The Whole Cat and Caboodle

Publisher's Summary

Sarah Grayson is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project so far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis. The big black cat with a scar across his nose turned up at a local bar when the band was playing the King of Rock and Roll's music and hopped in Sarah's truck. Since then he's been her constant companion and the furry favorite of everyone who comes into the store.

But when Sarah's elderly friend, Maddie, is found with the body of a dead man in her garden, the kindly old lady becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Even Sarah's old high school flame, investigator Nick Elliot, seems convinced that Maddie was up to no good. So it's up to Sarah and Elvis to clear her friend's name and make sure that the real murderer doesn't get a second chance.

©2014 Darlene Ryan (P)2016 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"This tale is enjoyable from beginning to end." ( RT Book Reviews)

Mainely Wonderful

I enjoyed this quietly satisfying mystery (and the next 3 books in this engaging series) for multiple reasons.

!. Location: small coastal town in the amazing state of Maine

2. Setting: a re-purpose/thrift shop where owner Sarah and her staff & friends repair,
recycle and resell unwanted items - good business and good for the planet.

3. Main character: Sarah is a strong, independent woman; not whining over past disappointments, not waiting for a man to make her happy.

4. An eclectic cast of supporting characters, mostly over the age of 30. (I chuckled when another reviewer suggested that "boring older people" should not be featured fiction).

5. PG rated: very little cursing, violence or sexual situations. I believe many recent novels are needlessly crude and degrading; all shock value but no substance.

6. Excellent narration and a unique feline pet. Even though I am a dog person, I like how Elvis has such a distinct, sometimes humorous personality.

I would highly recommend this book and the entire series to mature, discriminating readers.

44 of 45 people found this review helpful

GIve it a chance

This was an entertaining story, good character development and with an intelligent twist. The narrator is what almost put me off. I was frustrated because the character voices were often indistinguishable and the narrator initially felt forced and a bit over-dramatic in the reading. I kept with it, though and it finally began to flow and my irritation with the narrator abated. As I listened I began to hear the nuances in the voices - I still could not independently recognize the differences in some of the character voices, but the narrator did a better job of reading the "said __" attributions so it began to develop its own rhythm and I was able to get past the irritations. I liked the writing style and character development enough that I am continuing on in the series - despite the narrator.

17 of 17 people found this review helpful

Really? The Whole cat and caboodle?

Readers, don't be frightened away by the cleverly punned title, which is almost too crazy. I wasn't going to try it but was desperate for something to listen to, so I tried the sample. Then, I bought the book. It's a good read (listen), well-written, nicely plotted, and with such fun characters that I went on to buy the other books in the series so that I could revisit them. I love the cat in the story. Thanks, Sofie Ryan, for an enjoyable listen.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

A Fun Furry Cosy Mystery

For any cat loving cosy mystery reader this is a fun treat. Elvis the cat is an unexpected addition to Sara's life and he is a lot of fun.

Sara's business Second Chance has a lovely set of well drawn characters, and her senior had me cheering them on!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Why go on?

I am sort of a sucker for ‘cat detective’ books, so I was looking forward to listening as clever cat with unfortunate name did his thing. Had no idea ‘Elvis’ the cat would be just a minor player in this uhm,..story. He would definitely have been more interesting and worth getting to know than Any of the humans presented here. Suffice to say, not worth your time for me to mention and describe any of them.
I made it to Chapt 10, by which point- except for the characters having “supper”(oy) something like 46 times- nothing has happened. Well, to be fair, an older man was killed, prob murdered; but, as I had never even MET him, I was hardly rapt by this. Oh, and the reaction of all other characters to the death? Let’s all get ‘supper’
The author is evidently aware of the Nothing that is happening, bc she fills the story abyss with enough meaningless trivia to, well, fill a book. The line that finally caused me to disconnect involved the main character, Emma? maybe, explaining, “then I replaced my purse strap onto my shoulder.” Bye. Oh, and she was departing from a supper at the time.
Note to author and all other authors: Not all cat lovers and/or devotees of cat-featuring mysteries are foodaholics. Please cease the endless meal descriptions and cookie munching. Insulting.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I'm in love with Elvis

Being a cat lover that I am I truly enjoyed this book. I fell in love with all the characters and can't wait for Sarah to realize she has not only one man but two who are interested in her. And the narration was purr..fect.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Worth it!

Compared to other works in audible.com that are series in a similar format, this one took a bit more time to establish characters and the situation.

I believe it deepens the integrity of the storyline and background. Don't expect a big grab to start; but, give it a chance (you impatient ones like me) as it's beyond worth it.

I'm off to purchase the next in the series!

11 of 13 people found this review helpful

Great Book

I enjoyed this book and I look forward to the next one. .

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

What does "Elvis" know?

I am confused. I thought this was book 1. I bought as part of a sale as first books in a series. Never the less i had read another book by this author in a different series and so i tried this book. I was not disappointed. Loved this book. The characters were great. I look forward to more in this series. i hope there is more audio books. The narrator did a great job.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Love Elvis

Fun characters and good mystery. Love the older ladies and the community. Fun summer listen.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful