When the ex-wife of notorious Hollywood bad boy actor Jeb Pott is found murdered, the case looks pretty straightforward: the two had just gone through an acrimonious divorce, she was found murdered in his lodge, the actor covered in her blood, the knife next to him on the bed. But a few loose ends bother Odelia more than they should, and when Jeb’s daughter asks her to exonerate her father, Odelia decides to take on the case and prove the impossible.
Aiding and abetting her are her vlogging grandmother, who has a personal score to settle, and Odelia’s extensive cat menagerie. Max and his friends are a little distracted, though, by the three kittens someone has decided to leave on Odelia’s doorstep. It’s not that Max hates kittens—but if he’s totally honest he doesn’t like them all that much either.
Will the kittens win over Max’s heart? Did A-list actor Jeb really kill his ex-wife? And are the ‘vitamins’ Grandma Muffin keeps popping really as innocent as she claims them to be? Find out in Purrfect Betrayal, a cat cozy mystery unlike any other. Come for the mystery, stay for the humor, the warmth, and the feels. Oh, and the kittens, of course.
Nic has a background in political science and before being struck by the writing bug worked odd jobs around the world (including but not limited to massage therapist in Mexico, gardener in Italy, restaurant manager in India, and Berlitz teacher in Belgium).
When he’s not writing he enjoys curling up with a good (comic) book, watching British crime dramas, French comedies or Nancy Meyers movies, sampling pastry (apple cake!), pasta and chocolate (preferably the dark variety), twisting himself into a pretzel doing morning yoga, going for a run, and spoiling his big red tomcat Tommy.
He lives with his wife (and aforementioned cat) in a small village smack dab in the middle of absolutely nowhere and is probably writing his next ‘Mysteries of Max’ book right now.
While the cats and humans are definitely entertaining, and the mystery itself is fine, the investigation is full of holes and forced clues, forgotten evidence and illogical conclusion. The kittens are a great at least.
Delightful tale told from the observations of Max the cat. Lovely characters and lots of cats . A clever mystery with a Hollywood actor being found with the murdered body of his ex wife. Looks like an open and shut case but Max’s owner isn’t so sure.
Can Max & Dooley stand the chaos when 3 kittens are left at kindhearted Odelia Poole's front door? Will they lose out to the cuuuuute little bundles of frenetic fur? While the males of the household, including Chase, look on besotted Odelia with despair, another murder pops up. Jeb, once a Hollywood A list star, has snuck off to Hampton Cove after an acrimonious well publicized divorce from his 2nd wife, Camilla Kirby. Indulging in a haze of the drugs & alcohol he's known for , Jeb comes to only to find himself bloody with a knife in his bed. Stumbling into tbe living room, he stumbles over said Camilla ferociously stabbed & dead. Before he realizes what happened, the cops burst in and arrest him, having had an anonymous tip. Everyone thinks he did it except his daughter, Fae & his first wife, Helene, in whose lodge Jeb has been staying. Fae begs Odelia to prove her father innocent. But even Odelia thinks he's guilty. Only Max & Dooley believe in Jeb's innocence. As each possible suspect is alibied, it looks more certain Jeb is guilty. Meanwhile, everyone ends up falling for the kitten terrors, even the cats except for Harriet. And Gran is toe to toe with her nemesis, Scarlett Canyon, in the wonderful world of vlogging to get the most followers. Will Gran' secret 'vitamin' gjve her the edge? More murderous mayhem in Hampton Cove. The series is best enjoyed read in order.
Granny's Flog is under siege and her vitamins are ecstasy
Terrific. One of my favourites in this series. The cats are front and centre in this one with Granny also playing a pivotal role. Her "flog" is flogging a dead horse and her new vitamin regime is obtained from the local drug dealer. A nice tight plot and well paced. Plus the characters are back to their best with lighthearted moments from Granny and Dooley. Three kittens have been left on her doorstep and the cats are not amused. Neither is Chase when he is woken up by a phone call about a murder. It seems an open and shut case. An ex-wife stated to death and her ex-husband found covered in blood by her side. However the daughter refuses to believe and hires her to find out what happened. Granny is trying to revive her vlog (or as she calls it flog) by getting in on the action. An author with a grudge, an ex-wife still stunned by her divorce and being left for a younger woman, a director whose out of work, a film career that has nosedived, another death, a drug problem and threats rambunctious kittens. Can she make any sense out of it all? Is the right person in jail? Have Granny's "vitamins" affected her health? Will the cats accept the kittens and will they become part of the family?
