Meow If It's Murder Lib/E

Nick and Nora Mysteries #1

by T.C. LoTempio

First in a new series!

Nora Charles doesn’t believe in fate, even if she is a crime reporter who shares a name with a character from The Thin Man. In fact, she’s moving back to Cruz, California, to have a quieter life. But after finding an online magazine eager for material, and a stray cat named Nick with a talent for detection, Nora’s not just reporting crimes again. She’s uncovering them…
 
Back in her hometown, Nora reconnects with old friends and makes some new ones, like Nick, the charming feline who seems determined to be her cat. But not everything about Cruz is friendly. Writing for a local online magazine, Nora investigates the curious death of socialite Lola Grainger. Though it was deemed an accident, Nora suspects foul play. And it seems that her cat does too. 
 
Apparently, Nick used to belong to a P.I. who disappeared while investigating Lola Grainger’s death. The coincidence is spooky, but not as spooky as the clues Nick spells out for her with Scrabble letters—clues that lead her down an increasingly dangerous path. Whether fate put her on this case or not, solving it will take all of Nora’s wits, and maybe a few of Nick’s nine lives.  
 

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

Audio CD

First published December 2, 2014

About the author

Born in New York City, T. C. LoTempio is the national bestselling author of Meow If It’s Murder, the first in the Nick and Nora Mystery series.

She has been a staff reporter at the young adult magazine Susabella Passengers and Friends for more than a decade.

While Toni LoTempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she has no trouble doing it on paper.

Her lifelong love of mysteries began early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age 10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She lists among her favorite mystery/suspense writers Erle Stanley Gardner, Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson, as well as EJ Copperman, Steve Hockensmith, Victoria Laurie, Ali Brandon, Rita Mae Brown, Miranda James and Sofie Kelly to name only a few!

Toni is also passionate about her love for animals, as demonstrated with her four cats: Trixie, Princess, Maxx and, of course, ROCCO, who not only provided the inspiration for the character of Nick the cat in the Nick and Nora mystery series, but who also writes his own blog and does charity work for Nathan Fillion’s charity, Kids Need to Read!

Toni’s also devoted to miniseries like The Thorn Birds, Dancing with the Stars, reruns of Murder She Wrote and Castle (of course!).

She (and ROCCO, albeit he’s uncredited) pen the Nick and Nora mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime.

She, Rocco and company make their home in Clifton, New Jersey, just twenty minutes from the Big Apple – New York

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful start to a new cozy mystery. I loved the Thin Man references through out the story. The main character Nora Charles, was a real treat, she reminded me of the Nora Charles from the movies. The real star of this book is Nick the cat. I'm in love with this rather plumping cat. He reminds me of KoKo from the Cat Who series. The story and mystery was fantastic, it could actually be a story plot for a Thin Man movie. There was so many twist and turns through out the telling, that I was surprised by how it all turned out at the end.

I think, if anyone is a fan of the Thin Man series, or even Sherlock Holmes and Murder, She Wrote, will enjoy this story. I'm very much, looking forward to the second book in the series.

