Something the Cat Dragged In

Peter Shandy #4

by Charlotte MacLeod

A horticulturist and amateur sleuth roots out an irritating professor’s killer in a witty, cozy mystery from a Nero Award–winning master.

 

An unpleasant man in every respect, university professor Herbert Ungley is exceedingly vain. One morning, his landlady catches her cat coming in with Ungley’s hairpiece between its teeth. It’s clear something has happened to the old grouch, because he would never be caught without his toupee.

 

Ungley is found in the yard behind his social club, with his head bashed in and his baldness plain for the world to see. Although the police are content to call it an accident, sleuthing horticulturalist Peter Shandy is unconvinced, and finds there are too many unanswered questions. How did Ungley come to have such a bulging bank account? Who was Ungley’s long-lost heir, and what did he have to do with the professor’s lost hair? And whose is the second body in the woods? Shandy must answer these questions and more if he’s to find who pulled the rug out from the balding corpse.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Crime, Humor, Audiobook

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1983

About the author

Naturalized US Citizen

Also wrote as Alisa Craig

Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.

Reviews

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Professor Shandy and the Balaclava Agricultural College characters. Ottermole, President Svenson, Harry Goulson and so many more. This story begins with, of course, Edmund, the cat who brings in something to Mrs. Lomax (Professor Shandy's cleaning lady). She thinks at first it's a mouse but it's really retired Professor Ungley's toupee. This professor sadly will not need it any more. Charlotte MacLeod combines humor and murder once again in this intricate tale of political hijinx. Ms. MacLeod has gone to her reward but left behind a legacy of humor that still delights. (Warning: a few swear words included but mild by today's standards--I just read them as blankety-blank. '-)

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Something The Cat Dragged In”, 1983, is fourth in Eastern-Canadian Charlotte MacLeod’s imaginative series. She thought out even tertiary personages so well, she concocted the possibility of bringing them to the forefront of varied volumes. You recognize them several books later, recall their salient quirks, and never feel dragged along by disposable characters. With exception of culprits, Charlotte’s wide cast is germane. This time we acquaint the police chief in a flattering light, as he works with Peter on clues from his landlady Betsy Lomax and her cat.

My feeling about this mystery was odd. It’s neither exciting nor perilous. It’s political, in no way personal to our cast; save contrived incidents that, at the worst, risk ridiculing the university. I expected to give three-stars because nothing about this novel’s plot catches your breath. However, I couldn’t deny that I was enjoying the journey tremendously. Here is a case where the trip is more stellar than the destination. I laughed so much, if this were filmed as a television show, it would feature 1980s funny men like Chevy Chase or Gene Wilder.

Yes, some moments are funny because the stupidity stretches to heedless hilarity but it’s enormously well-contrived. Details are shared along the way, that are the direct cause of the laughs. The chief is so proud of a gold pen, he aches to write out a ticket so he can waggle it in front of anyone at all. Since Balaclava county seldom requires more than their force of two; when he and Peter initiate a massive arrest; he deputizes their entourage in order to do so. Better than that, they only have one set of handcuffs along. The swindlers are stuck with the indignity of being wrangled into vehicles: via clothesline! Forget this mystery and enjoy the show.

[Chautona Havig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was back to the old Shandy style. I loved the twists and turns in this one. Though I figured out what was off pretty quickly, I had the why all wrong and the who was obvious but it made no sense... until it did.

[Gary Sundell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read/listen. Sadly, there are only 6 more books in the series. Others have done a good job recapping the plot. Prof. Shandy and lots of wonderful characters populate this mystery.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTF

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pity vain Herbert Ungley! He wouldn’t want to be caught dead without his toupee — literally — but that’s just what happens. When a cat shows up with the hairpiece in its mouth, Ungley’s landlady, Betsy Lomax, knows something’s seriously wrong. The police are content to consign the death to an accident, but Professor Peter Shandy doesn’t think that Ungley’s bashed head came from a fall. Especially when he finds out that the lazy Ungley’s got a lot more money than he could possibly have earned as a retired professor.

