A Twist in the Tail by Leighann Dobbs

A Twist in the Tail by Leighann Dobbs
Series: Oyster Cove Guesthouse #1
Published by Bookouture on May 16, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 236
Format: eARC
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Purchase at Amazon
Add on Goodreads

Josie Waters has to admit she may have acted a bit hastily when she agreed to purchase the Oyster Cove Guesthouse – a charmingly gabled Victorian mansion on the breathtaking Maine coast – from elderly family friend Millie Sullivan. But Josie was desperate to flee Ohio and in particular her ex-husband, a chef who loved his job so much he left her for it. And anyway, how hard can running a guesthouse be?

The truth is, Oyster Cove Guesthouse is a mouldering money pit with falling-in roof and a cohort of regular guests who are as mischievous as a litter of kittens. And Millie keeps dropping by to dispense unasked-for advice. And Josie might have made a mistake in promising to adopt Oyster Cove’s two resident cats Nero and Marlowe, and treat them in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed. Josie has never had a cat before… let alone two feisty felines who think they own the place.

Ok, it’s not going well. At least it can’t get any worse, Josie thinks. Until her first guest ends up dead.

First of all, A Twist in the Tail has talking cats. They don’t talk out loud to people, but they talk to each other in English. They have conversations and find clues and discuss the best way to help their not so competent humans. It caught me off-guard. I knew there were going to be cats, just didn’t realize the extent of their involvement, that they were also amateur detectives. I’ve read other Leighann Dobbs mysteries that didn’t have talking animals and I don’t think I could have been expected to know it based on the blurb. It turned out I enjoyed the book, so maybe it’s just as well I was clueless since I’m not sure if I would have picked it up had I known.

A Twist in the Tail is the first in a series, and it’s a good start. It’s fun and light-hearted but the mystery had plenty of clues for the cats to get Josie to see. Josie herself is a good character. She’s nice and in a little in over her head. And her reason for investigating makes sense – it looks like she’s the cops’ main, and possibly only, suspect.

The other characters in town are well-done too. We get nice introductions to a rival hotel owner and a local chef. We also meet Josie’s mom and her mom’s best friend and they are delightful. There’s also Josie’s high school crush/current handyman. I’m hoping he sticks around for a while.

I’m looking forward to the next in the series. It’s due out at the end of the month. 🙂

This counts as 3 pts in the COYER Treasure Hunt (book with a talking animal).