“Some people might think we’re kind of strange to believe that cats can be helpful finding clues to a murder.” — Courtney
“Not long ago, I was one of those people.” — Angie
“You know what? So was I.” — Courtney
This is the third book in the Sweet Cove mystery series I’ve enjoyed, having read the first one, then skipping forward to the tenth, both of which I really enjoyed. I decided to go back to the second, and read them in order when I’m in the mood. It is the continuing story of the Roseland sisters: Angie, her twin sister, Jenna, Courtney, and Ellie. In the inaugural entry, along with their cat, Euclid, the sisters helped solve a murder in the small town of Sweet Cove, Massachusetts. It seems the sisters, like their grandmother, have a certain gift, a supernatural intuitiveness, and a connection to places and things which allow them to perceive danger, both present and past. Their cat, Euclid, also has an uncanny gift. It’s very light where the supernatural element is concerned, however, nothing dark or unpleasant, as you might extrapolate from the covers of these warm cozy mysteries.
In the second entry, Angie is waiting on the deed to the Victorian house she inherited in the first entry, and the check for $75,000 which will allow them to start renovating. Angie is moving her Sweet Dreams Bake Shop into part of the Victorian, while her sisters have been able to move in with her, to pursue their own dreams. Ellie is still reluctant to embrace or explore her gift, as the other sisters, especially Angie, has begun to. Josh Williams is back in this one, and a romance is blooming with Angie. Tom is stopping by for coffee as often as possible to see Jenna. It’s all nice and sweet, and bereft of the over the top silliness so often found on the pages of similar series.
The series, in fact, is sort of a leaned out version of this sub-genre, retaining the sweetness, and a light, bloodless, easily solved mystery. It is refreshingly bereft of the eye-rolling moments so associated with this all too often mind-numbingly frivolous sub-genre. That’s not to say there is a meaty mystery here, or meat at all. But it’s unfair to apply the standards for a conventional mystery to these things, as too many readers do, in my opinion. They’re more a nice place to visit. When they’re good, as I think this one is, they’re populated by nice people we like visiting once in a while, and there is some sort of premise — here it’s the girls’ inherited gift — which coupled with the setting, make them as enjoyable as the covers suggest.
Ellie is dealing with the Foley’s allergy to cats in her first week having the B&B open, while Courtney has been working at the Candy shop for Thaddeus Finch, a cantankerous man who soon finds a knife — or rather it finds him. Chief Martin knew the girls’ grandmother, who had a reputation for helping police as far away as Boston, so he asks the girls to help by tagging along. Yeah, it’s like that, but you have to roll with it, because as previously stated, logic and reality are not what you’re looking for in the first place, when you’re reading a series where cats have an almost sixth sense, and a light dusting of the paranormal exists.
When Victor Finch arrives, he seems to be the opposite of his grumpy brother, and it turns out he has a bit in common with the sisters. There is some nice backstory concerning the recipe book his brother has which had made him a world class confectioner. There was also a violent incident between the brothers, and some business about some very valuable paintings. Angie’s baking skills, and what gets infused in them, provide a some very funny moments between the mystery solving. Robin’s Point comes into play again in the second entry, and the girls’ find a new cat who may also have some vague magical abilities. But what about Thaddeus Finch? Who wanted him dead and why?
There is some excitement involving a car trunk, and a rescue in the nick of time at the end before everything is solved. Angie’s suspicions about attorney Jack Ford from the first book take a detour, and promises that the series will now settle in, just as Angie and her sisters are settling into the Victorian and their respective futures. It’s a nice atmosphere, not overdone, with a little romance, also not overdone. A very light mystery in a very charming setting. I enjoyed this one and I’m looking forward to tackling the third at some point. The Sweet Cove Mysteries are quick, easy reads and make a nice break from meatier books. When a book is attempting to fill a certain niche, and succeeds as well as this, it ranks high for me. As long as you know what you’re getting into, and know what not to expect, these are really pleasant and tremendously enjoyable. A nice niche filled to near perfection.