No. 4 in the Shandy series proves just as fun and offbeat as its three predecessors; unfortunately, the resolution to the crime was so preposterous that it quite spoiled this otherwise clever novel. The Balaclavian Society dividing their ill-gotten gains with a shiftless oaf like Professor Herbert Ungley? Why? If they needed a spy at Balaclava Agricultural College, they could have hired some quisling; there would be no need to deal Ungley in or arm him with such perilous information, which could only lead to — well, exactly what it led to: exposure of their long-running scheme. Nor is it credible that the Balaclavian Society could benefit so mightily in businesses that went belly up. Even Donald Trump ended up bankrupt four, six — who knows how many times? — due to his chicanery. The ending just doesn’t make sense.

Lastly, the late Charlotte MacLeod makes a case for family farms versus agribusiness. The Balaclavian Society buying themselves politicians and prioritizing polluters and plutocrats ahead of individual farmers and citizens is simply the Kohl brothers writ small. What she would think of the age of Citizens United and of Archer Daniels Midland, ConAgra and Monsanto I don’t like to think.

[Susan in NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

1/7/25 - still four stars

2/2017-Still a witty, charming and fun four-star cozy mystery for me, my review from two years ago sums up my feelings:

Another fun outing with Balaclava College Professor Peter Shandy, this time more focused on the village of Balaclava Junction. Edmund the cat drags in a toupee early one morning, and his owner, Mrs. Lomax, smells a rat - she knows it belongs to her boarder, a cranky retired college professor who'd never be seen dead without his hair piece - but his bed hasn't been slept in. Mrs. Lomax retraces the old man's steps and finds him dead under suspicious circumstances and calls Shandy to discover what happened to the old man. Along with being Shandy's cleaning lady Mrs. Lomax is a font of local gossip and information, and as in past cases, she points our intrepid (and unwilling) professor/detective in the right direction.

Shandy has another mission from Balaclava President Svenson, one of my favorite recurring characters - the college has found itself in an unsavory position resulting from a big donation, and Svenson needs Shandy's help in maintaining Balaclava's squeaky-clean, pro-family farm image. Who is behind the effort to smear the college, and are they connected to Ungley's murder? Before Shandy can get to the bottom of one case, Ruth Smuth, fundraiser and organizer extraordinaire (and the bane of Svenson's life) turns up dead - and the finger could be pointed at Svenson...can Shandy get to the bottom of the murders and the smear campaign threatening to destroy Balaclava and its beloved president?

Lots of the usual quirky, whimsical characters and dialogue, if a little heavy on the exposition - but recommended to fans of witty, funny cozies.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fourth in the Peter Shandy cozy mystery series revolving around an amateur sleuth. The focus is on a nasty political campaign.

My Take
It’s Edmund’s latest capture that starts events off. He doesn’t often, ever, bring in a wad of human hair. That Edmund does crack me up.

Wow, MacLeod has some interesting notes on the easiness of the past with those big jars of morphine pills available for anyone.

While MacLeod uses third person global subjective point-of-view, the perspective is mostly from Peter Shandy. Do keep in mind that we learn about thoughts and events from other characters too.

MacLeod is also amazing in her humor. She pokes fun at everything, including Harry Goulson’s pride in his son and in his business. That description of Twerks’ “squireship” was pretty funny. More fun is aimed at correspondence schools. And, sadly, the lack of funding for the police. As for that “duel” with Thorkjeld wielding his tusk, well, *laughter* Ottermole wishes he’d brought popcorn.

Ooh, ooh, Shandy notes that the real professional politicians are the ones who remember they represent the people of their district. Take that one! Then there’s that comment about how it’s only harassment when it’s from the opposition. The big corporations that sold us all a bill of goods about how demeaning it is to work with your hands.

I gotta love Alonzo Bulfinch. He’s such an innocent *grin*! It’s while questioning Alonzo that we learn of the disaster at Mary Ellen’s. ROFL. Okay, okay, it’s a traumatic event, but still . . .

