3 out of 4 stars
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I’m Going to Kill that Cat! by F. Della Notte is a modern-day murder mystery novel set in the church town of St. Francis de Sales in Austin, Texas. It centers on Father Melvyn and his housekeeper, Mrs. B. They grew accustomed to a quiet living. Neither predicted a dark deed to occur in such a safe and tranquil neighborhood. The pair soon find themselves thrust in a murder investigation. Determined to protect those they think are innocent, they fight against evil and greed in an attempt to help detectives solve the case.
The book opens on the day before Lent. Father Melvyn’s only concern is getting the church town prepared for the Lent season. The neighborhood is happily enjoying their meals on Fat Tuesday. However, an old feud between two women is seemingly starting to hit its breaking point. No one could’ve predicted that one of the women’s cats, named LaLa, would start a chain of events that threatens to tarnish the church’s reputation.
This book was a highly enjoyable read. It has a consistently fast pace to it, making it difficult to become bored of it. I found myself breezing through this book, especially when I got to the second half of it. I’m not usually a fan of whodunit novels. However, this book’s flow and writing style kept me intrigued all throughout. Additionally, the dialogue is very realistic and relatable. It made the characters seem like real people, which is always very important in a novel. Furthermore, Notte delved into the concept of how one may never fully know a person, no matter how close they may feel to them. This is a concept that isn’t often explored, yet is a universal truth. The author did a great job of tying all these pieces nicely through the whole story.
Despite all of its great qualities, there were still some areas of improvement. The book didn’t seem like it was thoroughly edited. It didn’t take me long to catch over ten errors. Most of these mistakes were either due to missing words or adding words that didn’t belong in the sentence. One example that occurred at the beginning of the book read, “Her thoughts turned elsewhere, and her heart skipped the in anticipation.” Another issue I had is that the characters weren’t as fleshed out as I would’ve liked. Some of their backstories felt rushed. I also felt underwhelmed with the culprit’s revelation. I would’ve preferred if the author kept its readers guessing until the end of the novel.
Overall, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The book had a nice flow and great character dialogue. Plus, it explored a concept that is not often analyzed. Additional editing and more time fleshing out some of the characters will help make this a stronger novel. I definitely recommend it to fans of mysteries, especially whodunit novels. I don’t believe it would be a good read for anyone who prefers stories with a slower pace to them.
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I'm Going to Kill that Cat
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