I decided to read this second book in the series for pure entertainment and as a light-hearted romp rather than take it too seriously. It worked and I liked it better than the first. The one thing I still had a little trouble with was how human the cats sounded. They used words that I, and probably Odelia, didn't know which sent me scurrying to the dictionary. Also, did you know that caterwauling is really cat choirs singing their favorite songs? The story was definitely humorous and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. It was mainly written from a cat's point of view with plenty of banter and snarky commentaries from the cats and between the humans as well. Odelia uses the cats as her spies in her investigations and can put tracking devices on them in case they get in trouble when they go out on stakeouts!
All the cats we met in the 1st book are back: Max is our eight-year-old orange flabby tabby hero and leader of the group that belongs to human Odelia Poole; Dooley is a beige ragamuffin who is dimwitted and Max's best friend and belongs to Odelia's mom; Brutus is a black cat bully who just moved to town with his owner Chase Kingsley, the new detective in town; Harriet is Odelia's Gran's white Persian who is shallow, empty headed and is dating Brutus; and Clarice is a feral cat who is really observant and scary. Odelia and the Poole women understand and speak feline. Besides being a reporter for the Hampton Cove Gazette, she also helps the sheriff, who is her uncle Alec, investigate and solve crimes. In doing so, she frequently gets herself into trouble or hilarious situations.
The book opens with Max trying to wake up Odelia, because she has an exclusive interview with a famous 80's pop singer, 50-year-old John Paul George AKA JPG. He is now a recluse living in his Hampton Cove mansion, rarely venturing out. He loves cats, has 12 of them, and also rescues stray ones. The main reason that Max and Dooley don't want to miss this interview is that they have heard that JPG's cats are served pate on a daily basis. They want to taste it. Upon arriving at the mansion, they find JPG floating face down in the center of the swimming pool dead. Max begins questioning the cats at the mansion. It turns out that JPG liked to party with booze, dope, and paid boy escorts. Being the number one and only reporter, Odelia can't help but investigate on her own.
The obvious suspect is Jasper Pruce who was JPG's long-suffering partner. They had a fight the night before his death. But there is a plethora of other suspects. And in the end, all suspects don't pan out so who killed JPG? All of this involves a drug supplier named Orville Haggis AKA Donovan Rubb, an ex-wife named Bryony Pistol, her daughter Veronica George, a vial of Australian Funnelweb Spider poison, and the Writer's lodge used for assignations from book #1. The plot becomes somewhat convoluted. Mustn't forget that Gran buys a "sleep aide" from a GHB drug dealer who is selling out of the trunk of his car. Her reaction to the drug wasn't all that funny.
A subplot involves Chase Kingsley who was a NYPD detective before he came to Hampton Cove. A wife of a suspect accused him of molesting her and he lost his job. Chase claimed that the NYPD Commissioner and the wife of the mayor of New York were having an affair and they set up the molestation charge to discredit him and get him fired for gross misconduct. Now Chase's old boss says that, with his reputation, he shouldn't carry a badge in Hampton Cove and wants him fired. Instead, Chase wants to hand in his resignation. Odelia, Brutus and Harriet all vow to clear his name. Max and Dooley aren't so happy about this turn of events as they would like to see Brutus gone. Eventually we find out that this subplot is tied in with the murder in an unusual way.
In the end, it's Clarice the feral cat who breaks the case. But before she will tell the other cats what she saw, she makes them take a blood oath. Poor Dooley! I never guessed who the murderer was. There were the usual twists, turns and a red herring or two. The pacing was also much better than in the 1st book. I say just suspend your concept of reality and enjoy the book.