I enjoyed this light hearted murder mystery told by Odelia and Chase's cats. Chase is in the Police force. Odelia is a reporter and occasional sleuth. Taking her canine pets to crime scenes sometimes pays dividens. They prowl around talking to other animals, getting the inside story. The women in the family can understand cat speak. At times the story dragged for me, but overall I found it entertaining.
When disgraced actor, Jeb Pott, is arrested for murdering his ex-wife in cold blood, his daughter, Fae, asks Odelia to investigate and prove her father didn't commit the crime. As far as the police are concerned, it's a cut and dried case: Camilla was murdered in Jeb's home, and he was found with the weapon and covered in her blood. Some small details niggle at Odelia's mind, however, such as why Jeb supposedly used a burner phone to text his ex, and how a random witness was even able to see into the home and report the crime. Soon Odelia is on the case, aided by her squad of cats. Max is glad for any reason to get out of the house, because someone left a box of kittens on Odelia's doorstep, and he's not exactly sure if he likes them or not. Also joining Odelia is her grandmother, Vesta, who's been popping "vitamins" and is desperate for something interesting to post on her vlog. When another dead body is discovered, after Jeb was arrested, it seems Fae may have been right after all. Now it's up to Odelia and Max to find out who killed Camilla and set Jeb up to take the fall.
This was one of the better books in the series, although I am still not amused by Vesta. Grow up, you old wind bag! Sheesh. The kittens were cute but seemed like an unnecessary subplot in that their presence didn't add anything to the narrative except a distraction. There was also the glaring error wherein a secondary character's wife was Suzy...until a few pages later she was Gail. For the love of editing, people! How do you not catch these things?! Other than that, the story was entertaining enough. Since the author is known to lampoon actual celebrities, I thought at first he was spoofing on Brad Pitt, but the more I read, the more I became convinced the real target was Johnny Depp.
Trying to decide between 3 and 4 stars. I'm in a decent mood, so I'll give it a four.
Author Nic Saint gives us another fine murder mystery starring Max, a cat belonging to Odelia. There are other cats that belong to Odelia's family, but they all work together to "sleuth." In this one, somebody leaves a box with three kittens at Odelia's door. With four adult cats in the extended household, three more who are juveniles means that the mayhem factor has escalated. In the mean time, Jeb Pott has been arrested for the murder of his second ex-wife. He's found covered in her blood with her body on the floor, stabbed multiple times. Jeb lives in a lodge that's part of the property owned by his first ex-wife, and she and their daughter live in the big mansion up the hill. Then the daughter Fae approaches Odelia and offers her a bunch of money to find evidence that her daddy didn't do it. Max and the other cats have their work cut out for them. I really liked this book, even though I figured out whodunit a while before the big reveal. I think you'll like this book too.
Max and his feline friends are disgusted when a box of 3 beautiful kittens are left on Odelia's doorstep. Their human friends all think the kittens are sooooooo cute.
Gran is given a prescription for vitamins from her son, Tex, but goes to a drug dealer when she finds they are too expensive and starts taking ecstasy, all the while insisting they are only vitamin pills.
A once handsome and very successful movie star is accused of murdering his ex wife while drunk on the property of his first wife. The actor's daughter wants to hire Odelia to prove he is innocent.
