A cohort of crazy guests + a pair of Cranky Cats = Mystery and mayhem in Oyster Cove.

Leighann Dobbs creates another delightful cozy series to follow.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Any book with cats is a winner in my book, especially the cats in A Twist in the Tail by Leighann Dobbs. Book one in her new series, The Oyster Cove Guesthouse, is a purely delightful way of being introduced to the writings of Ms. Dobbs. Not only do we have the story told from the point of view of an amateur sleuth (Josie Waters) but also from a couple of feline sleuths (Nero-a tuxedo and Marlowe-a tortie) as well!

The story begins with Josie Waters contemplating what to feed the guests at her newly acquired Oyster Cove Guesthouse on the coast of Maine. It goes downhill from there. Only four of the five guests have made it to breakfast. And a pity since the missing guest, Charles Prescott complained the previous day about the eggs. So Josie got it right today… and he does not show up!!! The resident cats are a bit pesky this morning, trying to get her attention while she is serving the guests but…finally getting Josie’s attention – they lead Josie to a part of the inn that is under extensive renovations. And what does Josie find – you guessed it – a body. In fact, the body of her missing guest Mr. Charles Prescott. This is not going to bode well for her reputation as an innkeeper. Nor as a free woman as it looks like Josie is the prime suspect. Can the sleuthing cats, Nero and Marlowe find the evidence to exonerate Josie in time?

It was fun to read a cozy mystery with both the human and the pets as the sleuths. There were two different points of view and it was enjoyable watching these two points intersect and drive Josie to the right path.

Early on Josie described cats and her budding relationship with Nero and Marlowe – and I thought it apropos to reprise her thoughts:

“Cats are snaky and can get into anything. Couldn’t they? I wasn’t exactly sure. I’d only owned the guesthouse, and thus the cats, for a short time, and had no idea what those furry little monsters could get up to. They’d been fairly well behaved so far, but the way they stared at me-with their luminous, intelligent eyes-always made me feel like they were up to something behind my back. I didn’t have much experience with cats but Millie had assured me they made great companions. Thus far, I’d been too busy learning the ropes of running the guesthouse to spend time getting to know them.”

Meeting the group of cats was enjoyable and I appreciated how Nero described them all when first introducing them:

Poe – a solid gray cat
Stubbs – an orange stripped cat
Boots – a black cat with white paws
Harry – a large fluffy Maine Coon
Juliette – a fluffy gray cat with a white diamond on her forehead
And each cat had their own, distinct personality. For example, Stubbs said:

“Heard someone got iced up at the guesthouse,” Stubbs said. He was prone to using hard-boiled detective slang and Nero often thought that Stubbs’ owner must read too many Dashiell Hammett novels aloud.”

As with any cozy mystery, there are many potential suspects with and as both the cats and Josie wade through the list, the reader is led through a series of little adventures and twists and turns. It was a fun journey. I also am happy to report that I was stumped until the end as to whodunit. And frankly, that is the way I like my cozy mysteries!

I must say – the cover of the book is so cute! And the descriptions of what the Inn looked like and even the countryside view from the window of the Inn that are given throughout certainly were vivid…it was like I was there.

As this is the first book in the series, I cannot wait to get my hands on book two, A Whisker in the Dark, and begin reading that title!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

I love a good cozy mystery and A Twist in the Tail by Leighann Dobbs is just so much fun. I enjoyed it so much that I am already reading book 2 which is available (along with book 3) on Kindle Unlimited.

I laughed out loud so many times during this book and it was truly a joy to read. There is a light mystery with a surprising ending that I didn't have figured out, plus you get to have a cat's point of view! I loved Nero and Marlowe almost (or maybe more if we're being really honest) as much as I loved Josie, her mom, and Millie. There are so many likable characters and really only a couple that I didn't like. After all the thrillers and unlikable characters I've been reading lately, A Twist in the Tail was a nice little break that I had a lot of fun reading. It is also incredibly short at just over 200 pages so it only took a couple of hours to read which I didn't mind one bit.

If you are looking for a light, escape read that will make you laugh I highly recommend checking this one out. A Twist in the Tail is book 1 in The Oyster Cove Guesthouse series and ends on a tiny bit of a cliffhanger. Nothing major, but it definitely had me itching to read the next book right away and continue the fun of this series.

Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

My thoughts

Would I recommend it? Yes

Would I read more of this series ? yes , in fact I have books 2 and 3 to read.

Would I read more by this author? Yes, in fact I thing I've read her books before and liked them way better then this one.

