Nine Lives Last Forever

The Cats and Curios Mystery #2

by Rebecca M. Hale

When frogs begin appearing in the antiques shop Rebecca has inherited from her Uncle Oscar, her cats Rupert and Isabella instantly give chase. But why are frogs turning up in San Francisco's City Hall building? And what does her late uncle's mysterious note to "follow the frogs" mean?

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

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 26, 2010

About the author

NY Times bestselling author Rebecca M. Hale lives in Western Colorado with her feline writing associates - when she’s not off researching future books set in San Francisco, the Caribbean, or wherever else her wandering spirit takes her.

Reviews

[Lindig · Rating 1 out of 5]

You'd think I would have remembered the trouble I had reading the first book but no-o-o-o. I did eventually finish #1 but the only thing I remember liking about was the San Francisco history.

This volume began to irritate me almost immediately -- the heroine is neurotic, in my opinion. She's always gulping, startling, shrieking, twitching, shrinking, and going downstairs to find out what her cats have just destroyed with her wet hair just dripping -- she couldn't pick up a towel?! And her cats are badly behaved (and don't tell me that's just the way cats are -- I've had cats all my life and they were taught manners).

So I metaphorically tossed the book across the room (which in my RV is about 3 feet) and don't plan to read any more by this author.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frogs are turning up all over the place. Our amateur sleuth has a note saying to follow the frogs, and finds rumors of treasure and all sort of madness.

Perhaps a bit too madcap.

[Text Addict · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give up on this series. The history bits are fun, but: the pace and story structure are consistently off-track, the protagonist is a wallflower at her own party, and the weird bits are much more WTF than amusing. Back to the used book store all four of them will go.

[Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually finish this book. I got maybe 100 pages in and for once in my life, I decided to cut myself a break. I feel bad about the low rating - there are so many things I want to like about this (the cats, the clever title, the setting, the amount of visual and historical detail), but it was just not working out for me. the main character keeps getting trapped in situations where her discomfort is exaggerated for comedy, but it just stressed me out. there were so many different plot threads, and I hadn't read the first book, so I couldn't follow all of the different characters and their relationships. nobody ever just says or does something, adverbs and adjectives abound; the writing is so florid. there's an element of magical realism (frogs with an agenda... flying mustaches... wobbling hair) that just confused me. it's really creative and different from other things I've read, but somehow it all added up to something I was not excited to keep picking up, I wasn't making any progress, it was time to return it.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one took quirky and zany to a whole new level.

The mystery was kind of interesting but the main character didn't really do any of the sleuthing, she more or less allowed everyone else to move her around like a chess piece.

The frogs were altogether over the top unrealistic and the antics of the cats, while fun, felt out of place in the story since they didn't have 'speaking' roles in the first book.

I liked all the characters but would have preferred more of the mystery solving, more sleuthing and a bit less illogical and nonsensical shennanigans.

[carriedaway · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, if she didn't have some really interesting tidbits about the history of San Francisco, I'm not sure I've have finished the book. In fact, I'm not really certain what the mystery was - Sutro's lost treasure? The frogs threw me off. Her characters are madcap and fun but her heroine has got to be the most spineless creature alive. Putting up with incredibly rude people is not necessary. There are polite ways and then more direct ways of dealing with them.

[Vicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

How this book ever made it to print is beyond me. i tried to make it to page 100 and just couldn't do it. Frogs and the history and landmarks of San Franscisco lost me. There is more description of clothes that doesn't keep the story moving.I will not read another book by Ms. Hale. This is an awful example of published print.

[Shawnee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2... and still the main character has no name. And I still have no idea what the book is about... or who to believe... at least the cats are likeable. And okay, the frogs are likeable in this book. Since I started this book, I have started THREE other books and finished one. Does that say anything?