[Joy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not sure why I finished this. Possibly because I really wanted to like it; the idea of Nick the cat and special nature is appealing. But I listened to the audio book version and the reader was truly not my cup of tea. It was hard for me to get past her lispy, robotic voice. I wouldn’t hold a reader against a book; I’ve loved plenty of books that I listened to and didn’t really like the narrator. But the writing also irritated me. The romance between Nora and Daniel feels forced and cliché to me; my eyes rolled whenever she couldn’t think straight because he touched her or was nearby. Nora’s friend Chantal with her ridiculous faux French accent was annoying, not charmingly eccentric. And Nora is supposed to not be a pet person at all, but she easily warms to Nick the cat and believes he’s smart enough to spell out messages with Scrabble letters and otherwise communicate with her in a way that is far from normal for a cat. The cat doesn’t act much like a real cat, but she accepts it completely, and though she’s an amateur sleuth and former crime reporter, and even notices the odd similarities between Nick the cat and the detective who once owned him, it never seems to occur to her that there may be something abnormal going on. She even is supposedly so skeptical of her friend Chantal’s claims of psychic abilities, but completely accepts that this cat is trying to spell out messages with Scrabble tiles and seems to have special intuitions himself. Huh? Also, we hear repeatedly about how experienced Nora is with writing about the mob in Chicago, like she’s so street smart, but she does so many stupid things it’s hard to believe she would have survived in that line of work. The deli seems to exist only to provide a reason for Nora to no longer be in Chicago (she’s always flitting off and leaving Chantal to watch things) or to provide an excuse for her to be nosing around (“oh I’m here about a catering contract”). And after hanging on through the whole book, just to hear how the author explains the cat, there was nothing but disappointment at the end. Geez. It feels as if the writer was trying too hard to fit into too many cozy mystery niches. This is the second book I’ve read this year where the cat was the only character I really liked.

[♛ Garima ♛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating:
4 stars

Cover:
It's okay

Trigger:
None

Short review:
I forgot how easy it is to slip into familiar world cosy mystery and cat detective in tow.
The writing is smooth and so easy to follow, I read this in a very short time. If you enjoy cosy cat mystery then it is really a good one.

Good old Nora Charles, a mere sandwich shop owner solves mafia mystery by the help of a cat, a pretty far-fetched fiction but enjoyable fiction as it is.

Review in image/gif:


Recommended:
Yes

Aftermath: (possible spoilers)
The book refers to a lot of old mysteries like Thin Man and others and someone who belongs to a different culture, I find it bit annoying but I am sure with proper cultural reference other readers would have found it enjoyable.

[Saba N Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely an easy book to cozy up with. My favorite character? Nick of course! That is Nick the kitty. :) Who doesn't love a kitty that can kick butt to save his lady master and solve a crime(s) to boot?

Nora Charles is a crime investigative reporter (she thinks she is a sandwich maker/sandwich shop owner) but investigating crime is in her blood. Once a mystery tickles her fancy not even her close friend or the hunk of a detective she meets can persuade to stop investigating the suspicious death of Lola Grainger, a close and good customer of her late mother's. She meets a feline who makes it's self at home in her shop. She settles on the name Nick after a favorite movie character. The cat has unusual talents that assist Nora in finding out the truth about the mystery behind the suspicious death of Lola as well as Nick's missing owner.

I enjoyed this story a lot, even though there were a few mistakes that caught my eye, but despite that, the story was packed with action and lots of interesting twists that kept me glued to my screen.

[Jammin Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery set in California. The main character is Nora Charles, and she's moved back to Cruz, California to try and get a quiet life. But she stumbles into a murder mystery, and inherits a cat with amazing sleuth talents (reminds me of Koko from The Cat Who...). The cat's name was Sherlock, but she changed it to Nick (so now they're Nick and Nora Charles just like The Thin Man). I had a lot of fun listening to the story develop and look forward to reading more books in this series.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems that crime reporting is in Nora Charles blood because she can't seem to get it out of her system. She moves back to her hometown of Cruz, California after her mother passes away to run Hot Bread, her mothers sandwich shop and leave Chicago and crime reporting behind. Soon a cat finds Nora and she names him, Nick. He has designs on being her affectionate and fun loving animal.

Along with running the sandwich shop, Nora writes for a local online magazine, Noir. Nora is determined to get her boss at Noir to approve of her writing an article on the death of socialite, Lola Grainger. He is reluctant because it was deemed a open and shut case but Nora suspects otherwise.

It's like fate that Nick previously belonged to a PI also named Nick and he disappeared while also investigating Lola's death. Nick the cat is beginning to show signs and clues that he also knows more about the case and works with Nora to try to help solve the case of the mysterious death of Lola Grainger.

