Cat under the Mistletoe: An Alice Nestleton Mystery

Alice Nestleton Mystery #12

by Lydia Adamson

Alice Nestleton - a professional actress whose day job is cat-sitting - has solved a dozen fiendishly feline-based crimes since her series began.
It is a few weeks before Christmas, and Alice has a new client, a lovely tortoiseshell cat named Roberta. But Roberta isn't always on her best behavior. Occasionally she turns into the kitty from hell, and one of Alice's tasks is to transport the fickle feline to her therapist. Dr. Wilma Tedescu, an Amazon-size woman, is renowned for soothing many of Manhattan's savage beasties. Unfortunately, on Roberta's very first appointment Alice finds Dr. Tedescu as dead as a Christmas goose.
Dr. Tedescu was at her desk when someone put a bullet behind her ear, proving that cat "shrinks," unlike cats, are decidedly short of nine lives. Almost immediately, suspicion falls on the doctor's hot-tempered estranged husband... and then on Alice. The fur flies as Alice sets out to find the real killer.
Past experience leads Alice to look into records of the doctor's other cats with multiple personalities, cats with gender confusion, and cats with litter-box phobias. But instinct tells her to investigate the doctor's own secret quirks and some neurotic human clients. Alice's nose for clues and her uncanny curiosity land her a whisker away from a killer who doesn't pussyfoot around with murder.

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Cats, Cozy Mystery, Animals, Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Lydia Adamson is the pen name for Franklin B. King who is an author, free-lance writer and copywriter. In addition to the Alice Nestleton series, he is the author of the Deirdre Quinn Nightingale and Lucy Wayles series. He lives in New York City and also wrote under the name 'Frank King'.

Reviews

[Lana Kamennof-sine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read - especially learning about the mystic cat whisperer. There's no doubt the author Lydia Adamson knows cats with all their charm & all their "quirks". The main character, Alice is an actress & cat sitter. She's tasked with taking her newest charge, Roberta, a tortie who switches from adorable to demonically possessed in an instant, to Wilma Tedescu aforementioned cat whisperer.
The rest of the book focuses on discovering the murderer of Wilma & the reason for the murder.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice can be rude, annoying, obnoxious and pushy at times, especially when she is questioning a suspect in a murder who turns out to be completely innocent. She does not hesitate to take advantage of her friends, including asking them for money and assuming they will give her what she wants. She also sets up a trap to catch the killer, which could have had dire consequences, but she gets by unscathed. All-in-all she is not a likeable character.

[Jan Sjostrand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting characters and mystery very clever story

[Kathei]

If you like cats and you like mysteries then this series is for you.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series, all revolving in some way or another around cats. The "sleuth" is an actress who is semi successful, but who needs a day job to stay afloat financially, so she "cat sits" for various cat loving owners who much leave their pampered kitties. It's her "day job" that brings the murders to her attention. Her love life sometimes intrudes (a bit PG 13, but not explicit) with its casual attitude towards extra marital sex, but the stories are charmingly told with eccentric and real feeling characters and cares.

[Katey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of cats when it seems the book revolves around them entirely. I prefer if cats ae mentioned just as companions. It was also very confusing for me to follow, and I nearly fell asleep while reading it. I also checked it out because it was on a list of Christmas mysteries that I want to read, but I didn't get the feeling of Christmas within the book, other than vague mentions of the holiday and the title itself.

[Sep · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is part of a series about an out-of-work actress who cat sits named Alice Nestleton. The mystery is good but everyone's behavior is a little too over the top for me. I may try another but I've found that I don't enjoy series where the main characters seem to struggle with the same issues over and over.

[Phillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another trap set anther muderer caught. The one think I like about this series of books is I can never figure out who the murderer is and sometimes neither can Alice until she sets her traps and catches them.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

The murder of a cat psychotherapist starts Alice Nettleton on a path to the perpetrator On the way she meets fabulous dinners, lots of wine, and a few human characters with very spoiled cats. Will her cop boyfriend unravel the mystery first? Read on and find out.

[Kimberlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

set in NYC, an actress/cat watcher/detective solves the murder of a cat psychiatrist. Interesting developments, hints of Sue Grafton

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun weekend read, a pretty good mystery. Evidently part of a series.

[Tiffany Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick read. it was pretty good..

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books with cats.