Buy a Whisker - Sofie Ryan
Having discovered the animal detective subgenre with my last Alphabet Soup book, I found this one for my next letter. However, this book is so different to the last that it shows how far a single genre can stretch.
Instead of being told from the animal's perspective, Buy a Whisker is told from the perspective of the animal's owner, in this case Sarah Grayson, who runs a second-hand/repurposed items store in a little town in Maine. The animal in question is a cat named Elvis, whom Sarah has learned (somehow - this, like the last book I read, happens to be the second in a series for which the first was already on loan) can detect someone telling lies. Elvis will curl up on the lap of someone, and if they are lying will give some sort of visible cue. If that sounds a little vague, it is because in this particular book in the series, Elvis detects no liars - all people are telling the truth to Sarah when Elvis is in place.
So, Elvis is slightly magical! He is also an incredibly wise cat, seeming to understand all that humans say to him, and at times Sarah assumes her cat will do things based on her commands in a way that a regular pet owner might vocalise, but would not expect the pet to actually follow through on. Elvis, of course, shows his understanding by actually following through on the command.
Magical cat aside, Buy a Whisker also has a unique set of sleuths - a trio of elderly women (and the elderly boyfriend of one) who volunteer for Sarah and who enjoy getting involved in something interesting. In this case, they are trying to solve the murder of a local bakery owner who has been found dead in the bakery by Sarah.
The first chapter is a little bit too exposition-heavy, introducing us to so many characters that it took me a while to get my head around each of them. This is a bit of a problem, as many of them have less to do with the mystery itself and more to do with Sarah's personal life, meaning that for much of the book the information about them is fairly irrelevant to the plot. If you were a fan of the series, however, I imagine these background characters would have ongoing plot arcs that you could follow - Sarah herself does seem to have a potential love triangle developing that is only vaguely explored in this book, but that could definitely be developed down the road.
The focus on random background characters and details of Sarah's life continues throughout the book, but finds a better balance. Although it is still a bit odd/irrelevant to get occasional mentions about other denizens of the town that don't seem to matter to the plot, it does flesh out Sarah's life in this little town, and to be fair, that seems to be the main focus of what author Ryan wants to talk about. And it mostly works. Despite being a murder mystery, Buy a Whisker is a warm-hearted look at a group of friends and neighbours living in a small town, and particularly at the staff of a second-hand/repurposed items store. The mystery is a main focus, but perhaps not the main focus.
And that's ok.
An interesting read, and a series that I could revisit at some point in the future to catch up with Sarah and her world again.
Completed 12 March 2022.
(Alphabet Soup Books)
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