I fell in love with Nick the cat, not only because he shares my husband and son's name so I had to pick up this book about a cat named Nick to see what he was all about but because he is a smart and handsome fellow. Nick and Nora are a match made in heaven, one of the best cat sleuths since Diesel from Miranda James' s Cat in the stacks mysteries. What I like about Nora is she is a no nonsense type of gal and the fact that she is a crime writer had me wanting to pick up this book. A great cozy mystery could not be complete with out food, running her mother's sandwich shop brought a great spin to the story with me being a culinary mystery fan. I can't wait to go on another crime fighting adventure with Nick and Nora in the next book.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nora is not the brightest bulb. She's got a cat that can spell using Scrabble letters, yet she still manages to choose the wrong 3 letter word (out of two options).

LoTempio must think her readers are just as dense as she feels the need to spell out what is meant by "often in the witness protection program they recommend a new name that uses your previous initials: Nora Charles, NC, Nelly Close = same initials" and then she explains it again! "Miley Cyrus, MC, May Cousins = same initials".

Nora must be a great looking dame, because despite the fact that she withholds evidence, interferes with an active investigation and generally behaves like an airhead, dragging others into dangerous situations, the males drop everything to assist this damsel in distress, and the women shoot daggers at her with their jealous eyes.

I do not understand the thought process of: "I can't go to the police with my suspicions, first I must gather enough evidence to actually solve the crime." Apparently the sole purpose of the police (and FBI) is to make arrests; they no longer investigate crimes.

Warning: This book made me very hungry for a good deli sandwich - pastrami please.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett is a favorite book and the series of movies as well, so when I saw the title of this series I knew I had to give it a try. LoTempio does a good job writing a smart heroine that runs a sandwich shop inherited from her mother. Unlike many mysteries where the non professional detective amazingly solves crimes on the side. Nora Charles has a BA in journalism and years of experience writing a crime column for a Chicago paper.

What doesn't make a lot of sense however is that the California town where the crimes are committed are actually linked back to Chicago, I found that to be to much of a coincidence. The other problem was that all her old Chicago sources had plenty of information on a small city in CA, that seemed far fetched.

It was a fun read, and I'll read the next one as well.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is totally ridiculous. She is suppose to be an award winning crime reporter that apparently has no idea how to interact with the police or how to "investigate" . She doesn't even research anything until the end of the book. I would say the author has no idea what a reporter actually does. And she has this "award winning crime" reporter falls apart next to a handsome man.

[Dawn Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This book was so much fun, I loved the main character, Nora Charles, and of course her cat Nick, is the star of the book. I cannot wait until the next book!

[Christy Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book! Ended good. The only thing i didn’t love was the cat meowing all the time. lol. I did really like nick the cat but all the meowing was a bit much. lol

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun, entertaining cozy. It had all the things I like, and almost none of the things that annoy me.

There are some very neat features of this, namely the Nick and Nora connection, which pays homage to their namesakes, but is a very unique and interesting twist on that.

There's also a classic movies genre hat tip, with several mentions of that through the book. Not involved with the murder investigation, but still a fun feature.

Nora is a more smart and sensible cozy heroine than some others I've read. I won't say she doesn't do anything that's foolish - this IS a cozy after all, and they kind of have to put themselves in danger at SOME point or what's the fun?! - but overall, she is smarter than many other main characters in cozies I've read and is very engaging. I liked Nora a lot.

Nick, however, is kind of the real star of this book! He is an absolute hoot! Nick is "a character" in all the most fun senses of the word. He exemplifies everything we all know about cats, and he is personality plus. I love the various types of meows he uses - among other approaches - to communicate what he wants Nora to know. He is a trouble-maker of the first order, but boy is he a lot of fun!

The supporting characters, including Nora's sandwich shop, are also interesting and fun. The requisite romance is set up nicely for future books, but doesn't interfere with, or overshadow the main story, which is the murder and its investigation.

