“I wish I could write as mysterious as cat.” So goes the widely circulated quote that has been attributed to Edgar Allan Poe. This is likely erroneous, according to the blog of the Poe Museum in Virginia, thus making its origin a mystery in itself. Regardless of who first said it, the concept has clearly caught on. The many cat mysteries available at the Lititz Public Library are a solid testimony to the mysteriousness (and cleverness) of our whiskered friends.
“The Cat Who Went Up the Creek” by Lilian Jackson Braun.
The Cat Who… Series is likely the oldest and most popular of cat mystery series. The abundance of squirrels to watch is the only positive side to being forced to go on a vacation for Qwilleran’s two Siamese cats. All seems delightful for their human columnist until a fellow vacationer—and illegal prospector—turns up dead.
“Cat Chase the Moon” by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. (Joe Grey Mystery series)
Joe Grey the cat has his paws full of mysteries to solve for both cats and humans. Not only has his kitten-daughter gone missing, but he also needs to assist the police with an investigation about a beaten woman—because humans always miss all the important details.
“Whiskers in the Dark” by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown. (Mrs. Murphy series)
A rambunctious team of two cats and a corgi (with some help from a friendly beagle apparition) play a major role in solving an 18th-century mystery that turns up in the local churchyard and two murders at a present-day beagle competition.
“The Pawful Truth” by Miranda James. (Cat in the Stacks Mystery)
A librarian (accompanied by Diesel, his faithful Maine Coon cat) enrolls in a college course and finds himself caught in the middle of an entanglement of soured romance and academic ambition gone murderous.
“How to Wash a Cat” by Rebecca M. Hale. (Cats and Curios)
A woman inherits her uncle’s antique shop that is filled with artifacts from the Gold Rush. She and her two cats investigate his death and his collection once she realizes how disconcertingly intriguing the shop is to others.
“The Cat, the Mill, and the Murder” by Leann Sweeney. (Cats in Trouble Mystery)
A long-missing woman is found living at a textile mill that was assumed to be abandoned (except for a feral cat colony), leading to a mystery that requires a cat’s help to solve.
“The Tell Tail Heart” by Cate Conte. (Cat Cafe Mystery)
Life gets chaotic on an island off the coast of New England when a famous writer is found dead in a canal and a strange woman tries to claim the protagonist’s cat as her own.
“Mission Impawsible” by Krista Davis. (Paws & Claws Mysteries)
A Jack Russell terrier and a cat help to uncover the killer when a man turns up dead in the midst of preparations for a matchmaking event in an animal-loving town.
“No Escape Claws” by Sofie Ryan. (Second Chance Cat Mystery)
The owner of a secondhand shop and her cat, Elvis, try to help a teen whose father has been found guilty and sent to prison for causing a fire that resulted in a death—the big dilemma is whether or not he is innocent.
“Booking the Crook” by Laurie Cass. (Bookmobile Cat Mystery)
A bookmobile-driving librarian’s cat gets upset and leads her to find a dead woman lying in a driveway.
Kathryn Raynor
October 10, 2019