Roby Sweet's Blog, page 80

Magical Cats in "A Midwinter’s Tail"

Miss Cuddlywumps reviews Sofie Kelly’s latest mystery, A Midwinter’s Tail
It’s always nice to start a brand-new year off with a great book, so I am delighted to have made A Midwinter’s Tail my first read of 2015. This book is a joy, and not just because it has two magical cats in it.
Kathleen Paulson is a transplanted librarian in Mayville Heights, Minnesota. She’s got a lot going for her: great job, good friends, handsome boyfriend, magical cats. She’s also putting together a fancy fundraiser to raise money to expand the library’s Reading Buddies program, which helps kids learn to love reading.
Everything looks terrific, which means something is about to go horribly wrong. Unfortunately, the horribly wrong thing happens right in the middle of the fundraiser, when a new arrival in town eats a chocolate candy and dies. Her last words, spoken to Kathleen, are “live” and “package.” Turns out the candy was laced with pistachio, to which the victim was allergic.
Tragic accident—or murder?
The dead woman is Dayna Chapman, ex-wife of resident Burtis Chapman. Dayna had just disappeared one day more than twenty years earlier, leaving her family behind. No one in town seems to know why she returned as suddenly as she left, and no one seems to know who would want her dead—or why.
That’s where Kathleen’s curiosity kicks in. It’s also where her two cats, Owen and Hercules, come in. Oh, and her handsome detective boyfriend, Marcus Gordon. But back to the cats.
Owen is a gray tabby who likes Aerosmith and his “Fred the Funky Chicken” toy. Owen can also disappear at will (a handy trick).
Hercules is a tuxedo cat who prefers Barry Manilow and his purple mouse toy. He can go through closed doors (also a handy trick—and can we talk about the name Hercules? Straight from the classical canon. I think I am in love!).
Aside from their magical abilities, we love how the cats act just like brothers. Owen has a tendency to “relocate” Hercules’ favorite toy—and Herc isn’t above getting even by pulling his own stunts.
Also, these cats are great at solving crime. They both have a talent for recognizing clues and pointing Kathleen in the right direction.
Just what direction is the right one is a question that kept us guessing. Suspects are set up and discarded (some quicker than others) as the plot becomes more complex and entanglements are revealed. The plotting is very well done, nicely paced, and Kelly’s writing is a pleasure to read. She has also added numerous elements of comic relief that keep the overall tone light. The climax, though, is far from light. It is an exciting scene that puts Kathleen and one of her cats in grave danger and that kept uBut the cats are the best part.
I give A Midwinter’s Tail a very enthusiastic

A Pair of Felines in a Medieval New Testament Illumination

Wordless Wednesday
Detail of two feline creatures on this page of a 12th-century New Testamentfrom the Rochester Cathedral Priory, England (c. 1130).Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Book Review: Death of a Dapper Snowman, by Angela Pepper

I think we could all learn something from Death of a Dapper Snowman, and it is this: If you ever happen upon a well-dressed snowman with a creepy, off-kilter grin, do not, under any circumstances, remove his head. Also, you probably should not plunk the snowman’s top hat on your noggin for a selfie.
Unless, that is, you want to get all mixed up in a murder investigation, which is exactly what happens to protagonist Stormy Day when she discovers a dead man concealed within a creepy snowman in her father’s neighbor’s yard. What got Stormy into this odd circumstance, you ask? A cat, of courSee, she had gone to her father’s house to retrieve his girlfriend’s nameless cat who needs to be spayed. Only the cat—a Russian blue who actually needs to be neutered, not spayed—runs into the neighbor’s yard and climbs up this snowman, after which, things start to get weird (I am referring here to the body in the snowman).
But weird seems to suit Stormy just fine, even if she might not see it that way. She is thirty-three and accustomed to handling high-dollar venture capital deals, only now she’s back in her hometown of Misty Falls running a little gift shop and living in a duplex, the other half of which she recently rented to a bearded man she’s now trying to avoid. Oh, and apparently she’s also the new caretaker of this cat.
You could say that life has not worked out quite according to Stormy’s plan, so having a good mystery to solve (with the help of a great cat, of course) could be exactly what she needs. The fact that her father, a former police officer, is a suspect gives her a little extra incentive to get involved in the investigation.
Death of a Dapper Snowman is a fun read. We loved Stormy’s character, especially her habit of dropping sarcastic remarks at nearly every opportunity. Misty Falls is the kind of quirky place that is the perfect setting for a cozy mystery series. (Come on, nobody would conceal a body inside a snowman in a so-called “normal” town, would they? And what kind of weirdo does that, anyway?)
Beyond being an entertaining and appropriately cozy book, Dapper Snowman is also about a still-young woman coming to terms with where she is in life, compared to where she used to be or where she thought she’d be. (And if you ask us, Stormy Day is better off in Misty Falls with Jeffrey and her father, good friends, and that bearded renter than she ever was in the venture-capital world.)
Finally, there is a nugget of sweetness at the story’s center, and in its ending, that help make Death of a Dapper Snowman a truly satisfying read. We look forward to future books in the Stormy Day series.