Balaclava Junction is pretty ideal with residents and students who are sincere in their interests. And yet, they have all these murders!

That sneaky Claude is a scumbag! Luckily Shandy manages to nip that riot in the bud with help from the students, *more laughter*. More of these idiots include the members of the Balaclavian Society — Peter can’t figure out what they have to be so snooty about, lol. More scumminess was the reasons for Ungley’s inclusion in the club. Jeez.

As for all those herrings MacLeod kept dragging across the pages . . . oy! Then there’s the agitation what with Ruth’s plotting, Claude’s underhandedness, and Edna Jean Bugleford’s right-wing views and disgust about that filthy, un-American environmental talk. Oops, then she finds out that Edna Mae is her late husband’s brother’s daughter! Foot. In. Mouth.

It’s mostly characters with some action in Something the Cat Dragged In abetting in murder, bribery, money laundering, and conspiracy. Who knew this small town could be so busy?

It is sad that honest men the to lose out to the dishonest.

The Story
It was a sneaky plan, undermining the college with that silo. As for the Balaclavian Society, well, it seems there’s a lot more behind their congregating.

The Characters
Professor Peter Shandy is married to Helen, an assistant librarian at the college in charge of cataloging the Buggins Collection. He’s known for his co-development of a super rutabaga and his increasing reputation for solving mysteries. Jane is the kitty they acquired in Wrack and Rune , 3.

Betsy Lomax (a Swope from Lumpkin Upper Mills), Ungley’s landlady, is also the cleaning lady for a number of the professors. Perkin Lomax is her deceased husband, who had been one of the founders of Balaclava Junction. Priscilla, a nurse at Hoddersville Hospital is a relative. Marge seems to be another relative. Betsy’s cousin, Fred Swope, is a plumber. Cronkite Swope is a reporter for the Balaclava County Weekly Fane and Pennon and has been quite active in previous stories.

Balaclava Agricultural College is . . .
. . . located in Balaclava Junction. Thorkjeld Svenson is the mighty president of the college. Sieglinde is his indomitable wife. Dr Engberg has been the previous president and Dr Trunk previous to him. Dr Porble is the head of the library. Grace Porble is his wife.

The tedious and greedy Professor Emeritus Herbert Ungley is touchy about his hairpiece, a member of the Balaclavian Society, and has lived in his upper flat for twenty-nine years. He’s been working on a history of the county. Edmund is Ungley’s more social cat.

Professor Jim Feldster, who teaches the Fundamentals of Dairy Management, has joined multiple organizations — to get away from his wife, the very nosy Mirelle. They’re neighbors of the Shandys’. Professor John Enderble, a sweetheart (as is his wife, Mary) and another neighbor, teaches Local Fauna. Professor Frank Joad has a science-minded family (that includes Ted) and now occupies the Cadwell house ( Rest You Merry , 1). Professor Daniel Stott is head of the Animal Husbandry Department. He married Iduna in The Luck Runs Out , 2.

College security includes Silvester Lomax — he’ll become a temporary deputy chief — who had been in the army with Alonzo “Lonz” Bulfinch, Ungley’s heir, who now works for the college as a guard. Silvester and his brother, Clarence, are jointly in charge of security since Rest You Merry . And they're cousins-on-law with Betsy. Frank is Clarence’s son. Purvis “Purve” Mink is another guard who will temporarily be deputized. Evelyn is Silvester’s wife and Maude is Clarence’s. Mary Ellen appears to be one of Silvester and Evelyn’s kids; Jim, her husband, is a truck driver and doesn’t know about her disaster. Cousin Sally will babysit. They’ll call in the Varsity Horsemen’s Team who will ride the college’s Balaclavan Blacks Odin, Thor, Freya, Hoenir, Heimdallr, Loki, Tyr, and Balder.

Mrs Mouzouka runs the college cafeteria, which has a good reputation. Peters has a niece who is a student. Angela is a fellow student.

