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Book Review

Publisher's Note:

‘Talk about inconvenient. Not only did I have a dilapidated mansion and no money to repair it, two uppity cats and some cranky guests waiting for breakfast, there was also a dead body in the stairwell.’ Josie Waters is the enthusiastic new owner of the Oyster Cove Guesthouse – a ramshackle Victorian mansion high on a hill above the breezy seaside town of Oyster Cove, Maine. Josie has a history in Oyster Cove, but she’s not going to let anyone – from her crazy friend Millie to her old flame Mike – stand in the way of making this venture a success. But then Josie’s first guest – a stuffy food critic – is murdered before breakfast, and the town sheriff suspects Josie could be to blame. Thank goodness Nero and Marlowe – the guesthouse’s resident cats – are also on the case. Little does Josie know, this isn’t their first investigation… but can they find the clues to the real killer before another guest is targeted? Following her cats’ noses, it isn’t long before Josie discovers that the critic ruffled more than a few feathers in his day. In fact, from the rule-obsessed local Building Inspector to the guesthouse’s pernickety maid, there’s not a person in Oyster Cove who doesn’t have a secret to hide… could one of the locals be a cold-blooded killer in disguise? And with her beloved guesthouse’s very future on the line, can Josie solve the case in time?…

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A Twist in the Tail (The Oyster Cove Guesthouse Book 1)

by Leighann Dobbs

Reviewer: Beth
Genre: Mystery
Recommended Age: 18+

Overall Book Review:

A band of sleuthing cats that are telepathic…this book is fun!  There are both human and feline characters and oh boy, are they all characters.  First, the cats have to teach the humans that they are in fact the superior beings and NOT the humans.  When a murder takes place, these cats prove their worth.  Light-hearted and fun to read, this book is hard to put down.  Nero and Marlow are the two main cat characters and Josie, the owner of the guesthouse, is new to them.  Oyster Cove is a small town and these cats know everybody and have some serious sleuthing skills.  As secondary characters, Josie’s Mom and Millie are vital to the plot because they enjoy digging up clues even if the local Sheriff isn’t too happy about it.  They all feel like family and it’s enjoyable to come back again and again to this small-town story.  

The author, Leighann Dobbs, creates a setting and dialog that I found myself not questioning while reading–even though there are talking cats.  She writes in a comfortable way that is easy to believe.  For readers who love cats, this book and series is sure to make the reader chuckle.  Just when I thought I knew who the culprit was, sure enough there was another twist in the plot.  By the end, everybody had been accused and it was surprising to find out who the real culprit was.  This is book one of a three part series.  Books two and three have already been published.  Leighann Dobbs has written at least eighty books with many series. 

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  1 anatomical term. 

Violence/Gore:  A man is found dead, mention of some blood; birds are being poisoned; a woman holds a gun on three people; a woman falls down some stairs.

Sex/Nudity:  A man & a woman are sweet on each other; a man is known to have a string of women and one was seen coming out his bedroom, implied hanky-panky; multiple mentions of a woman having an affair; a comical conversation about a woman receiving porn in the mail, but she wasn’t; a woman and a married man are having an affair.

Mature Subject Matter:

Murder, divorce, birds poisoned, affair.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
3
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
3
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
3
10

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About the Reviewer

Beth
Reading a good adventure story has always been a vacation in the theater of my mind. When I’m stressed or just need to get away for a few minutes, I love the opportunity to climb into somebody else’s world. I didn’t enjoy reading until I was in the Air Force and building bombs in Korea; it was a wonderful distraction from the real world. (I tried bull riding, but it wasn’t exciting enough.)

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