While I find the series gripping, and want to ready more, I don't remember the names of the sleuths and that makes me sad. The murders are gruesome, but I enjoy spending time with the characters. (Does my love of cats make me more lenient? I think so ... )

I loved reading this book. I liked the writing style. I liked the names of the villages. My favorite part was when Tilly wore the latest in cobweb headgear. Bruiser is my favorite character.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

Made me chuckle as ever - they are lovely and simplistic reading - in a good way.

Princess Fuzzypants here:
I do enjoy cat mysteries where the kitties play pivotal roles. This series is like hitting paydirt. All the characters are cats and they live in a world similar to our own,, sort of a parallel universe. Hettie Bagshot is the owner of the 2nd Feline Detective Agency who, along with her room-mate and assistant, Tilly and an older rambling tom who settles down and makes himself useful, takes up the murder of a pillar of the community. At first, it seems impossible anyone could dislike the victim but when the post carrier who found the body is also killed, Hettie realizes there is much more than meets the eye.
I confess I twigged early as to the murderer and to the reason behind the murder but it was still an enjoyable read. Much of the enjoyment came from the detail and ambience of the world in which the story takes place. It is charming and delightful. It is mixture of Agatha Christie meets Beatrix Potter. It might sound odd but it works. I look foreword to returning for future adventures.
I give this four purrs and two paws up.

This is the second book in the Hettie Bagshot Mystery cat detective series and it is a delight. This is the perfect cozy series with all the right elements for a fun interesting read. . For all cat lover cozy fans this is our catnip!!!!
Cats that solve crimes, are fun and very entertaining. 'I love reading a cat cozy like this one where the cats actually solve the crimes and participate in the sleuth and this book has great cat/human interaction.
Hettie has great dialogue with the cats, the humor abounds throughout the story and the sleuth is very well crafted. I like the writing style and the addition in this next in series of great characters that add to the story, This 2nd in series is a hit and I look forward to the next book. The cats are a delight as they paw through clues solving the mystery and the setting of a English style village is perfect. This series has great humor. in each book. Very well done.
Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review.

Sorry, I would have read this but it was archived and withdrawn earlier than I expected. I'm currently reviewing Hallowe'en and Christmas titles.

This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

I can honestly say this is a unique take on the whole cats and cozies genre.
With cats being the feature characters and detectives it was certainly a different type of book than expected.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Imagine a world populated by cats, cats who talk, have shops and even solve mysteries.  The world of Mandy Morton’s No. 2 Feline Detective Agency is charmingly feline centric.  This unique series focuses on Hettie and Tilly, two tabbies who operate a detective agency.  When Teezle the post-cat brings news of the death of Mavis Spitforce, Hettie and Tilly realize it is time for action.  Mavis was murdered and the only lead is the story of Milky Myers, a young man who is believed to have brutally murdered his entire family many years before.  With less than a paw’s worth to go on and a large number of suspects, Hettie and Tilly have their work cut out for them.

Mandy Morton’s series is definitely one of a kind.  It is written for adults, but is easily enjoyable by mystery lovers and cat lovers of all ages.  As long as you are willing to suspend your disbelief and let yourself go with the flow, you will have fun reading this charming light mystery.

4 / 5

I received a copy of Cat Among the Pumpkins from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

When there's crime in town, it's up to The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency to pounce. Hettie Bagshot, well known for her work in the famous Furcross case, along with her partner Tilly Jenkins, is on the case, and these two will paw through the clues, scratch at all the leads, and sniff out the answers. A bit Sherlock Holmes, a tad small British hamlet from an earlier time, and lots of fur, and you've got Cat Among the Pumpkins. 

Mandy Morton's newest installment in her cat detective series (yes, the cats are the detectives, as well as the rest of the characters around town) sparkles with imagination and catnip as Hettie and Tilly search for the killer who is terrorizing their town. 

The approach of Halloween brings out the ghost stories. Marmite Sprout has written a book called Strange But True Stories, and one of those stories brings back the legend of Milky Meyers. The young son of the local milkcat, Milky was rumored to have killed his entire family in one terrible day and now he supposedly haunts the family house. 

While Hettie doesn't believe in ghosts or their stories, she does get involved when the postcat Teezle Makepeace finds Mavis Spitforce dead in her kitchen, the knife still in her back. Teezle tells Hettie that Mavis had been working on her own version of the Milky Meyers story, the true story, shortly before she died. But then Teezle disappears too, and the danger is growing. Hettie needs all the comfort of her catnip pipe to help her solve this mystery. 

Cat Among the Pumpkins is a whimsical cozy for cat lovers. It can be a little challenging to read if you're not familiar with British expressions from several decades ago, or if you have an issue with anthropomorphism. But if you've got those covered, then this is a charming mystery with enough catness to leave you purring. 