Fred Ottermole is the chief of police for Balaclava Junction. He’s also friends with Edmund. Edna Mae is Fred’s wife. His officers include Budge Dorkin. Joe Bugleford will become a police cordon. Dr Melchett is the medical examiner. Henry Goulson is the local undertaker. Judge Jeffreys.

State Representative Bertram G Claude (Mrs Claude isn’t impressed by her husband) is anti-agriculture and running against Sam Peters, who is the current federal representative. Edna Jean Bugleford is Mrs Claude’s aunt by marriage and a loyal constituent. Old Mrs Mawe will go anywhere she can get a cuppa and a piece of cake.

Ruth Smuth is handling Claude's campaign. Her husband is not a paragon of “beauty” and is not unhappy.Some guy named JB at work is three rungs above Smuth.

The Balaclavian Society is a snooty group of very few members, which include Mr and Mrs Pommel — he’s head of the First Balaclava County Guaranteed National Trust, Savings, and Loan, and she’s president of the Garden Club. Lot Lutt used to be on the board of directors of the soap factory. The rude Henry Hodger is a too-good lawyer. Whitney is Hodger’s clerk. William Twerks has never done anything in his life. Jim and Ethel Purkiser work for Twerks. He takes care of the outside and she takes care of the inside, and Twerks doesn’t really take care of them. The useless Congressman Sill, a gasbag, had served a term in the state legislature under Governor Alvan T Fuller. Mrs Sill is no longer a member. Loula is his housekeeper.

The Silo Supporters had raised funds for a new silo for the farmers. The Balaclava College Endowment Fund was there to help fellow students and local farmers. Solly Swain has a van over at the apple warehouse. The Flackleys have been the farriers for the county for years. Mrs Pearworthy is old and seems to be easily frightened.

Jemima Ames had been the first victim of ( Rest You Merry ). The Horsefalls had been the center of attention in Wrack and Rune who were up against Guff Gaffson. Philo Vance is a fictional amateur detective originally featured in 12 crime novels by SS Van Dine in the 1920s and 1930s. Carey’s Fish Market. The Bursting Bubble is a beer joint.

The Cover and Title
The cover is consistent with previous ones. And it’s boring. It has a chocolate brown background with two overlapping khaki green circles featuring two black cats crouching, facing each other. Mirror images of each other. At the very top is an info blurb in white with the author’s name, also in white, beneath it. Under the circles is the title in the same khaki green. Beneath that is the series info in white.

The title starts with Something the Cat Dragged In that catches Mrs Lomax’s attention and ends with concern.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listen to these books on audible and while I enjoy them they always seem to be a little too complicated for a simple review. Part of it is the unusual character names, many of which have Scandinavian origins, so there is zero chance of getting the spelling correct when listening on audio. In this one, Helen takes a back seat as Peter is running around solving a murder of a retired professor, Herbert Ungley, who was murdered while walking home after the secretive Balaclava Historical Society meeting. Since he was a tenant of Betsy Lomax, Peter's cleaning woman, she calls him and asks for his help. It is clear that his apartment has been carefully searched and his top-secret autobiography that he has been writing is missing. Was the killer his distant cousin and heir who recently became a member of the college's security team? Or maybe it was one of his fellow society members? Or was it simply a random mugging? But then a second murder complicates matters. Ruth Smooth, campaign manager for a man running for office in the state legislature, is killed on campus after a rally. There is a whole conspiracy between Ruth, her candidate and a former (?) congressman that I frankly didn't really understand. Suffice to say that the current office holder is supported by the college and Ruth's candidate is not but she was going to use a former fund raiser for a silo to embarrass the college into supporting her guy, or something like that. Eventually, Peter figures out that Ungley was killed by all of the members of the society after he gave a talk that night saying this his memoir will tell all about the society's shady business dealings that have put money in the pockets of its members. So they all worked together to kill him, lay out his body to make it look like a mugging, search his apartment and steal the draft autobiography. Then they had to kill Ruth too because she knew too much about the society's business. An appropriate book to read this time of year when political ads are clogging out airwaves.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martha Lomax discovers that her cat Edmund has detective tendencies when he drags in a clue to the latest murder in Balaclava Junction. What first looks to be a dead rodent of some sort turns out to be the bedraggled hairpiece belonging to her boarder, Professor Herbert Ungley. She immediately knows that something is wrong because everyone knows that Ungley wouldn't be caught dead without it (as if everyone in town doesn't know he wears a toupee). Except that's exactly what has happened...she goes in search of Ungley thinking he must be sick or hurt and finds his body out behind the Balaclava Society's clubhouse. There's fair sized dent in his head, but very little blood.

