on the schedule for this year - Thank you so much Ann for the reminder! 

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

This week's top book pick is...

Mewton-Clawson Library Copy

No Cats Allowed

A Cat in the Stacks Mystery: 7

by

Miranda James

       Here's a little snippet of the book blurb:      

Springtime in Mississippi is abloom with beauty, but the library's employees are too busy worrying to stop and smell the flowers. The new library director, Oscar Reilly, is a brash, unfriendly Yankee who's on a mission to cut costs - and his first targets are the archive and the rare book collection.

As annoying as a long-overdue book, Reilly quickly raises the hackles of everyone on staff, including Charlie's fiery friend Melba, whom Reilly wants to replace with someone younger. But his biggest offense is declaring all four-legged creatures banned from the stacks.

With enemies aplenty, the suspect list is long when Reilly's body is discovered in the library. But things take a turn for the worse when a threatening e-mail throws suspicion on Melba.

This week I thought it would be nice to continue with the A Cat in the Stacks series, as it's been a while since I've reviewed any of Miranda James' furbulous novels. And if mew missed any of the previous reviews for this series so far, here are the links to catch up:

Murder Past Due ~ Book One - Reviewed by Humphrey

Classified as Murder ~ Book Two

File M for Murder ~ Book Three

Out of Circulation ~ Book Four

The Silence of The Library  ~ Book 5

Arsenic and Old Books ~ Book 6

So what did I think of this one? 

No Cats Allowed is the seventh instalment in the A Cat in the Stacks Mystery series by Miranda James. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The characters are well-developed and the plot is intriguing. The writing style is easy to follow and keeps mew engaged from start to finish, and keeps those pages turning.

In this book, we see Charlie Harris, a librarian and amateur detective, investigating a murder that involves the new library director, who is not fond of cats. And speaking of cats, his trusty feline companion, Diesel, is by his side to help him out when needed. This time, Charlie is a prime suspect, so he's on a mission to clear his name and find the real culprit.

One of the things I love about this series is how the author incorporates the kitty into the story, and although Diesel is a non-talking character, his presence is still very apparent and he's an integral part of the plot. In this book, we see Diesel helping Charlie in his investigation in his own unique way.

Overall, No Cats Allowed is a great addition to the series and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys cat cozy mysteries or just loves cats. Miranda James has once again delivered a well-written, entertaining story that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Another Totally Paw Read!

Audio: 8 hours 24 mins

Paperback: 304 pages

My Ratings Scale

Ratings of:

No Cats Allowed

Overall Enjoyment

Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today

          Brian's Home   Catblogosphere    Feline Friday   Nature Friday    Flashback Friday   Friendship Friday       

I really hope mew enjoy the book as much as I did if mew decide to read it.

It's time for me to say BFN or bye-for-now as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time and I'll be back next week with another specially paw-picked book just for mew, and don't forget that all my previous reviews can be found on my Book Review page.

Until next time...

Keep calm and read more books

Amber 

Follow me at angry_amber_badtemperedkitty

& @BionicBasil® on Instacat

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

 graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com 

**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

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.

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. 

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.

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

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.

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 Curse of Hollister House ~ 1

The Case of the Cupid Caper ~ 3

The Secret of Logan Pond ~ 4 

The Magic of Halloween Night ~ 5

Audio:  4 hours 31 mins

Hardback: 175 pages

My Ratings Scale

Ratings of:

The Mystery Before Christmas

Overall Enjoyment

  

Other Fun Blog Hops to Join Today

          Brian's Home   Catblogosphere    Feline Friday   Nature Friday    Flashback Friday   Friendship Friday    

   

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 

Follow me at @BionicBasil® on Instacat

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

 graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com