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A Curious Affair
When the widowed Jillian Marsh is struck by lightning, she begins hearing the impossible—the local cats are telling her of an unsolved murder, and to beware of the town’s new sheriff, who, handsome and charming as can be, is threatening to steal her heart.
292 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2008
25 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Jackson
181 books182 followersMelanie, an award-winning author of more than fifty novels, stories and poems lives with her writer husband in the California Gold Country with their cat (also a writer who has a page on myspace) and their dog (who is hoping to get a page on facebook as soon as she masters typing). Melanie likes gardening but hates the deer who also like her garden, and she volunteers at a local animal shelter.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 13, 2024
A Very Different Type of Cozy Mystery
I wish one could give partial stars, for I feel this is definitely a 3 & 3/4 star book. I've read several of Melanie Jackson's novels, and I admire and enjoy her ability to spin a yarn about strange and yet inviting small towns, quirky characters, and unusual circumstances. This story pulled all those threads together. I loved Jillian's sense of justice, and her ethical approach to life, and I felt her grief was well-described. ALL the characters were 3D--they had flaws and inconsistencies, and deep emotions--even the cats!
As always, Ms. Jackson's books are very well written, although a discerning reader will find a number of tiny editing errors.
Honestly, I could have done without Chapter 12 (and the author, writing in the first person of the main character, even suggests that the reader may want to do that!) It seemed that Ms. Jackson wanted to rant a bit about the exceptional rudeness and misbehavior of people at concerts, and just wove it into the book. But it added absolutely nothing to the story.
Overall, I'd say I enjoyed the novel, but not as much as I've enjoyed her other series. I'm not certain if I'll continue with the series.
I wish one could give partial stars, for I feel this is definitely a 3 & 3/4 star book. I've read several of Melanie Jackson's novels, and I admire and enjoy her ability to spin a yarn about strange and yet inviting small towns, quirky characters, and unusual circumstances. This story pulled all those threads together. I loved Jillian's sense of justice, and her ethical approach to life, and I felt her grief was well-described. ALL the characters were 3D--they had flaws and inconsistencies, and deep emotions--even the cats!
As always, Ms. Jackson's books are very well written, although a discerning reader will find a number of tiny editing errors.
Honestly, I could have done without Chapter 12 (and the author, writing in the first person of the main character, even suggests that the reader may want to do that!) It seemed that Ms. Jackson wanted to rant a bit about the exceptional rudeness and misbehavior of people at concerts, and just wove it into the book. But it added absolutely nothing to the story.
Overall, I'd say I enjoyed the novel, but not as much as I've enjoyed her other series. I'm not certain if I'll continue with the series.
July 4, 2024
Good overall story
I enjoyed the basic story, but as one who is affected by depression, I found parts, especially at the beginning, to be a bit hard to read. Some of the extensive “filler” material went on more than I would like, and was just tolerable. One scene was a bit more explicit than I was comfortable with. Overall, though, I enjoyed the story and had planned to read the next book, until I realized it wasn’t a continuation of this story.
I enjoyed the basic story, but as one who is affected by depression, I found parts, especially at the beginning, to be a bit hard to read. Some of the extensive “filler” material went on more than I would like, and was just tolerable. One scene was a bit more explicit than I was comfortable with. Overall, though, I enjoyed the story and had planned to read the next book, until I realized it wasn’t a continuation of this story.
June 4, 2017
A writer who loves the sound of her own voice. The main character is irritating and I would have given up after the first 80 pages (my usual stopping place of its not doing anything for me), but her cat was pretty lovely.
1 star for interesting thoughts on grief and a cool cat. Everything else was dull.
1 star for interesting thoughts on grief and a cool cat. Everything else was dull.
April 27, 2020
Surprisingly well-written and entertaining. I was not expecting much from looking at the cover, but was pleasantly surprised.
July 1, 2020
Quirky Fun
Great mystery with a dash of romance. Helps us to be grateful to have loved ones at our side. It made me think and I enjoyed it.
Great mystery with a dash of romance. Helps us to be grateful to have loved ones at our side. It made me think and I enjoyed it.
June 19, 2024
It took me a lot of focus to get through to where the story became interesting.
May 19, 2009
Jillian Marsh has a whole boat-load of problems on her hands:
<> She was hit by lightning.
<> She was hit by lightning and now she can hear the local stray cats talking to her.
<> She has TMJ, which in simple terms means a locked jaw.