So, when Police Chief Fred Ottermole's first thought is that Ungley fell and accidentally hit his head on a protruding piece of harrow, Martha Lomax's first thought is Professor Peter Shandy who has helped tidy up a few other mysteries before now. She also notices that Professor Ungley's rooms have been searched--it was a pretty careful search and only her practiced eye and knowledge of how the professor liked his things tells her anyone's been there. But been there, they have. Shandy soon agrees with her that there is more to this death than meets the eye and manages to convince Chief Ottermole as well. When another death occurs, it also becomes apparent that there's more going on in the exclusive Balaclava Society than anyone imagined. What exactly it is and how it prompted murder is what Shandy and Ottermole will need to discover.

The Peter Shandy mysteries are just plain fun and lighthearted (despite the murders). Who could take anything seriously that has a Viking-like, strong man like Thorkjeld Svenson serving as president of Blaclava Agricultural College running around in the background, ready to intimidate the evil-doers that Shandy uncovers or just bend a few steel bars to let off steam? Some of the plots need to be taken with a cupful of salt, but these aren't meant to be serious whodunnit puzzles. When you want a quick read and quirky characters with a few literary puns, quotes, and verbal jousting bouts thrown in, then this is the series to turn to. If you like mysteries with an academic twist (as I do), then that's an added bonus. ★★★ and a half.

My one major quibble is also a major spoiler: Even knowing that MacLeod likes to go over-the-top at times, I find the Machiavellian plottings of the Balaclava Society members to be a bit much. One would think that if this group of people were raking in that much cash that somebody would have noticed long before now. But...I suspended my disbelief and went ahead and enjoyed the book anyway.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting postions of review. Thanks.



Previous one-line review from long before blogging: I can't resist an academic mystery and Peter Shandy is such a great character!

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023 bk 5. Oh - what fun. When Jane's (the Shandy's cat) many times cousin removed Edmund drags into Mrs. Lomax's newly mopped kitchen one reddish brown toupee well - the fur begins to fly. A crooked political campaign, a cabal of greedy citizens, and two murders throws Chief Ottermole and Professor Shandy in the soup. One of the funniest written 'capture the criminal scenes" in the mystery genre is laughed through as the college president is deputized to assist in the arrest of a murderer. Charlotte Macleod always provided delights to the 'movie in our minds" in her books and she does not fail in this mystery.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Town and gown - rural New England style.

Balaclava Junction isn’t a quaint college town. It’s as close to nothing as you can get and have a post office. Still, it's odd that the exclusive Balaclavian Society meets in a run-down building. Its stated purpose is to preserve local history, but they don't even preserve their own meeting house. What exactly DO they do?

The Balaclavian Society is a mystery, even to Betty Lomax who normally knows everything that happens. The members appear to have little in common. There’s a jovial, cold-eyed banker and his pretentious wife. A cold-eyed lawyer, minus a wife and the joviality. The former president of a local manufacturing company. A retired politician. A hearty sportsman. And Professor Ungley, now retired from Balaclava Agricultural College and no loss.

Balaclava College is a small school, but it has some things going for it. Its genetic research produces larger, more disease-resistant vegetables and livestock, making small farming more profitable. Its faculty (including botany professor Peter Shandy when he’s not investigating murders) is dedicated to giving their students the most innovative agricultural technology, along with a solid grounding in the hard work of small farming. The eager students want to learn as much as they can to make their small family farms profitable so they can stay small and family-owned.