Galleys for Cat Among the Pumpkins were provided by Minotaur Books (St. Martins Press) through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

I love cozy mysteries, especially when cats are involved, however, this was an exception to the rule. Cats being the detectives just did not keep my attention. The writing was fine and it seemed to move along, but I just could not finish it.

A cat-tastically original cozy mystery.

It’s safe to say I have never read a book like this one before. In the Hettie Bagshot Mysteries, author Mandy Morton has created a cozy mystery is no humans. None. The entire cast of characters is made up of cats. I have read para-cozies, but this is more of a fantasy cozy . . . Fanta-cozy?

Once you get use to the idea that everyone is feline, and start to embrace it, CAT AMONG THE PUMPKINS is a cute mystery. In my mind while reading, I kept thinking the film studio, Dreamworks, would have a blast making this into a move.

Cat lovers with vivid imaginations will find this tale a treat. Also, the simplistic writing style makes CAT AMONG THE PUMPKINS a great read for ages as young as tweens.

The premise for the series is a bit odd- two cats solving murders. At times there is far too little compassion for the dead, ans far too much detail on food. Occasionally I have to look up the British slang to figure out what is being discussed. However, these are still some fun books. In this installment, Hettie ans Rilly are working on a case where the victims are set up like Halloween decorations. Quite odd, especially since Halloween is over, and the victims have been moved. Even worse, the murders are being blamed on a an old legend. It is amusing to read through and see how this all plays out.

Cat Among the Pumpkins by Mandy Morton is part of the Hettie Bagshot Mystery series. Hettie and Tilly are cats and run the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency. The book features only cats who live in a world just like people. I wanted to love this book. I had two problems with it. The cats were too human for me. I would have preferred that they were just cats. Second I found everything overly described. I appreciate the scenes being set up for me, but I like to use my imagination some. I think this series could be toned down a bit and would be perfect for the preteen crowd. It is a clever idea. I just did not care for it as much as I thought I might.

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the book (a rarity for me, especially as I felt an obligation to read the book after being approved for the advanced reader). The anthropomorphic cats were just too much and I couldn't get into it.

Cozy lovers who enjoy cats will love this book. It was an ok mystery but I just couldn't picture Hettie and her feline friends and their world ever existing. Rita Mae Brown's Sister Jane series has the animals that talk to each other and they are much more believable.

Despite the idiosyncratic premise, I still enjoyed this book. The feline characters are charming, and their inquisitive personalities make you want to trot right alongside them, uncovering clues. Did I have to strongly suspend my disbelief? Yes, of course. But sometimes you just need something whimsical to read, and this book satisfied that urge, at least for me.

I did not enjoy the way this book was written. It was highly confusing not knowing that the characters were cats and not humans.

Cat Among the Pumpkins has all the elements of a successful cozy mystery; however, the elements never quite gelled for me. The premise of the series is really fun - an all feline world with the quirky Hettie Bagshot running the Feline Detective Agency with the help of her friend, Tilly.
Hettie and Tilly's next big case has ghosts, mediums, legendary killers, and the Friendship Club. While I had a hard time with the story, there were several excellent moments and the mystery kept me guessing.

As others have said, this is a book about anthropomorphic cats who are detectives, not a tea-cozy mystery about a human detective with a cat.

I love cozy mysteries, whatever form they take, library, bookmobile, amateur sleuths, professors turned investigators, I'm not picky. Animals are a plus. So I really assumed this would be right up my alley, so to speak.

The writing is fine and even the dialogue and pacing move the narrative along. The part that I found really tough going were the utterly relentless puns and tongue-in-cheek cuteness. It just never stops. Towns are called Much-Purring-on-the-rug, Much-Purring-on-the-Cushion, Much-Purring-on-the-Step, etc. The shop names are full of puns. The characters names border on the criminal (a cat with an apparently neurological tremor is called Delirium Treemints and she's not the only one). Right on the very edge of unforgivable is right on the cover (and mentioned often in the book): the first book in this series (there are more of them) is called 'The No.2 Feline Detective Agency'. Virtually every single sentence contains some sort of culture/book/film reference. It gets wearing after a while.

Because the author wanted to make every character and place in the book a punny reference to other books and characters, the characters are quite difficult to keep straight Beryl & Betty, Marks & Spinkle (groooooooan - yes, this is a Marks & Spencer *wince* reference), the Indian shopkeepers are called Pakora and Rogan Dosh, their nephew is Bhaji. /banging my head on my desk. There are also references to the cats smoking catnip. If casual light drug use is a worriesome, that might be problematic.

I did finish this book for the purposes of review. The actual mystery part was honestly pretty well crafted.

Two stars (for the writing). Eye-wateringly bad puns.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.