When The Cat's Away by Gilbert Morris

I love cozy mysteries, and I've enjoyed Mr. Morris' novels in the past. The first in this series "What the Cat Dragged In" didn't do much for me, though. My review of that novel is here.

But I was offered the chance to read the third in the series, "When the Cat's Away", due to be released July of this year. Now, I've read enough to know that sometimes a new series gets off to a rocky start, so I suspended my opinion and dove in.

This one, my friends, is a keeper!

Jake and Kate have set up household, with the understanding that they merely dwell together, not 'live together'. To hold them true to their word, they have Jeremy, Kate's son, and a whole menagerie of animals...turns out that distant relative that willed the house to them was a REAL animal lover!

Kate is convinced she needs to enter Cleo, the loveable pedigree cat, into an international cat show. Problem is, cats entered into the show have a nasty habit of disappearing. And no one seems to know for sure who's kitty will vanish next, or who is catnapping this felines.

All of the principle characters for this series are much more developed and more enjoyable this time through. Kate is very strong in her faith, and Jake is even more obnoxious than he was when we first met him. Bev (aka Mr. Hyphen) has grown on me, and I absolutely ADORE Rhiannon...that is one precocious ten-year-old!

The background characters are enjoyable additions to the story, and I found myself growing very sad...well, you'll just have to read the story to find out what made me so sad.

The animals are a treat as well. I would LOVE to have a ferret like Abigail, or even a pit bull like Trouble...my feet DO tend to get a little chilly now and then:-)
But I can definitely do without Jacques the Ripper, and even Cleo herself is a bit much.

But their dialogue is fun, and it is entertaining to "read" what they think of us bipeds. All in all, this is an enjoyable afternoon read, and I think this series will just keep getting better and better.

Gilbert Morris is a veteran author with many titles under his belt, but I think this one is going to ultimately be the cat's meow!!

"When the Cat's Away gets 3 bookmarks from me with a teeny-tiny ferret charm...I just love that ferrett! Oh, and did I forget to tell you about Ms. Boo, the electrifying bunny??

Look for this one to hit shelves July 2007.

Happy Reading!

Deena