[Nola Arganbright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Book 2 of the series. I read book four after Book 1 and see that they are much better understood if they are read in sequence. In this book Rebecca and Monty continue on a quest for one of Uncle Oscars hidden treasures. You receive much more information on the Vigilance Committee that Uncle Oscar and his friends had established.
The quirky group of characters are with us once again along with Isabelle and Rupert the trusty feline detectives. Some of the historical facts of this book includes where Mare Twain came up with the name of his famous character Tom Sawyer.
I always enjoy the books. The characters are just too much fun to be confused with real people. I always enjoy the historical facts that Rebecca Hale includes.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'm in love with Rupert...

No, having started this series for the second time, I KNOW that I'm in love with Rupert! I'm not generally a fan of series that really should be read in order, but I'm making a serious exception with this one. The story builds at a good pace, and the plot line from book to book is easy to follow. The cats are wonderful, the characters are lively and fun (even the villains!), and you never quite know what is around the corner. There's also a heavy dose of whimsey involved here, with inanimate objects weighing in on the action. I LOVE THIS SERIES...and especially RUPERT!

[Kayt18 · Rating 3 out of 5]

i dont know why these books are so hard to read. i really think Ms Hale is a wonderful author, her writing style can be quite interesting. she is intelligent and fun. however her books just are a pain to read. i am about tired of mustaches, dead or not dead family members, friends and enemies. i get confused with who is who and what in the world they are doing. now dont get me started on the abundance of frogs in this book either. why, why, why! i am going to read the others but just hope it doesnt take me a year to finish.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care for this one quite as much, particularly as the ending seemed to make the entire book rather pointless. I found the author's writing a bit wordy as well; I personally felt that some of her descriptions were too full of adjectives to flow well. Unlike the last one, this one definitely allows for, although does not necessary lead into, another book in this series, hopefully one that includes rather less of Monty.

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed the humor and all round peculiar cast of characters more if I had read the first one in the series (this is the second). As it was, it was really confusing until well into the second half of the book. It didn't help that the short chapters switch points of view frequently and it's a little hard to keep everyone straight. Lots of recent and not so recent San Francisco political history, which was a plus for me, but might not be for everyone.

[4fabfelines Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the cats in these little cozy books they are so cute and the author obviously knows cats. But the legnthy history lessons got on my nerves from time to time and the heroine has no spine.
Monty is amusing and the weird charactors that show up in the books are funny.
I would like to see this series have more of a story line and less historical information even if it is interesting.

[Leticia Vega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky. Fun. At times it ventured into the "corny". Though the book didn't have as many laughs as the first, I really did enjoy reading it. Book #2 seemed to read a lot faster than the first; however, at times the story did get a bit heavy with the history lessons. *Snore* Despite the few negatives, the positives are by far greater. I'll give Book #3 a whirl.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

More minor mysteries are happening at the Green Vase Antique Shop in San Francisco. Things are definitely becoming strange as it is hard to tell if the corpse from an earlier book is still dead or was he ever dead. The cats are cute but I’m wondering if they are there as a draw for cat-lovers instead of being an active part of the story.

[Nancy]

Rupert & Isabella are chasing frogs in Rebecca's antique store. Frank, the bad guy who disappeared, is back trying to find some gold. Frogs are all over city hall and it turns out the missing gold was used to restore the ceiling of the city hall.


Strange.

[Jenni Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful. I love this series.

