I remember, years ago, a mystery writer friend of mine was informed by his publisher that there would be a cat appearing on the cover of his new book.
My friend was perplexed.
There was no cat mentioned anywhere in his mystery. Not even a beatnik hep cat or the guy who sang about being followed by a moon shadow. But his cover was given a cat because cats and cozy mysteries go together. In books and in readers’ laps.
How wonderful, then, to discover this anthology created by the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, home to so many amazing and award-winning mystery writers. In this volume, you’ll discover that cats aren’t the only animals that mix well with mysteries, cozy and otherwise. In these pages, you will find short stories featuring a menagerie of cats (of course), dogs, crows, angel fish, rabbits, exploding cows, an octopus, crickets, Chihuahuas, and rats.
Face it—you can’t really have a good mystery without a few rats. And yes, having been a dog person for over two dozen years, I do consider Chihuahuas a separate species.
What’s fun about this thirteen-story anthology is seeing how each of the very talented writers took a few common notes (critters and criminals) and, like the masterful jazz word musicians that they are, concocted such different and delightful tales. It reminds me of my days doing improvisational comedy. You take a few suggestions and spin them into something wonderful.
Animal. Mystery. Go!
In “Pet,” Shari Randall introduces us to Katya, a pet groomer entangled with a wealthy family where the dog might just be the nicest person.
“As The Crow Flies” by Carla Coupe is a wonderful trek to the English countryside where we meet Hermes, a crow that out- bloodhounds the hound of the Baskervilles. (Is it any wonder that a group of crows is called “a murder”?)
In “Rasputin,” KM Rockwood creates the unforgettable Rasputin, a dog who has a quite an adventure between meals.
Alan Orloff’s funny bone is on full display in “Bark Simpson and the Scent of Death.” Or maybe it’s his funny Milk-Bone.
“A Snowball’s Chance” by Eleanor Cawood Jones weaves a wonderfully twisty cold-case tale where we meet Gabriel the angel fish and Snowball the bunny.
In “Hunter’s Moon,” Robin Templeton unleashes a wonderful Irish setter named Rupert and a character who likes animals more than humans (especially the ones who act like animals).
Barb Goffman’s extremely clever police procedural “Till Murder Do Us Part” gives us some exploding cattle and a sheriff called out of church on a Sunday morning—not to mention a glimpse of the rustic “farm-to-wedding-table” movement.
“Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Marianne Wilski Strong is a wonderful trip back in time to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and a Halloween night death in a saloon. Maybe because I spend most of my time these days writing mysteries for the eight-to-twelve-year-old crowd, I particularly enjoyed this story about a kid sleuth and her dog.
Linda Lombardi jumps into the tank with my first encounter with an octopus mystery in “The Octopus Game.” (I wonder what that would look like on the cover of a cozy?) There are also crickets involved.
“The Supreme Art of War” by Josh Pachter is everything a mystery short story should be, with a clever twist and surprise ending that would’ve made O. Henry proud.
Joanna Campbell Slan gives us the Chihuahua named Jonathan—a caregiver’s best friend in an otherwise miserable situation.
“Curiosity Killed the Cat Lady” by Cathy Wiley is an apartment-building mystery with (at least) eight cats and several rats—some of whom are the deceased’s fellow tenants.
Karen Cantwell closes out the anthology with a 1930s Hollywood noir bowl of hard-boiled kibble called “Sunset Beauregard” that introduces us to a colorful cast of characters and one movie-star dog.
I hope you enjoy these thirteen tales (tails?) of critters and criminals as much as I did. Read them with a cat in your lap, a dog at your feet, or an octopus in your aquarium.
Chris Grabenstein is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Lemoncello Library series, the Welcome to Wonderland series, and The Island of Dr. Libris. He is also the coauthor of several fun and funny page-turners with James Patterson, including I Funny, Treasure Hunters, House of Robots, Jacky Ha Ha, and Word of Mouse. www.ChrisGrabenstein.com