Something the Cat Dragged In - SPOILER Thread - (Professor Shandy #4) (Jan/Feb 25)

[Susan]

Welcome to our Jan/Feb 25 buddy read of Something the Cat Dragged In The fourth book in the Professor Peter Shandy series was first published in 1983.

An old codger, a tomcat, and a killer

The venerable Herbert Ungley wouldn't have been caught dead without his toupee. So when his landlady's cat dragged it into her kitchen, Betsy Lomax knew something was amiss. When she found old Ungley lying behind the Balaclavian Society clubhouse, she knew it was murder. And when the police chief called it an accident, she knew it was time to call Professor Peter Shandy, whose success at sleuthing had already surpassed his fame as father of the world-renowned rutabaga, the Balaclava Buster.

Before long, the Hercule Poirot of the turnip fields found himself knee-deep in unanswered questions: Who was Ungley's long-lost heir? Where had Ungley's shockingly large bank account come from? Why had another dead body been planted among the trees of Balaclava College? And would Professor Shandy be able to root out the killer?

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

[Jackie]

It's been long enough since I listened to this audio book that maybe I shouldn't comment, but I will say that I like the series more as it goes along.

In this one, I particularly like how Prof Shandy and the cop (whose name I have forgotten) are now working together and how the cop is more fleshed out as a character.

I'm currently listening to the next in the series The Curse of the Giant Hogweed and it's VERY different.

[Vanessa]

Carrying over from the non-spoiler thread, I liked this one more than the third one overall, but I think this one had the weaker mystery. I feel like the everyone-did-it ending would have been a bit more satisfying if they were up to something more specific. I did enjoy the various characters getting deputized. The more President Svenson the better.

[ChrisGA]

You have to be in the right mood to enjoy this zany romp. The over-the-top quirkiness and improbable happenings will either delight or annoy you. The whole clash of the titans between Twerk and Svenson with their duel of water buffalo antlers and elephant tusks was a perfect example. Amid pieces of bone flying, the policeman was wishing he'd brought his kids to watch and the journalist was barricaded behind a wall of ottomans while spouting headlines. The tiger bite was a fitting end to the battle.

i agree. President Svenson is a great character.