Balaclava College also has a friend in Washington. Their longtime congressman isn’t charismatic, but he works hard for local farmers and other small businessmen. Sadly, he may be replaced by a man who wants to go to Washington to do well - for himself. The crook needs Balaclava College’s backing to get elected and he and his campaign manager aren’t above using blackmail to get it.

The first death brought a tear to no one’s eye. The late, unlamented Ungley was a lousy professor, yet he drew a large salary and a big pension when forced to retire.. President Svenson is both resentful and puzzled. Ungley’s death would have been written off as an accident but his alert landlady (Betsy Lomax) notified Professor Shandy of certain suspicious circumstances.

The second murder victim won’t be missed, either. Certainly not by her husband, who expresses a desire to shake the murderer's hand. That one couldn’t be mistaken for an accident. Strangling seldom is. Now Shandy is convinced that dirty politics is behind it all. Can he (assisted by his loyal wife and dragging the reluctant Chief of Police behind him) solve the murders and save Balaclava College’s reputation?

This is the fourth in the series and has fewer laughs than the others. It’s hard to mine humor out of corrupt politicians (and their greedy donors) who go into office with big promises and leave with full pockets and disappointed constituents. Still, Police Chief Ottermole’s confrontation with the slimy Congressman wanna-be is worth the price of admission by itself.

It’s a good mystery and Shandy handles it with his usual common sense and cool reasoning. President Svenson and his family are always entertaining, the Lomax clan are delightful, and there are a few newcomers who look promising as neighbors, providing one of them isn’t the murderer.

This is a fine series and I’m enjoying it greatly.

[PR · Rating 4 out of 5]

One major thing to say...This aurhor_in the midst of all th humor really makes you THINK.

I love how funny she writes, I really do...and
She makes you THINK.
About corruption, criminal behavior, dangar, the damage we allow folks we assume will do the right thing but don't, how this nonsense is meant to "fool most of the people most of the time" but shouldn't, how foolish we are not to really listen to what our politicians actually espouse (as bad as they can be) then and NOW.
What a reflection of the past, and what a litany of things that are happening under our inattentive eyes and ears right now, as we speak.
She must have been aware of what she was writing about as Truth to have hit the proverbial nail in the head so many years and so much corruption ago!
I love her writing. I love her perception. I loco be the language (the puns, the colloquial isms, the cliches, the style of writing different Dialects and euphemism s she uses to tell her tales and see to it we understand...
I highly recommend her books nor only as enjoyable, fast and fun reads but as commentary on what our world really looks and IS like in the past and as we speak.
The next number of years in this country will be dark and bleak, I fear, especially for a goodly number of those who visited this upon us and I hope more folks WILK organize to head off the worst of it.
Authors like this assist us to kook at ourselves and ponder what we can do to nip it in the bud, so to speak.
BRAVO.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not what I was expecting. The Genreland prompt for the month is Classic Mystery which I define as anything older than me. This book was on my shelf and based on the dust jacket I was thinking 1950s or 60s. Nope. 1983. But the story could have been from that era because of the setting of a bucolic college town (agriculture college at that) where everyone is related to the original settlers and to each other. Grudges go back years and schemes are dirty and personal but lucrative. Last names are a little outlandish and distinct -- Ottermole. Buglesford. Ungley.

Our protagonist is a college professor (not sure if it said his subject -- possibly history?) who is the brains and has something of a reputation for solving crimes. (This is several books into a series ) When a crotchety professor emeritus does not come home but his toupee does, and in the teeth of his landlady's cat, it marks the beginning of an investigation which will threaten the existence of the college, impact national politics, and cause the good professor to miss several nights sleep and some decent meals besides. It was kind of obvious whodunnit but it was not as clear how they were going to get proof. I fell in love with inarticulate college president Svenson. And Mrs. Lomax the landlady. And that goofy collection of people that is Balaclava County. Would read another one if I came across it

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

This history is just plain fun to read. Set in and around an Agricultural College in Massachusetts, Professor Peter Shandy, his wife, fellow college personnel, and community members find themselves embroiled in solving a murder or other case in each volume. Everyone, good and bad, are quirky individuals and the story introduces readers to a variety of events and individuals that sometimes are exaggerated stereotypes and sometimes seem like many folks found in rural areas that we may actually know.

