Death of a Sandscratcher

The No.2 Feline Detective Agency #14

by Mandy Morton

Hettie and Tilly book themselves into the Sandscratchers Villa for a seaside holiday. The feline duo find themselves plunged into a spate of alarming fairground murders as a carefree vacation turns into a holiday nightmare.

As the deckchairs unfold and the ice creams melt, they face their most baffling case yet, but first they must find the bodies!

Join Hettie and Tilly as they attempt to unravel yet another darkly humorous case for The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency.

288 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2025

About the author

Mandy Morton began her professional life as a musician. Her songwriting formed the basis of six albums during the 1970s and early 1980s, when she toured extensively with her band. More recently, she has worked as a freelance arts journalist for national and local radio, specialising in making music and theatre documentary. She is the co-author of a non-fiction theatre book, In Good Company, and lives with her partner in Cambridge and Cornwall, where there is always a place for an ageing long-haired tabby cat. The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency is her first novel, and begins a series of books inspired by her first cat, Hettie.

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4/4.5

Always enjoy these books and this newest title didn’t disappoint me.
The wordplay was humorous, punning and just silly enough, with the one character’s malapropism excellent.
The main series characters were all drawn very well as per usual, their ability to visit anywhere and come across dead bodies is definitely reaching the same level as Jessica fletcher.
The deaths and subsequent body discovery happened a good time into the story, and felt more bloody than usual or that could just be me.
The discovery of the guilty party and their reasons happens very late in the novel, and I was slightly ahead of our heroes on this occasion if not with the exact same reason.

Overall though another wonderful entertaining entry in this series. Always a definite recommendation and always an immediate read (which does upset my reading plans for the month slightly)

[Kristine Booksandstuff123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Death of a Sandscratcher' by Mandy Morton.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm a huge fan of this series of books. And this latest installment didn't let me down. Even on holiday the dynamic duo are solving crimes. There's murders, missing bodies, a fairground and plenty of ice cream. If you love cozy crime, cats and puns then give this series a read, you won't be disappointed.

Hettie and Tilly book themselves into the Sandscratchers Villa for a seaside holiday. The feline duo find themselves plunged into a spate of alarming fairground murders as a carefree vacation turns into a holiday nightmare.
As the deckchairs unfold and the ice creams melt, they face their most baffling case yet, but first they must find the bodies!

[Miki Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. Hettie and Tilly decide they need a holiday and get Bruiser to take them to Felixtoe. He wasn't going to stay, but circumstances overtake them and they find themselves drawn into the affairs of the the Meakin family that run the local amusement park. The family runs on tradition and this doesn't appear to lie well with some members. There's the complication that some of the female members of the family want love interests outside of the clan and that one of these suitors is keen to take over the park for his own interests.
The rest that the cats needed is short lived and they fear for their own lives at times.
Another well conceived and written story.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hetty, Tilly and Bruiser are supposed to be on holiday but murder seems to have followed them. Another entertaining case with plenty of humour, a whiff of nostalgia and eventual triumph for our feline detectives. I so love the furry world Mandy has created and look forward to the next installment

[SUZANNE ROSE · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not very impressed with this book. The cats seem to be junk food eating constantly. Not to mention spilling food down their clothing every time they eat! I was almost halfway through before any storyline happened. Overall not my cup of tea.

[Mariana · Rating 2 out of 5]

a gruesome murder mystery with cats instead of people does not turn it into a cozy crime, this was morbid as hell
the crime took AGES to appear, and got resolved within the last 5 pages
i wish the detective part was longer

[Tilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat puns…

[Arthur Kurrasch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another romp with the feline detectives. The tale flowed well with the authors usual humor.

[Natalie Penna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just so enjoyable