Overall, this is one of the best, most fun cozies I have read. I would definitely read future installments of this series. I very much enjoyed it, and would recommend it to cozy fans.

[Susan Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Princess Fuzzypants and I am doing the review. I am a literate Maine Coon who loves to read cat mysteries with my mom. What makes a really good cat mystery? Simple, a really strong and well written feline hero or heroine. Think of Hamlet, Diesel, Midnight Louie, Mrs. Murphy, Boris or Joe Grey to name a few. These names will be familiar to you if you are a fan of the genre. Each has some special characteristic besides their natural feline superiority. They are smart, they are savvy and they help solve mysteries.
Nick, who adopts Nora Charles when his previous human disappears, is one such kitty. While he does not speak, he is quite fluent with the Scrabble tiles and he saves Nora's bacon more than once. She's more than ok as well (for a human) but it is Nick that will get all the kitty hearts a-purring. Those, like my mom, who love cat mysteries will fall for him too.
If you are a fan of the old Thin Man series, the names Nick and Nora Charles will bring back memories. While this Nora is no Myrna Loy and Nick is no William Powell, they will entertain you in a well paced and highly entertaining first book of the series. There is a lot less champagne served but it is still quite bubbly.
I give it two paws up and five purrs. We await the next installment to pounce upon.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me preface my review with a comment to the nay-saying reviewers. It's a cozy mystery. Its not meant to be serious and will have eye-rolling moments and unbelievable characters. I know, it's difficult at first to accept these, and some authors are worse than others. I think T.C. was about average. I've read much, much worse. At least I was happily able to finish this one, with several laugh-out-loud moments, with my husband giving me an occasional raised eyebrow.

That being said. I liked the book. The narrator did a crazy good job with Nick's voice, err, meowing. Nora seemed to have her head on her shoulders for the most part. I'll pick up the series in the future. Too many books to catch up on and all that, you know?

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stelle e mezza.
Prendete Nora, ex-giornalista investigativa che è tornata a casa dopo la morte della madre per continuarne l'attività (in pratica una paninoteca, ma da leccarsi i baffi!). Prendete Nick, un gatto molto saggio che è appartenuto a un investigatore privato scomparso misterioramente. Aggiungete un detective mooolto sexy e altrettanto misterioso che risponde al nome di Daniel Corleone (potete sghignazzare: io l'ho fatto!). Spruzzate un'abbondate dose di Chantal, l'amica sensitiva di Nora, e un pizzico di Ollie, il collega dell'investigatore privato. Mescolate con una morte che tanto accidentale non è... Ecco, avrete la ricetta perfetta di questo libro.

[Deborah Almada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very interesting book. A little bolder than most of the cozies I read but I really liked Nora and her new companion Nick. You might feel that a cozy heroine would not be so bold (or crazy) but Nora's past as a crime writer in Chicago makes this more believable. I like the set up of the series and you have to believe more is to come in the way of strong mysteries. I like the neighborhood set up and the "friends" we hope to see continue, as well as a love interest in this story's FBI's agent Dan. I look forward to book 2.

[LizzyAnne Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book! I am glad I didn’t let the psychic babble in the beginning deter me as it was just a small part of the book. Nora and her cat, Nick, are lovable characters!

[AngryGreyCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, Meow If It’s Murder, is first in a series, A Nick & Nora Mystery and a new-to-me author, T.C. LoTempio. Nick is a not so ordinary tuxedo cat and Nora is a former crime reporter who has returned home to run the family sandwich shop/catering business. She is still keeping her foot in the door with crime reporting locally and finds herself investigating a case that has been ruled an accidental death, but was it? Nora is not so sure.

Each stone that Nora turns over seems to raise more questions than answers: from sisters who are dead or maybe not? to mobsters. to missing PIs. to the local PD, who didn’t really seem to follow procedure. Nora uses all the skills she honed in her years of crime reporting to uncover what has really happened to Lola Grainger and who was responsible.