New Year's Regret: A Cautionary Tale, Dramatized by Kittens

Wordless WednesdayHappy New Year!
Three Jolly Kittens: At the Feast Three kittens party like it’s New Year’s Eve.Hand-colored lithograph by Currier & Ives, New York, ca. 1871.Via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Three Jolly Kittens: After the Feast The fun-loving kittens suffer the consequences of overindulgence.Hand-colored lithograph by Currier & Ives, New York, ca. 1871.Via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Top 7 Cat Cozy Mysteries of 2014 (According to Miss Cuddlywumps)

2014 was a particularly good year for cat cozies. She of Little Talent and I read and reviewed quite a few of them. We read about cats in cat shows, cats in libraries and shops of various sorts, cats and witches, cats and ghosts, cats who are friends with dogs (fiction, obviously), and cats who are detectives.
That’s a lot of stories about cats, and we couldn’t even get to many, many more stories that are just waiting to be read. (Old SoLT said something about “needing her beauty sleep,” but I’ve seen her in the mornings and, believe me, that sleep thing is not doing her any good.)
Anyway, I had quite a hard time picking the best books of the year. My planned title for this list was “Top 5 Cat Cozy Mysteries of 2014,” but I just couldn’t whittle it down to only five titles. As for choosing an absolute, #1 favorite book of the year—forget it. So, in no particular order, here are my favorite cat cozy mysteries of the year:
 
Catwalk by Sheila Webster Boneham Professional photographer Janet McPhail becomes an investigator—and suspect—in the murder of an all-around d



Literally Murder by Ali Brandon Hamlet the black cat goes to a cat show, gets catnapped, and helps solve a murder. All in a day’s work for a true celebricat.





Caught Dead-Handed by Carol J. Perry Lee Barrett moves back home to Salem, Massachusetts, and lands a late-night TV job as a call-in psychic, but only after discovering the murdered body of the previous psychic—and tripping over said psychic’s cat.





Leger’s City by Lacey Dearie Glasgow’s finest cat sleuth commutes into the city to prove that his person is not a crook.





A Taste Fur Murder by Dixie Lyle A reincarnated cat and an ectoplasmic dog team up to solve a murder and protect an animal cemetery.




 

Tailing a Tabby by Laurie Cass Eddie the bookmobile cat rides along as librarian Minnie Hamilton first helps a stroke patient and then tries to prove that said patient is not a murderer—or is he?




The Cat, the Vagabond, and the Victim by Leann Sweeney Cat lover Jillian Hart cares for a big orange tabby named Clyde and helps solve not one but two murders.

Cat: The Creature with the Moving Tail

Now that's a tail!
Photo by Roswitha Budde,Cattery vom Hohen Timp[CC-BY-SA-3.0],via Wikimedia Commons.The ancient Greeks knew how to name an animal. Their word for “cat” was ailouros , which means “moving tail.” How apt. Because we cats are constantly moving our tails. We wave them in anger, we flick them in excitement, we hold them straight up in greeting, we sweep them slowly across the floor in contentment. Some of us even move our tails in our sleep.

All of which raises a perplexing philosophical question: Is a cat without a tail still a cat?
Discuss.

This Prince of Egypt Cared for His Pet Cat Even after Death

Miss Cuddlywumps investigates the sarcophagus of Tamyt, Prince Djehutymose’s Cat
In our modern world, it seems perfectly normal for humans to have pet cats and to look after the cats' well-being even after death. You humans inter your beloved pets in special cemeteries or keep their cremains near you in special urns. Know that when you do this, you are carrying on a practice that began in Egypt over 3,000 years ago.
The princeIn ancient Memphis (south of Giza) in the 14th century BC, there was a prince named Djehutymose (or Thutmose). As the eldest son of the pharaoh Amenhotep III (c. 1391–1353 BC), Djehutymose was designated to succeed his father as pharaoh. Unfortunately, the prince died before his father and so never became pharaoh. One of the main ways we know about Djehutymose is through the sarcophagus of his pet cat, Tamyt.