One of my favorite things is the use of language in MacLeod's books. Her use of flowery prose interspersed with literary references (and agricultural!) are so much fun.

In this book, a landlady's cat returns home carrying the hairpiece that appears to belong to her boarder, a retired professor from the college. Professor Ungley is found dead outside the museum he is creating and belonging to a local exclusive organization, the Balaclava Society. Shandy, the local police chief, and friends feel something is fishy and work together to solve whether or not his death is natural or murder by unknown perpetrators.

I will be reading more in the series; they serve as great escapes from serious stories, both fictional and real!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Betsy Lomax's cat dragged in Prof. Ungley's toupee, Betsy knew something was wrong with her boarder. Indeed, he was found dead outside the Balaclavian Society clubhouse, apparently having tripped in the dark and fallen onto an old harrow. Prof. Shandy doesn't believe a word of it, though--way too many holes in the story. And in addition to investigating the murder--and the leading society members who belong to the Balaclavian Society (I may be getting the club name wrong)--he's also helping President Svenson cope with a political nightmare that, it seems, had been carefully planned for years to take Balaclava Agricultural College down, or at least Svenson.

While I love this series, this one wasn't my favorite because of all the politics--just not my thing. All the best scenes are with President Svenson, who is essentially a modern Hercules, either losing his temper and tearing up phone books with his bare hands, or going into battle to save the day. The endgame is satisfying, at least!

[Jim Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Betsy Lomax's cat Edmund comes home with the toupee of her tenant Herbert Ungley, Mrs. Lomax knows something is wrong. She goes out looking for Professor Emeritus Ungley, and finds his body. The police chief and coroner are ready to dismiss it as an accident, but Peter Shandy is convinces otherwise, especially when Mrs. Lomax finds that Ungley's room may have been searched as things are slightly out of place.

Meanwhile, an upcoming Congressional election is putting the college in a bad position, as the woman running the campaign of the big business, anti-small farmer candidate claims the President Svenson knew she was connected to the campaign when she raised money for the college's new silo. So Svenson asks Shandy to also sort this out.

And of course by book's end, Shandy has sorted out both. Along the way, we meet again some of the usual cast of characters as well as several new ones. And as usual the novel is a nice mix of character, mystery, and humor. Recommended.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edmund the cat comes home one morning carrying a toupee. His owner, Betsy Lomax, recognizes the toupee. It belongs to her tenant. Upon trying to return the toupee before its loss is discovered, she finds the tenant's apartment has been searched, the tenant is missing. She finds him lying dead, calls the police and Professor Peter Shandy.
Mysteries abound. What does the victim's club really do? Why is there a demonstration on the college campus? Who is behind the demonstration? Why is there a second victim?
The book is very laid back. The town is very small and close family ties, not to speak of everyone knowing everyone else's business play a part. Except they don't really know everyone else's business.
This is a nice cozy mystery. The solution is not obvious, even at the end. It is an easy read.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Bird Book Deal | Not a subtle mystery, but still a nice setting to spend time in | This one seemed particularly obvious, but the series is still enjoyable. My main complaint about MacLeod has been that she always includes these several-page rambling interludes in which her amateur sleuth muses about possible solutions that are so obviously not correct. They're put in way too early, are ridiculous, go on too long, and serve only to confirm that the person being suspected in that moment is innocent. They don't even provide new information. Once the reader gets into the habit of skimming those bits instead of reading them closely, the books become more enjoyable. Too bad her editors couldn't have cured her of the habit back when she was writing them.

[Kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Balaclava County has as many murders as Hamish MacBeth's precinct!

This time the cleaning lady's cat comes back with her lodger's toupee. That leads Mrs. Lomax to wonder where the lodger is, and then to wonder who's gone through his stuff. What was set up to look like an accident leads to another murder, and a great deal of political chaos before Peter Shandy manages to unravel it. And finally, the police chief - Fred Ottermole - manages to seem police like.

The crazy convoluted plots and logic are both wonderful and maddening.

MacLeod is a quirky genius.

[Sue Munson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a lot of problems with this book. First, it felt like satire with all the unusual names. This is set in the northeastern US. There's no reason for all the Podunk names. Then we spent a lot of time in Peter Shandy's head except for how he figured out the mystery. Since we had to spend time as he weighed all the possibilities that turned out to be wrong, shouldn't we also be allowed to experience the thought process that resulted in resolution of the mystery? I doubt I'll be reading any more of this series.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how the characters and the college community/town more generally are all revealing themselves as the series goes on. I didn't really appreciate the first book or two, for some reason.

I especially like how Fred Ottermole is now collaborating with Peter Shandy and revealing what a sweet family man he is. I expected the series would stay stuck on that common trope that the amateur sleuth has to step in since the actual police are incompetent, and am pleased it is progressing instead.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not one of her best.

The solution came completely out of the blue, apparently he fell asleep then woke up with the whole thing worked out. Nothing led up to it. And again I hate the business of taking 3-4 pages to work up a case for every perfectly innocent bystander to be the guilty party when it's obvious they aren't. A waste of time and paper. I kept getting the idea I'd missed a few pages. Things didn't hang together very well.

[Kay Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Something the Cat Dragged In, the murder of a retired professor is discovered when Edmund, the cat belonging to Mrs. Lomax, the Shandys’ housekeeper, comes home with a toupee in his teeth. Who would want to do away with an elderly retired professor? It takes Peter, Police Chief Ottermole, and President Svenson to figure out what’s really been going on behind the rather threadbare scenes at the Balaclavian Society.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is witty and light and fun, but definitely not politically correct--the characters say things about women or men that hew to old stereotypes, but as I grew up in an era when such comments were common, I notice them but they don't anger me--just a bit bemused. Peter Shandy and the other denizens of Balaclava College find the answer to the mystery once more, and the idiosyncrasies of the characters and the town and college are a lot of fun.

[Nancy Thormann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this book as much as the first three. It was more serious than the other ones I've read. It's a good book nevertheless. It was interesting to "watch" Peter Shandy and Fred Ottermole working together. I found myself having more respect for Fred Ottermole after reading this book.

It's a pity there are only six books left in the Peter Shandy series. I'm enjoying these books. I'll be re-reading this series.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really mid. The characters in this book weren’t really likable, or well developed. The setting felt under-described and the plot lacked the drama that makes someone stay up for hours finishing a crime book. However, I enjoyed the book and though the writing felt old timely, I found it interesting.

[Linda Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had purchased and read this book many many years ago, because I like Charlotte Macleod. I have no recollection of this book at all. Maybe I liked it then, but not so much now. I found the ending lacking. I feel it was more of a vehicle for the eccentric characters than as a mystery. Disappointing.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edmund the cat dragged it in: the toupee from Betsy Lomax’s boarder. Turns out he never came home last night, and Edmund had alerted them all to murder, most foul!

Macleod writes amusing books with lively characters, good enough plots, and incredibly silly names. I am here for this. Tragically, my local library does not have them, not even as e-books.

[Stacy Slater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positives
This is considered a "screwball" cozy and it contained some slightly wacky humor
Written in 1983, it feels very late-70s period piece - nostalgic
Loved the language - some uncommon words and phrases that added to the specificity of the setting

Not-so-Much
Characters were okay, but not compelling
I didn't really care about the two characters who were murdered or the larger crime that tied the murders together
Another clueless police officer - can we murder this trope?