This was a really well written cozy and the cat, Nick, reminded me of KoKo and Yum Yum in the famous Cat Who … series. Nora is a methodical, intelligent investigator. I look forward to reading more in this series.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a simple woman you give me a cozy with a cat and a interesting cast of characters I’m there. Don’t know that I feel the Daniel romance but that might be cause I read the most recent one first. I wish my cat could speak to me with scrabble tiles and I hope we find out about human nick in the future.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun cozy mystery.

[Deb Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

T.C. LoTempio brings readers the first book in her new Nick and Nora mystery series, Meow If It's Murder. Fans of The Thin Man movies are sure to take notice of this new series and all of the crazy antics of Nora, a former investigative reporter and her cat, Nick. LoTempio matches Nora's wits against a killer, who murdered a friend of Nora's deceased mother. With eerie nods to some of the mystery greats this is a very good first effort in a series.

What I liked:

First of all, I was intrigued right away with this book for several reasons. Being a fan of The Thin Man, having a cozy series that made a play on the movies was a great idea and I think it really worked for LoTempio here. She doesn't beat the reader over the head with the references but she does allude to the great movies of William Powell. Not only that, but the fact that Nick the cat has the distinct features of his former owner, a brilliant detective, was a cool idea, even making the reader think along the lines of reincarnation or something of the sort. There was also the fact that the murder in the story was eerily reminiscent of a Hollywood starlet's murder that was never solved. So, many good little tidbits to draw the reader in.

Nora is former investigative reporter turned sandwich shop owner. She returns home to California from her stent in Chicago, after the death of her mother only to find that one of her close friends has possibly been murdered. I liked the investigative reporter angle. It still makes Nora an amateur sleuth, but it gives her bit of a leg up on just your average deli owner trying to solve a complex crime. I thought she was brilliant and I loved her interaction with police detective, Corleone. (A nod to the Godfather, perhaps?) I think there is plenty of room for romance between these two in the future.

The murder itself was not an easy one to figure. You kind of knew why someone may have done her in, but not exactly who did it. There were plenty of twists and turns and Nick's little trick with the Scrabble tiles was ingenious. He has to be carrying around the spirit of his former owner. This one wasn't easy to predict and there were plenty of suspects. I found myself enthralled with it and couldn't put it down until I finished. That's saying a lot since I read tons of cozies every month.

Bottom Line:

This was an excellent first book in a series. There was enough background to get the reader going on the series, but it didn't overpower the mystery of the first book. I thought LoTempio made nods some of the greats, including The Thin Man and the worked well to build interest in the series. I liked Nora a lot and found her angle for investigating believable. A great first book in a series!

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

After her mother dies, crime reporter Nora Charles moves back to her hometown of Cruz, California to run her mother’s sandwich shop. She manages to get a side job with an online magazine looking for crime stories. Then, much to her surprise, a very handsome black and white cat shows up on her doorstep and moves in. Nora has no intentions of keeping him and makes plans to find his owner. In the meantime, she names him Nick.

Nora comes across articles on the sudden death of a wealthy woman, Lola Grainer. The police rule the death as an accident, but Nora has other suspicions. In fact, her new cat Nick has suspicions too. Together, they investigate and put themselves right in the line of danger.

I love this new mystery duo, Nick and Nora Charles. The rapport between human and cat seemed so natural. No, the cat doesn't speak human but he appeared to understand Nora as she tried to put the pieces of this case together. Nick may only have answered with "meeeoooowww" but Nora knew exactly what he meant. I've had similar conversations with my own cats. LOL Their scenes felt realistic to me as an animal lover who often talks to her pets.

The storyline grabbed my interest right from the beginning. I found the mystery to be fascinating and filled with intrigue. It felt like an old fashioned detective novel to me. I couldn’t put it down and practically devoured it in a few short days. I’m so looking forward to the next adventure in this series. It’s so much fun to get in on the ground floor with a cozy mystery series. Book #1 is a winner with me!