And if things aren't bad enough, it is the middle of winter, she has thoughts of suicide because she misses her husband Cal who died over three years ago, and those darn cats won't leave her alone! All Jillian wants to do is drink herself into oblivion because the thought of cleaning Cal's old clothes out her bedroom closet is too much to bear. But when Atherton, one of the pesky cats, comes to her about his owner being murdered, Jillian has no choice but to investigate.
Jillian finds Irving Thibodaux dead on the floor of his shack with his head bashed in. Jillian cannot figure out why someone would murder poor Irv, who barely had enough money to survive and enjoyed taking care of all the stray cats in the area. Atherton and his feline friends want Jillian to find the "Smelly-butt man" who murdered Irv. Jillian has no choice but to get the law involved, and that means the new sheriff, Tyler Murphy. Tyler thinks Jillian is a little kooky, maybe because she can hardly open her mouth to talk, but the story she tells about how she finds Irv is a little off, so Tyler takes over the case and promises to find the culprit.
Since Atherton won't leave Jillian alone, she still has to do some detective work and try and figure out who wanted Irv dead. There are rumors about Irv owning a gold mine, and then there is Irv's shifty looking nephew Peter Jordan Wilkes, who Atherton says is the Smelly-butt man. Jillian believes the cat, but she needs more proof than just the word of an animal. She also takes on the responsibility of trying to find homes for all these stray cats. And when Tyler wants to get to know Jillian better, she is at the point where cleaning out her closet is looking more appealing by the second.
Talking cats and murder make for some interesting reading in A CURIOUS AFFAIR. Melanie Jackson has written a quirky mystery with a paranormal slant told from the first person point of view by Jillian, a widow who has so many unbelievable problems, you would think she has the worst luck. Jillian is a wonderful storyteller who brings humor into her situation, and you can't help but laugh over her predicaments.
I especially liked the small town feel and how everyone has a label, from the recently deceased Irv who was a bit of an eccentric handyman, to his on-again-off-again lover, Molly, who becomes a good friend to Jillian. As Jillian tries to catch a killer, Sheriff Tyler is slowly courting Jillian, which she doesn't even realize until they start kissing and end up rolling around on her living room floor.
For a very different type of murder mystery and some very quirky characters and a twist at the end you won't see coming, pick up A CURIOUS AFFAIR, because in this tale, curiosity does not kill the cat!
<> She was hit by lightning.
<> She was hit by lightning and now she can hear the local stray cats talking to her.
<> She has TMJ, which in simple terms means a locked jaw.
And if things aren't bad enough, it is the middle of winter, she has thoughts of suicide because she misses her husband Cal who died over three years ago, and those darn cats won't leave her alone! All Jillian wants to do is drink herself into oblivion because the thought of cleaning Cal's old clothes out her bedroom closet is too much to bear. But when Atherton, one of the pesky cats, comes to her about his owner being murdered, Jillian has no choice but to investigate.
Jillian finds Irving Thibodaux dead on the floor of his shack with his head bashed in. Jillian cannot figure out why someone would murder poor Irv, who barely had enough money to survive and enjoyed taking care of all the stray cats in the area. Atherton and his feline friends want Jillian to find the "Smelly-butt man" who murdered Irv. Jillian has no choice but to get the law involved, and that means the new sheriff, Tyler Murphy. Tyler thinks Jillian is a little kooky, maybe because she can hardly open her mouth to talk, but the story she tells about how she finds Irv is a little off, so Tyler takes over the case and promises to find the culprit.
Since Atherton won't leave Jillian alone, she still has to do some detective work and try and figure out who wanted Irv dead. There are rumors about Irv owning a gold mine, and then there is Irv's shifty looking nephew Peter Jordan Wilkes, who Atherton says is the Smelly-butt man. Jillian believes the cat, but she needs more proof than just the word of an animal. She also takes on the responsibility of trying to find homes for all these stray cats. And when Tyler wants to get to know Jillian better, she is at the point where cleaning out her closet is looking more appealing by the second.
Talking cats and murder make for some interesting reading in A CURIOUS AFFAIR. Melanie Jackson has written a quirky mystery with a paranormal slant told from the first person point of view by Jillian, a widow who has so many unbelievable problems, you would think she has the worst luck. Jillian is a wonderful storyteller who brings humor into her situation, and you can't help but laugh over her predicaments.