[Sandra Hernandez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is it me or does the character have no name. It was a struggle to read this book. One I made the mistake of getting this book and finding out this is the second and not the first book. For some reason I meant to pick out another book but somehow got this one instead. Sometimes it isn’t bad sometimes the book turns out decently or you don’t get as lost.
Omg is this book horrible I think I know more about the cats than the characters. Their is some good history to be learned and you learn a bunch of things about San Francisco but that still does not save this book. I find myself just trudging along time finish. Dead people turn out not to be dead.
I would like to say their was a good mystery and some ways I did like uncle Oscar he seemed smart and clever so this book wasn’t a total fail. I honestly wouldn’t recommend this book and reading it does not even make me want to read the first just to see if maybe if I read the first one the second one will turn out ok. The writing style and the author just made the book feel unrealistic.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series continues with more mysterious goings on and many frogs are involved. This time the story involves a more recent history of San Fransisco than the gold rush; it's about events in the 1970s political scene. How to influence politicians is an interesting lesson in this book. This story had a hint of magical realism with the cats and frogs, a bit of mystery and some danger. It was an enjoyable continuation of the series and finally revealed our narrator/heroine's name.
Some reviews of the first book seemed to imply that the author purposely used unfamiliar or "big" words to elevate the story or other nefarious reasons. My thought is that the author has a large vocabulary and uses it; perhaps others are just unfamiliar with as many words.

[Jordyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book feels like NaNoWriMo project that was fleshed out with meaningless description just to hit a word count. If you love long, in depth description with no action this book is for you.

I made it to page 90 and I’ve decided to make this book my bathroom read. One or two pages is all I can manage at a time.

To give you a sense of the pace of this book, I can tell you two interesting things that have happened - one of which was on the first few pages.

Do not get me wrong, the author has a wonderfully descriptive writing style. It is just very, very slow.

I will update if I get to the end and it changes my perspective.

[Ferne (Enthusiastic Reader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the 1st novel in the series and decided to continue reading the series. The 2nd novel is "filled" with the history of San Francisco, California (primarily the California Gold Rush era) almost to the point that in certain chapters it reads more like a nonfiction book than a cozy mystery. It also uses information related to Mark Twain's short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" (1865) which was Twain's 1st great success as a writer and brought him national attention. It is then a natural leap for Hale to add all things frog into her novel but sadly that doesn't necessarily make for an interesting story.

I'm going to give the series one more chance by reading "How to Moon a Cat."

[Ione DeOllos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mystery starring genius cats and their people find themselves embroiled in a mystery filled with zanny characters such as an Asian women wearing bright green go-go shoes that takes a you on a thrill ride. Criss-crossing San Francisco, the owner of the Green Bottle antique store tries to find gold and unraveling her Uncle's history. Once started, I couldn't put this book down. I had to know who the costume wearing woman was, is the Mayor involved, who is the bad guy, is there a bad guy, and where is the gold?

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one a bit less than the first in the series.

It is definitely not a straight up mystery. It definitely has some quirky characters. I have a problem with the floating red mustaches. Is this supposed to be fantasy? Or are people seeing things?

I love the San Francisco setting and know the Sutro Baths area. I absolutely love the Cliff House.

There were some nice twists along the way that I did not see coming.

I may read on in the series if I find book 3.

I own a copy.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing much happened. But I liked the setting, and enjoyed reading the history of parts of old San Francisco. The Sutro Baths have always interested me, and Playland at the Beach, so it was kind of neat to learn how they came about. But it wasn't enough to raise this to an "I liked it" 3 star rating. It did induce sleep on several nights, so there's that. I have one more book from this series on my bookshelf, so I'll give that a try, but it needs to be a lot more interesting than this .

[KarenMartiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished the 2nd book in this series, and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. Rebecca's descriptions are incredibly detailed and bring her settings to life. I'm a cat lover, so I enjoy Rupert and Isabella's behavioral antics intertwined with the storyline. Her quirky, offbeat characters (not to mention frogs!) add a comedic aspect to the story. I also found the San Francisco historical references interesting. I'm looking forward to reading all of Rebecca's books!

[Tamar Wilson-steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book, so well written with some great San Francisco history. Loved the cats, she made them such a part of the story. If you like the Cat Who books this comes really close. Looking forward to reading many more of her stories.

[Tangeree Gillette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book! A fun quick easy read. I really like that it is a treasure hunt mystery and not a murder or police crime mystery!
Plus I love cats

[LaReca Renae' Noland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book to read and pass time with.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book set in San Francisco. Quirky, interesting characters.