FTC Disclosure: The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review for this blog tour. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

[KyBunnies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at Bunny's Review


I love a good mystery book and this was great. The best part the cat. Okay no I am not really a cat person I tend to lean more toward bunnies or dogs but a cat always seems to have a canny knack to always know when something is up. I know my two may be sleeping on the opposite side of the house but if I fill their food bowl they are on top of me before I can blink.

I would love to listen to this book. I know I just read it but I love listening to mystery books. While reading I keep getting the feel of ’The Cat Who’ series by Lilian Jackson Braun.

I liked how the author had Nora move back home after her mother passed. Willing to give up a career in investigative reporting to take over her mother’s business.

I recommend this book to any who enjoy a good mystery.

The bunnies and I give this book carrots.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own and do not reflect those of the author, my clients or tour companies I work with. This is not a paid review. To form your own opinion please support the author and acquire your own legal copy of the book.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read. Nick (a kitty with psychic abilities) adopts Nora, who owns a sandwich shop in Cruz.
Nora has a great friend named Chantal who helps her out with the lunch crowds .. and oh, brought Nick to her door.
A local socialite is found drowned and it's been deemed accidental. But was it?
Nora's background as an investigative reporter in Chicago makes her a good partner for the kitty.

One thing: Nora is arrested at the Marina, brought to the police station for questioning. Then they give her a ride home. Next day, she grabs her car keys and off she goes never having to retrieve her SUV. aaarghh (author needs a storyboard or something)

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I think it was the whole concept of the story that just kept my interest. First off I love the old Thin Man series and there is a cat in the book. Plus the main character didn't take off after the bad guy by herself. She was more interested in the story. Nora moved back home to Cruz, California to take over her mom's cafe after she dies. Plus after being a crime reporter in Chicago she decided she needed a quieter life. But she does take a part-time job writing articles for an online magazine and that is where the mystery begins. Her reporter instincts kick in after she reads about the death of socialite Lola Grainger. Once she starts investigating she finds there is more to the story than what was said plus Nick the cat seems to have some interest in the murder also. Did I mention that Nick the cat actually belonged to the Private Investigator that disappeared when he started investigating the death of Lola. That is a mystery all by itself. Can't wait to read the next one in the series.

[Meg Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most cozy mystery series, this one starts with a main character in major transition. Nora recently moved back to Coza, California to take over her mother’s sandwich shop. It’s a big change from investigative reporting in Chicago. And thanks to a recent death, the reporter instinct is back. Nora’s new partner is Nick, the cat who arrives at the front door and claims it as home. While Nick can’t talk, he can communicate.

I might try more in this series. The best friend was a bit annoying and the resolution of the story a bit too complex with ties to characters outside of the book. So maybe.

[Caitlin C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nora has given up her life as a crime reporter in Chicago to run her late mothers specialty sandwich shop in Cruz, CA. She isn't looking for a pet in her life, and doesn't really want the responsibility but Nick doesn't give her much of a choice, as he picks her! Nora can't quite keep her nose out of the crime business and can't help but investigate the death of her mother's friend and local socialite Lola Granger. Nick and Nora's relationship is charming. Nick pretty much takes charge of her investigation and points her in the right direction. He spells out words for her with scrabble tiles and literally inserts himself in her investigations by jumping up in car to go with her, and hiding evidence by burying it. They are a fun duo and the other characters really start to grow on you as well. As usual, Nora is a very nosy protagonist and there are so many times I got frustrated and wanted to tell her to just to loop in the police or her new PI friend instead of going it alone, but alas, no matter how many times I yell at the book, it never changes...

[Brian Frauenknecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book very hard to get through. I did not like the main character, Nora Charles. I loved Nick and Chantal though. I found a lot of this mystery trite and at times quite boring. I will read the other two installments, if I can get through them. Hopefully they are better than this first one was.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty good. Not earth shattering, though.

[Rebecca Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Nick the cat!