Spending time with Max and the gang is always enjoyable! In this episode we see life imitate art which imitates life. An actress is killed at her ex-husband's home...did he do it? Gran keeps popping Vitamin E but it turns out to be ecstasy. Who would have thought??? Will Gran and the population of Hampton Cove be alright?? What about Gran's flogging vlog??? Answers to these questions and more await in "Purrfect Betrayal". Enjoy 😁
Nic Saint has done an excellent mystery murder cozey with the usual characters of wich one or two are causing mayhem the others keeping trying to keep the peace and all safe.Then there are the new characters to get to know ,those L.A. types all seem the same vibrant. Colorful, nice people. I mean there is a murder and someone had to have done it, but who. OH I didn't see that coming. 🙂😲😕🤔😒😌😏😉😊 Kat
This series never disappoints! It's full of drama, humour, and lots of twists and turns. Dooley is such a loveable cat and he's so funny sometimes. Max is my favorite, though. I really liked the story line in this book. Can't wait for the next Mysteries of Max to come out!!!!
It's murder in Hampton Cove once again. This time, the suspect is caught red-handed, or is he? Odelia and the cats look into the case. Gran is told she needs to take vitamins and buys them from a street vendor. Chase is still clueless about the cats and there are three little kittens left on the doorstep!
Having read books 1 to 11 I am about to take a short break. These fun books written from both the pets viewpoints and their humans are very entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the book describing a disturbingly familiar President, and to think at one time such a character would have been considered unrealistic🤔
This one had a ending I really didn't see coming . Great story .As always purrrrfit . Lol someday I'm hoping gran will learn her lesson ! She's definitely a trip . She gets wild , but it is funny . Cats are always funny and loving .What happened to the Chiefs girlfriend. I don't think she was mentioned in the last 2 books or did I miss something ?
Another story in the life of Max the cat. The stories all follow the same basic formula, like a comfortable old shoe, not requiring much brain work which makes them perfect for a hot summer's day. In this book, instead of an interloper cat, it's 3 kittens making life miserable for Max and his friends.
I liked this book very much, particularly the kittens. It’s good to see the big cats taking care of the kittens, or trying to at least, and having a hard time believing they were ever that small. It seems there’s enough difference in the sleuthing that it keeps the books different and I can’t wait to read the next one.
Once again, Odelia and her family are doing what they do best - solve a crime! I love how each book gets better than the one before and of course the inevitable but fun to look forward to cliffhanger!! Nice Saint never fails to write a great book!!
Another great story about Odelia, her grandmother, and the cats- Max, Dooley, Harriett, and Brutus. Of course Odelia's true love Chase is included in the rush to find a murderer. Cannot wait until the next story.
Someone drops off three kittens, a movie producer is being accused of killing his wife, Gram starts taking Ecstacy - even if it messes with her flog, and there is the informant. I enjoyed the story and recommend the book.
Actor jailed for murdering ex-wife, Manson fashion. Odelia finds three kittens on her doorstep. Max and Dooley meet a homeless basset hound. Still waiting for Odelia to teach her cats to swim. Still aggravated to read a 75 year old woman as old, cranky, and crazy. Cats solve it again.
A fun, easy read. Odelia, a reporter turned super sleuth, investigates the murder of her favourite Hollywood actor’s estranged wife (apparently by him) with the help of her talking pet cats, who manage to sneak about crime scenes gathering evidence she wouldn’t otherwise find.
This was fun. No idea why the women in the family can talk to cats but hey ho. I assume this is explained in previous books which I’ve not read. The plot is interesting and clearly the main suspect is based on Johnny Depp lol. The cats are fab & granny is hilarious.
I really like these books. This one has 3 little kittens in it which the cats hate in the beginning and then think they are so cuuuuuute. Hampton Cove certainly has had its share of murders to solve. Gran wants to help this time since she has been taking her “vitamins”
Very enjoyable plot. The characters were interesting and well developed.The story moved right along and kept me interested. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries with animals involved!!!😊
Love this series and am always thrilled to read another one. The family is so much fun and each wild mystery makes me laugh. The cats are perfect and doesn't everyone wish they could communicate with them?
I really enjoyed the 11th installment of the mysteries of Max series. It was fun and funny with twists and turns. I figured out the murderer before the mystery ended, but it was a clever story. I loved the addition of the kittens. Great job! Looking forward to number 12.