I especially liked the small town feel and how everyone has a label, from the recently deceased Irv who was a bit of an eccentric handyman, to his on-again-off-again lover, Molly, who becomes a good friend to Jillian. As Jillian tries to catch a killer, Sheriff Tyler is slowly courting Jillian, which she doesn't even realize until they start kissing and end up rolling around on her living room floor.
For a very different type of murder mystery and some very quirky characters and a twist at the end you won't see coming, pick up A CURIOUS AFFAIR, because in this tale, curiosity does not kill the cat!
September 19, 2016
Murder and Talking Cats?
I got this book from a recommendation made by an email from Book Bub that I receive every day. Never heard of Book Bub? It is a lovely service you may want to look into. Alas, I digress.
Jillian Marsh is a widow and lives in the dark, desolate place that sometimes accompanies a loved one's death. She has begun to doubt her sanity and her will to continue living. You see, a year ago, Jillian was hit by lightening. The only damage she suffered was a sudden and inexplicable ability to understand cats.
In trying to decide if she was going crazy, a neighbor is murdered and the collection of strays and feral cats that he has been taking care of, seek out Jillian to help find his killer.
This book is about a lot more than talking cats and finding a murderer, it is also about learning to live again after the death of a beloved partner and way of life. Jillian, in caring for the cats, learns that there is life after the death of her husband and learns that she does want to live that life.
I found this to be a lovely novel, speaking to me about life and death, and love and caring for those weaker and more vulnerable than ourselves. I highly recommend it and wish that Ms. Jackson had decided to make it a series.
Perhaps we could persuade her?
I got this book from a recommendation made by an email from Book Bub that I receive every day. Never heard of Book Bub? It is a lovely service you may want to look into. Alas, I digress.
Jillian Marsh is a widow and lives in the dark, desolate place that sometimes accompanies a loved one's death. She has begun to doubt her sanity and her will to continue living. You see, a year ago, Jillian was hit by lightening. The only damage she suffered was a sudden and inexplicable ability to understand cats.
In trying to decide if she was going crazy, a neighbor is murdered and the collection of strays and feral cats that he has been taking care of, seek out Jillian to help find his killer.
This book is about a lot more than talking cats and finding a murderer, it is also about learning to live again after the death of a beloved partner and way of life. Jillian, in caring for the cats, learns that there is life after the death of her husband and learns that she does want to live that life.
I found this to be a lovely novel, speaking to me about life and death, and love and caring for those weaker and more vulnerable than ourselves. I highly recommend it and wish that Ms. Jackson had decided to make it a series.
Perhaps we could persuade her?
August 14, 2008
Positives:
Main character describes grief well, is in the process of it.
Story of relocation from urban to more rural environment speaks to me at this time.
Murder mystery.
Main character can communicate with cats, as a side-effect of having been struck by lightning.
Negatives:
Author belabors points, adding a thesis statement at the end of each paragraph, and sometimes rambles.
Main character is a writer, which is like writing about child orphans, a cheap way to get a character out of the constraints of daily life to serve the story but always causing a total strain at credulity.
Boring depiction of romance.
More, when I've finished the book. So far, very entertaining. I always enjoy Jackson's books, but I find their endings & romances very unsatisfying. If I just accept that I'm going for an atmospheric ride rather than fixate on the idea of realism or even formulaic mystery-romance, I'd probably enjoy her work even more.
--Okay, so this one had an interesting ending, a totally boring romance, 50 pages of rambling making fun of "freaks" who were not as wholesome as herself, but enough rural weirdness and paranormal oddity to make it worth reading.
Main character describes grief well, is in the process of it.
Story of relocation from urban to more rural environment speaks to me at this time.
Murder mystery.
Main character can communicate with cats, as a side-effect of having been struck by lightning.
Negatives:
Author belabors points, adding a thesis statement at the end of each paragraph, and sometimes rambles.
Main character is a writer, which is like writing about child orphans, a cheap way to get a character out of the constraints of daily life to serve the story but always causing a total strain at credulity.
Boring depiction of romance.
More, when I've finished the book. So far, very entertaining. I always enjoy Jackson's books, but I find their endings & romances very unsatisfying. If I just accept that I'm going for an atmospheric ride rather than fixate on the idea of realism or even formulaic mystery-romance, I'd probably enjoy her work even more.
--Okay, so this one had an interesting ending, a totally boring romance, 50 pages of rambling making fun of "freaks" who were not as wholesome as herself, but enough rural weirdness and paranormal oddity to make it worth reading.