The sarcophagus of Prince Djehutymose’s cat, Tamyt. This view shows Tamyt before a table of offerings including a duck and some vegetables.A cat mummy stands behind her.Photo by Larazoni [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.The sarcophagus of the prince’s catPrince Djehutymose’s cat was interred in a small limestone sarcophagus (a stone coffin) near the end of Amenhotep III’s reign (c. 1353 BC). This seems to be about the time the prince himself died, and it is possible the cat was killed so she could accompany her human in death, but we don’t know that for sure.
This sarcophagus is inscribed with the prince’s name and titles (“Crown Prince, Overseer of the Priests of Upper and Lower Egypt, High Priest of Ptah in Memphis”). More importantly for us, the inscriptions also include Tamyt’s name (which means simply “She-Cat”). The cat is depicted on two sides of the coffin: on one side she is seated in front of a table piled with offerings that include a duck and some vegetables; a second side shows a similar scene, only now a cat mummy stands behind Tamyt.
The writings on the sarcophagus tell us how the goddesses Isis and Nephthys will protect Tamyt in the afterlife. Tamyt’s limbs “shall not be weary.” On the corners are the names of four “Sons of Horus,” who will protect her body. On the lid, Tamyt addresses the sky goddess and expresses her wish to become an imperishable star (this refers to the belief that the dead went into the sky to become stars).
The life of TamytThe evidence tells us that Tamyt was Prince Djehutymose’s pet. Why else would such care have been taken to ensure her safety and happiness in the afterlife?
We can’t say much directly about her life, and we are left to imagine that she played with her prince and provided the kind of joy and comfort only a cat can. Perhaps Tamyt brought him little “presents” of dead mice, insects, or even snakes. Perhaps she was the only creature he knew who interacted with him not as a prince but as just another human.
That’s what we imagine, and it may not be exactly true, but we hope Tamyt had a good life, and we hope she ascended into the heavens to become an imperishable star.

SourcesMalek, Jaromir. The Cat in Ancient Egypt. Rev. ed. London: British Museum Press, 2006, pp. 123–24.
Wikipedia. “Thutmose (prince).”

In 1906, These Cats Put Ornaments on a Christmas Tree

Wordless WednesdayMerry Christmas!
Cats Decorating Christmas Tree (1906). Most cats knock the ornaments off a Christmas tree, but this group is having a grand time decorating their tree.     Artist: Louis Wain (1860–1939).Detroit Publishing Co.Via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

What Kind of Cat Would Santa Claus Have? Part 2

Last Friday, I began an exploration into what kind of cat Santa Claus would have, if Santa Claus had a cat.
To recap, Santa Claus is a substantial, jolly old elf who lives at the North Pole with Mrs. Claus and a bunch of equally jolly but less-substantial elves. Clearly, not just any cat would fit in under these conditions. The cat who aspires to live with Santa should be
 Large,well insulated,intelligent, andable to get along with elves.
Additionally,
      5. He or she should not be afraid to ride in a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer.
I first chose the Norwegian Forest Cat as the perfect cat for Santa, but there is a second possibility, and that is…
The Siberian Cat  Clearly, the Siberian is a cat built for winter weather,perfect for life at the North Pole with Santa.Photo by Jan Warner [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
These prized cats of Russia would be perfect for Santa. Why? They tick all the boxes:
Siberians are certainly substantial. They are large, powerful cats and can weigh up to 26 pounds. These cats easily meet our first requirement for life with Santa.They also have a dense triple coat that is water repellent, and they have tufted paws to help them get around in snow. Plus, Siberians have a big, bushy tail they can wrap around their face to keep warm. Requirement #2? Definitely a check!The Siberian cat is known for being intelligent, sociable, and loyal. They are also athletic and playful, and love a good game. Santa better watch out, though, because all that intelligence and activity also makes the Siberian a good problem-solver, so it will be hard to hide things from her. Requirement #3? Check!Siberians are sociable cats, and are known to be patient with children. Therefore, a Siberian cat will probably do just fine around a bunch of elves. (I am using children to stand in for elves, because—surprisingly—most cat books do not mention elves at all.) That’s a check for requirement #4.Finally, these cats have been described as being “fearless and easygoing.” These traits will be another big plus in dealing with elves. And, of course, I think it would take a pretty fearless, easygoing cat to get in a flying sleigh with a very large elf who says “ho, ho, ho!” a lot. Requirement #5, check.
Siberians are known for being sociable, playful, andeasygoing. Look, this one already has her Santa haton and is ready to play with some elvesor hop on a flying sleigh!Photo © Elen | Dreamstime.com -SiberianCat In Santa Cap Photo.So don’t be surprised if you see Santa arriving with a rather large, friendly cat at his side this year. I say it’s about time.
SourcesThe Cat Fanciers’ Association, “Siberian,” http://www.cfa.org/Breeds/BreedsSthruT/Siberian.aspx
Pickeral, Tamsin. The Elegance of the Cat: An Illustrated History. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2013.

A Cat Supervises Santa in This Vintage Print

Wordless Wednesday
Kriss Kringle’s Christmas Tree An early version of Santa trims the tree while a cat supervises.Woodcut. Artist unknown.E. Ferrett & Co., Philadelphia, 1845.Via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.