The Literate Kitty

If you dug out your blender... threw in a whole bunch of  Only Murders in the Building ... added a soupçon of  Friends. .. a jigger or so of  Cheers ... and a hearty dash of Mrs. Roper (from  Three’s Company )... well, you might end up with something much like the delightful tipple that is Jo Nichols’ mystery novel,  The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective .   And if you did? Oh my, how sweet it would taste, going down...     The elderly, caftan-wearing “Mrs. B” is the proud owner and landlady of a grouping of seven quaint cottages (one of which being her own domicile), in beautiful Santa Barbara, California.   The cottages are a blast from the past—tiny, grouped intimately around a miniature courtyard—and constantly fighting off “progress”, in the form of fancy new multi-occupant buildings (the likes of which encroach upon all sides).    Being just a short walk from the Pacific Ocean, though, means these little homes are verit...

That sisterly—or sibling—bond is something I, an only child, will never know.   But wow, have I wondered about it, over the years.   What would it be like, to grow up with other people my own age?   To share secrets and rivalries. To bicker... but probably also (at least sometimes), to have each other’s backs.    But take that a few steps further, and imagine how it would feel to have a sibling—a  twin , no less—of whom you’d never been  aware...  until you’d already lived more than three decades?   And then, after learning that truth... you only reached out—to that previously-unknown person you’d once shared a womb with— after  you’d been accused of murder?   Bestselling thriller author Sarah Pekkanen takes a stab at how such a scenario might play out with her latest,  The Locked Ward .     For some reason, most of us don’t expect the uber-rich to have Big Problems. (As though obscene sums of money should be the...

There’s something that feels really...   squicky , about leaving a negative review. Regardless of what the something being reviewed   is , any unflattering remarks reflect poorly on someone’s service, skills, manners, or—in the case of a book—their art... and that’s a hard thing to do (let alone, be the recipient of).   Nonetheless, a not-so-great review has a purpose. It’s essentially a warning sign, letting others know to proceed with caution (and why).   So consider this, at best, a triangular yellow yield sign... to stop, and look both ways, before proceeding with Hazell Ward’s  The Game is Murder .     From the synopsis, it sounded like a slam dunk.  There were comparisons to Netflix’s  Glass Onion  and Agatha Christie. The promise of “razor-sharp twists” and “sly misdirection”. It’s also a period piece—set in the 1970s—which, in theory, put a cool, interesting spin on things.   And, perhaps the most enticing, was the novelty o...

There’s a plot device sometimes used in mystery novels, known as the “unreliable narrator”... which means what the storyteller says may --or may not —be true.   Usually, this unreliable person is one main character.   But imagine being faced with no fewer than  six  such potentially-unreliable sources?    How would you know who— if anyone —to believe... and who was absolutely  not  to be trusted?   Welcome to author Alex Pavesi’s intricately-twisted tale,  Ink Ribbon Red , where absolutely  everything  anyone says is suspect.     There are a few different ways people approach “milestone” birthdays (the ones ending in zeroes).   Some treat such birthdays like harbingers of apocalyptic proportions, best avoided (or at least, strenuously denied). For others, those “big birthdays” are a great excuse for a massive shindig. And for some, such birthdays are no different than any of the others which have already come and...

So, a little about me. ( Trust me, it'll all make sense soon. ) I devoured the entire Nancy Drew book series—more than once—when I was little.    It followed, then, that sometimes one of my Barbie dolls got to act out being a detective; I was completely hooked on the idea.   Even now (years later!), whenever I read a mystery novel—or watch one in show/movie form—a little part of me is still right there in the detective’s shoes.   I’m hardly alone in my secret dreams of being a P.I., of course.    For most of us, though, that’s all it remains... a fantasy we live out vicariously on the page or screen.    But imagine, for a minute, what might’ve happened if you’d scrambled to make that dream a reality.   If, say, you finagled your way (possibly over-hyping your abilities a tiny bit) into an apprenticeship with not just a private investigator... but with a  legendary  one.   Well, then you might get something like the tale that u...

If there’s one type of person whom others should reconsider messing with, it’s a midlife woman who has finally, at long last, come into her own... Take Mrs. Muriel Blossom. At 68, she’s already lived two-thirds of her life.     She’s been a wife, a mother, and a working woman... and now, after nearly 40 years of marriage, she’s a retired widow.   She’s also the recent—and very,  very  lucky—holder of a winning lottery ticket, which has vastly improved the prospect of her golden years.  Finally,  she’ll be able to see the world... something the homebody Mr. Blossom sadly never had any inkling to do.   But, while Mrs. Blossom has never been one to attract a lot of attention— particularly not from the opposite sex! —she suddenly finds herself in a full-blown, real-life, torn-from-a-movie-script plotline.    On a fancy cruise ship, traversing the Seine, with eligible men seemingly coming out of the woodwork [cue a deliriously-raucous renditi...

When two people get married, they--at least, ideally--feel they know each other pretty well.   Their likes and dislikes. What makes them laugh, and the things that make them sad or upset. Their habits and eccentricities.   But how well do we ever  really  know another person? There’s always  something  we’re holding back... something embarrassing, that we’re ashamed of, or that we simply know our partner wouldn’t be cool with.   That’s normal.   The thing is, there are little,  unimportant  secrets... and then, there are deep, dark, hidden things that have the power to change  everything  we thought we knew.   Kimberly Belle delivers a tempting souffle of the latter variety, in  The Paris Widow .     From the moment Stella and Adam had their meet-cute, it seemed they were meant to be together.   A quiet, calm guy—who nerded out over the cool old architectural interior treatments he found and sold to his...

Bonjour!   (Passport stamp from Charles de Gaulle) I’ve been back home from my first ever trip to Paris for a few days, but already, a little part of me wonders if it was all just a dream.   Was I really, truly  there? Did I see those historic places, see those works of art, eat those foods?   [ To be fair, the brutal head cold that sunk its viral little claws into me whilst across the Big Pond is probably to blame for any brain fog.. .]   Anyway, my photos (and American Express card) prove that I really, truly  was  there, and  I have thoughts...     (Notre Dame- refurbs in progress) First, Paris is a city of beige.    [ Yes, I know, that doesn't sound great. 😅 Stay with me, here!]   It’s a city full of tall, old, beige buildings... a great many of which are decorated with beautiful wrought-iron balconies (some merely decorative, others usable) or stained glass, and often jazzed up with greenery and flowers.   So in...