For the first to a new series I'm not sure how I like it, I mean come on I know its a cozy mystery and I love them , their my go to books when I want to just get lost in a story but this one was slow form the start and i just couldn't get into it at times, because of how the main character acted.But I did like the story way better then I thought I would just not the main character. with that said I want to thank NetGalley for letting me read and review it

I liked this book for the most part. The storyline was interesting and I liked the main character. I just didn’t enjoy the when the cats narrated the story. I found it annoying. It won’t stop me though for reading the next book in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

I received this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley.com, to Bookouture, and to Leighann Dobbs for this opportunity.

Josie escaped her old life and bought a guesthouse thinking it would be a fun, stress-free adventure. It isn't quite as easy as she thought it would be with meal preparation and the inspector constantly lurking around and fining her for infractions. To make matters worse, one of her first guests is found dead in an off-limits section of the guesthouse. So now either a freak accident or a murder now weighs on her conscience. Josie goes hunting for evidence with a little help from the resident cats hoping to discover what happened that night and save the reputation of her guesthouse.

This was a light read. It had a fun nature to it but I had a really hard time getting into this book. I didn't really connect with the characters because they didn't have much depth in my opinion. When the book finally came to an end and the killer was revealed, I was like "eh." Perhaps I'll give the second book in the series a try, but we'll see. Unfortunately, this was just a mediocre read for me.

A Twist in the Tail by Leighann Dobbs is the first book in the Oyster Cove Guesthouse series. Josie is the new owner of the Oyster Cove Guesthouse. Things are not going well though as the town building inspector seems to have it out for Josie. When Josie finds a dead body in a closed off section of the guesthouse, she wonders if her new business is over as soon as it began. Now for the twist in the book - Josie is not truly the main character. The story switches from Josie to her two cats, Nero and Marlowe, who came with the guesthouse. I am undecided on this series. The human characters were less likable than the feline characters. If you are looking for a book with cat detectives, this is the one for you.

Josie Waters is trying to run a Guesthouse, but when one of the guests is found murdered she is on the short list of suspects. An enjoyable cozy mystery, and although it takes a bit to get used to the cats talking among themselves, they do help in the solving at the end. Quite a few red herrings, but that is part of the fun of a cozy mystery. Would recommend this one, and look forward to the next in the series.

First of all, A Twist in the Tail has talking cats. They don’t talk out loud to people, but they talk to each other in English. They have conversations and find clues and discuss the best way to help their not so competent humans. It caught me off-guard. I knew there were going to be cats, just didn’t realize the extent of their involvement, that they were also amateur detectives. I’ve read other Leighann Dobbs mysteries that didn’t have talking animals and I don’t think I could have been expected to know it based on the blurb. It turned out I enjoyed the book, so maybe it’s just as well I was clueless since I’m not sure if I would have picked it up had I known.

A Twist in the Tail is the first in a series, and it’s a good start. It’s fun and light-hearted but the mystery had plenty of clues for the cats to get Josie to see. Josie herself is a good character. She’s nice and in a little in over her head. And her reason for investigating makes sense – it looks like she’s the cops’ main, and possibly only, suspect.

The other characters in town are well-done too. We get nice introductions to a rival hotel owner and a local chef. We also meet Josie’s mom and her mom’s best friend and they are delightful. There’s also Josie’s high school crush/current handyman. I’m hoping he sticks around for a while.

I’m looking forward to the next in the series. It’s due out at the end of the month.

Josie buys a run-down B&B on the Maine coast, only to discover a body of one of the guests in an area of the house that was under renovation (and off-limits). Who killed him? Was it one of the guests? The owner of a neighboring motel? Her handyman? Luckily, there are 2 cats who came with the mansion, and they help to guide her to the answer.
I found the cats' perspective charming (and accurate!), but if you don't like cats that talk to one another, then you might want to skip this series. I found it interesting and look forward to reading the second installment in this series!

I really enjoy everything that Leighann Dobbs writes and I enjoyed this book. I loved that it was set in Oregon and the characters are quirky and fun. The storyline took a little while to get going but once it did it was wonderful. I look forward to future books in this series

Josie just took over Oyster Cove Guesthouse (which comes complete with two resident cats). While she's trying to get the hang over everything with her first round of guests one ends up dead.

I found this to be an enjoyable cozy mystery. The story was good and I found all the characters to be really likable. Josie has a bit of a love-hate relationship with the contractor which is cute. Josie's mother and her friend Millie, previous owner of the guesthouse, are main characters as well. They all play a role in trying to solve this murder themselves. Millie seems to be the only one who knows the cats are working on solving it too. Now, I love a good cat story but all the cat conversations and the way in which the cats try to solve the murder with the other neighborhood cats does get a bit weird.

I have read other Leighann Dobbs books that I have enjoyed more but overall this was a cute book and I will continue to read her books!

Josie Waters is in over her head. She doesn't know how to deal with the two cats that came with the mansion she purchased, let alone how to repair the place and make a nice breakfast for her guests. Things are challenging, but she's coping -- at least until one of her guests is found dead in the ballroom.

The first Oyster Cove Guesthouse book is fast paced and entertaining. The two cats play a major role in solving the mystery -- whole chapters are told from their point of view -- and it's fun to watch them try to convey their discoveries to the human they share the mansion with.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Josie escapes an abusive husband and returns home to Maine. She sinks all her life savings into a dilapidated mansion turned hotel that she is struggling to return to its former glory and to sustain the business. Her savings may not be all that is sinking when one of her guests ends up dead under highly suspicious circumstances. When the police suggest she might be the perp, she feels compelled to investigate to clear her name.
It is good that along with the building, she inherited two very savvy investigators Nero and Marlowe. The aptly named duo are cats with a group of associ-cats, including a Maine Coon. They are not only smarter than the humans, they have extra skills to help solve the mystery. Too bad humans can be so dense. It takes a great deal of effort to get them to understand and then they take all the credit. It is enough to make a kitty say “Harrumph”.
They are not even sure at first how they feel about Josie but as she starts to listen to them and realize they are great company as well as being smart, they are pleased that they adopted her.
The book alternates between Josie’s point of view and the cats. I may be biased but I rather enjoyed the cats POV more. The author has been well trained by a cat. She understands us well. It was the highlight of the book for me.
It is a good summer read, quick and light. I give it four purrs and two paws up.

I enjoyed this book with its spooky cats as important characters. Hint of romance and good plot. Looking forward to more in this series!

A fun first in series! I enjoyed the B&B setting and thought the author did a great job with incorporating the cats' thoughts and dialogue into the story. It definitely reminded me of The Cat Who series which gave me a taste of cozy mysteries so long ago. I definitely would like to read more books in this series!

Such an entertaining read. The author has a very special way of writing to hook her readers right from the start. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more in the series.

I love Leighann Dobbs other books and this one didn't disappoint. I love the characters and it is great getting to know them. I do hope to see more in the series.

Josie buys the ancient bed and breakfast from her mom's friend after her divorce and things aren't going well. The B&B is taking more money to fix up than she thought but when a body is found in the house is it a accident or murder. Josie and her feline friends are out to find out what really happened and clear her name and save the B&B.

This was an interesting choice of protagonists, (except for the one in Book Theif), Cats.
The story is lead by Josie (Human) an aspiring chef and guesthouse owner who is determined to get on her feet and make the guesthouse a success. She may need to improve on a few skills but at present, it is her cooking...and sleuthing skills since one of her guests was unceremoniously found dead at the foot of the stairs.
As nerve-wracking this maybe she has two cats ahead of her already sniffing and putting together clues that could save both her business and...the seagulls?

-The story took a few chapters before it managed to grasp my interest, I would get a lil confused the beginning when POV switched from Josie to the cats but managed to distinct later on.
-The POV was not written in middle-grade tone as I'd come to expect but in an acceptable Cat-like tone. But it grew on me as the story progressed, and I enjoyed every interaction with Marlowe and Nero (cats) with their fellow humans who always concluded they were after food than a clue,
-I'm glad the character and relationship development weren't rushed, giving me time to know the characters as themselves, also adding to the mystery since our MC wasn't cleared off as a suspect either.
-One thing bugged was the monotonous generic descriptions at times really out me off and would just skim through to the action because it was so generic I didn't require any extra input from the story itself.

<b>All in all, a surprisingly enjoyable read with human-feline detectives and a decent mystery</b>.

It seemed like everyone made an effort to find the killer in this book. Josie had her mom, Millie and childhood crush Mike on her side. The cats had their kitty gang all ready to spring into action. And in the end the main character, Josie, seemed to need all the help she could get.

There were some things that I found repetitive, particularly between the narrative of the cats and Josie. I think I would have preferred it from one perspective. The relationship between Nero and Marlowe was entertaining. Very neat to see a cat detective and a protege. I loved how well they worked together.

There was a subplot involving some pesky birds but I found that it wove nicely into the unveiling of the mystery. I rather liked the bickering between Josie and her high school rival Stella- it was just enough cat fighting for my liking.

But I won’t deny that if there was a book devoted exclusively to the cat crime fighting squad I would be all over it. As for whodunit I loved the final scenes and learning the motivations of the killer. The person that was killed had a number of people who would benefit from their demise and I enjoyed guessing along the way until the conclusion.

Would Josie be able to solve a crime entirely on her own? I think that is yet to be seen. Perhaps a sequel will convince me.