September 30, 2009
There were points where I really loved this book and points where I just couldn't get into it - sometimes she got so preachy and the main character got so obnoxious with her whole "I'm weird, I'm a recluse, I'm insane" thing that I had to put the thing down for a while.... I got annoyed with her making the town all down-homey one minute and then all touristy-fabulous the next - I'm sure it's realistic, but it felt forced and too much, like she was just cramming all these unnecessary details in for filler. (I did have to look up the police love interest's cologne, though, it sounded fabulous.) The "mystery" was solved in a weird way, too, and I was definitely turned off by how Jillian took care of the problem - she spent so much time talking about honesty and then chose a "shade of gray" instead, and that seemed off, somehow. I guess I would try another of Melanie Jackson's books because I like the idea behind this one and I could see it going better places, so maybe her later stuff is more cohesive.
August 15, 2008
Of all the schlocky self-inserts I've read, this was probably the worst of them. The main character is a writer just like the actual author - big surprise. They both live in the same part of the country, both enjoy the same things, so on and so forth. Worse, the main character's ridiculously overlong rants on big cities, cell phones, urban vs. rural living, and alternate lifestyles are preachy, irritating, and very obviously straight out of the author's own opinions. The only way I would recommend this book to anyone would be if I had someone I wanted to severely annoy.
March 1, 2011
I found that this was interesting and wouldn't mind if Melanie Jackson would work this into a series. Jillian has been a widow for about 3 years. She's been hit by lightning and ever since has been able to talk to cats and a bad case of TMJ. The story begins with the cat Atherton coming to Jillian to say that her closest neighbor has been murdered and that the cats want the man caught. Jillian meets with the new sheriff to tell him that Irv has been murdered and the action goes on from there....
September 11, 2008
After you get thru the angst of the heroine in the first chapter or two, the book takes a big upswing. I understand a widow's depression & other emotional havoc. My sister lost her husband not long ago. But, as a reader, I thought the angst went a bit too long.
And I think someone, somewhere should have mentioned that this is not a book for recent widows. I know I WILL NOT be giving it to my sister to read.
And I think someone, somewhere should have mentioned that this is not a book for recent widows. I know I WILL NOT be giving it to my sister to read.
June 2, 2009
This book drove me nuts because it had a great premise and kept...almost...delivering--but never did. I loved the cats, I liked the complex back story for the heroine. But the romance fell flat and even between two mature people I didn't find it all that believable. The MC's TMJ began to feel like a gimmick and the fact that we know very early on who the killer is completely took the suspense out of the picture. The villain hardly makes an appearance. All in all it's a frustrating read.
June 16, 2009
As we are introduced to the main character, Jillian, she is considering suicide. She is in mourning for her husband who died a couple of years ago, and also suffering from TMJ after being hit by lightning a few months ago. After the lightning strike, she can hear cats talking to her. They don't usually have much to say. But on the night we meet Jillian, a cat comes along who definitely has something interesting to say. Her neighbor has been murdered.
September 11, 2008
A weak beginning and unlikeable characters gave me a bad feeling around page sixteen. I finished the book, hoping it would get better. It never did. The romantic plot was thin and unsatisfying, with no chemistry between the main characters. The mystery plot just makes me roll my eyes. I'm trying to think of a redeaming quality of this book. Nothing is comming to mind. Nothing.
December 31, 2010
This was a strange and curious little book. A recently-widowed writer is hit by lightning and can now talk to cats. And she has TMJ (lock jaw). And she discovers the body of an acquaintenance and is told (by the cat) that he was murdered. A generally interesting story, an unusual heroine, a romance and murder mystery.
January 25, 2010
This book is not a keeper for me. Although the story was interesting it was all in first person and I really could not get into it, therefor it's not a book I will be keeping. I do love Ms Jackson's Wildside series very much.
January 18, 2015
I could not get into this book. So much so, I did not finish it. It never captured my attention.
May 31, 2015
Awesome writing.
Being a cat person, I just loved this story of a lady who can hear cats talking. Thrown in with a murder mystery adds a wonderful read. Worth more then 5 stars...
Being a cat person, I just loved this story of a lady who can hear cats talking. Thrown in with a murder mystery adds a wonderful read. Worth more then 5 stars...
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January 9, 2010Amazon preorder
January 22, 2016
I like this book and the personalities of the cats. Too cute!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews