4.5 stars

Cat Got Your Killer by Sofie Ryan follows Sarah as she finds a body and must figure out who killed him. The interesting part is that it might be tied to a could be wrongful conviction from years ago. The group of older ladies and one gentleman that solves crimes with Sarah get together and try to figure out whodunit before someone else gets hurt.

This book was absolute delight. I had a great time! I thought the interpersonal issues made the story feel very real. I thought that the mystery had nice twists and turns. I was shocked when some revelations came out and the ending itself was so good. I do think you could read this book without the context of the 11 that came before it but you might miss some sweet little throwbacks that Sofie Ryan puts in. Overall I would highly recommend this book as it was a delight to read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley, and Sofie Ryan for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Grayson owns the local secondhand store in North Harbor, Maine. She lives with her cat Elvis in a house that has 3 other apartments, all filled with family and friends. And she’s dating Mac, who works at the store with her. Mac helps with repairing and upgrading the furniture while Sarah helps customers and works to keep the store stocked. Mac has also taken on a personal project of building a boat, and Sarah rented a local garage for him to build it in.

When they visit the garage one night, Sarah sees her friend Cleveland standing close to the water. As she gets closer to him, she sees what he’s staring at, a body in the water. She starts running to try to save them, but it’s too late. As she gets closer, her friend stops her, knowing it’s already too late. And he’s called for help already. The only thing they can do now is to pull the body onto the shore, as it’s getting swept out slowly by the tide.

By the time the police and ambulance show up, Sarah and Cleveland have pulled the body free of the water, but Sarah doesn’t know who he is. It’s not until the next day that Sarah learns the body they pulled out was a man named Michael Norris, who notoriously hated the water. As it turns out, when he was in college, he’d been at a party where a woman had drowned, right there at that spot.

As Sarah and her friends, a private investigative team they call Charlotte’s Angels (Charlotte is Sarah’s grandmother), decide to look into the death of Michael, which also leads them to question whether the right person went to jail for the original drowning. But the closer they get to the answers, the closer they get to a killer. Will they figure out who the killer is in time, or will the danger follow Sarah back to the shore where others have lost their lives?

Cat Got Your Killer is a cozy mystery filled with thrifting and decorating, friendship and cake, and some amateur investigating. It’s well balanced, not letting the crime take over but keeping the investigation moving forward step by step. But the best part of this series, the one who steals every scene he’s in, is clearly Elvis, the black cat who can sense lies and beg for treats with the best of them.

I am a fan of this series. It’s gentle and graceful, inviting and warming. And while there are crimes to solve, including murder, these characters emphasize self-care and kindness, making a soothing balance to the harshness of the world. Cat Got Your Killer is book 12 of the Second Chance Cat Mystery by Sofie Ryan, and these mysteries just put the cozy back in cozy mystery. These are the perfect books for readers who like gentle mysteries with a solid community of nice people. And a scene-stealing cat.

Egalleys for Cat Got Your Killer were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

North Harbor, Maine, is one of my favorite places to visit. Entering the Second Chance shop, part repurposed goods and part thrift store, is the best of any store of its kind. Those involved with the shop feel more like family than many blood kin. Sarah owns the shop, and Elvis, her sleek black cat, believes he is her right paw. Mac, the second in command, is also her boyfriend. Enjoying a cup of coffee and seeing this one-of-a-kind shop is the perfect way to spend a day.

It is outrageously, over-the-top, laugh-out-loud fun when Charlotte’s Angels, a Private Investigations firm of seniors get together with Sarah, Mac, and their friends. The women are close friends of Sarah’s grandmother since they were schoolgirls together. Sarah used to spend summers there with Gram and her friends, and she feels lucky to be part of this family of knowledgeable, hard-working, wise women. Alfred Peterson, nicknamed Mr. P or Alf, is Rose’s gentleman friend and holds the PI license in the firm. Their business office is at Second Chance. Sarah is always involved with their investigations. Rose, Charlotte, and Mr. P also work in the shop, as well as Liz’s granddaughter, Avery. They are engaging and realistically portrayed, and one’s life would be enriched to have even one person in their lives like these characters. The era is established by Elvis’s affinity for Jeopardy! He still insists on watching it on TV every evening, even after the passing of Alex Trebek.

It isn’t always giggles and grins. It is sometimes dead serious, especially considering the number of murders they have helped solve in their tourist town since Sarah bought the shop. While Elvis has been known to nap on the job, he also contributes to solving the mysteries. Sometimes it seems he actually understands what they discuss! He has a superpower that they make use of on almost every case. He is a feline lie detector, better than any machine, with 100% accuracy.

Almost fifteen years ago, a young woman drowned, believed to have been pushed by someone she was in grad school with. He has been in prison since, even though he declared his innocence. One evening, Mac and Sarah were at the garage of their friend, Memphis, while his brother Cleveland was down at the nearby beach. Cleveland is one of several “pickers” who scour the area and sell their treasures to Sarah and others. She was going to ask Cleveland to add a couple items to her “wish list”, and found him looking at a tangle of branches, a tarp, and other materials in the water. In that tangled detritus was the body of Michael, who had been at that long-ago party, now at that same stretch of beach. Michael couldn’t swim well, and would never willingly go back to that area of the beach with its bad memories.

Within days, Charlotte’s Angels were on the job, on behalf of Glenn, a friend who had an argument with Michael the day of his death. Michael had a secret about that night, and told it to Glenn that morning. What they learn, among other things, is that the man who spent 15 years in prison might be as innocent as he has stated. And the real murderer might be out and about town.

This mystery with its twists and turns kept this reader engaged throughout. I couldn’t get a solid feeling for anyone to be my top suspect, especially since I really wanted everyone in North Harbor to be innocent of murder. My feelings about the resolution were mixed. The real bad guy was caught, but I was sad to learn whodunit. This novel shows us some of the very best people of North Harbor, Maine, and that is exactly who I am looking forward to seeing on the next armchair visit, including Elvis! I highly recommend this cozy mystery and series! Each can easily be read as standalones, as there is sufficient backstory of people and events.

The Second Chance Cat Mysteries always provide in perplexing murder with an intelligent group who lead us to the villain while keeping us laughing that the friending exchanges.
This book was just pure fun to me. I really like this series and I'm always excited to read the next one.
Cat Got Your Killer by Sofie Ryan is a great addition to the series. The plot moves along nicely. I liked the setting. There is plenty of sleuthing and suspects. Some surprises along the way. Just a very entertaining cozy mystery!

I really think this series keeps getting better! There's a fairly large cast of characters and they're really hitting their stride and the different personalities are really developed. Elvis especially shone in this book with an extra helping of cat sass.

I really enjoyed the mystery in this book. Not only did a present murder seem to have ties into a past murder but a regular side character had quite a lot of development. The pacing was fantastic as well. Not only did the murder happen fairly quickly in the book but the investigation progresses reasonably quickly. I was hooked in from page one and not only did I enjoy spending time with the characters but I was caught up in the mystery.

I very much enjoyed this book and think it may be my favorite of an already favorite series.

I love visiting North Harbor, Maine and the Second Chance shop with Sarah, Elvis and Charlotte's Angels. In this 12th book of the series, the discovery of the body and the suspicious circumstances grabbed my attention in the first couple of chapters and I couldn't put it down until I reached the end.

Sarah and the Angels are soon searching for clues and following leads to make sure that a friend is removed from the suspect list. A smartly paced story with limited suspects and clever twists and turns kept me turning the pages. The strong bonds between Sarah, Rose, Charlotte, Liz, and Mr. P. are evident in their banter and conversations which caused me to laugh out loud often. I would really enjoy meeting all of them.

Cat Got Your Killer is book #12 in the Second Chance Cat Mystery series by Sofie Ryan.

It was good to catch up withSarah, Elvis, and Charlotte‘s Angels again. While I enjoy the mysteries, my favorite part of the series is the characters and their relationships. The author does a great job of creating characters I’d like to be friends with. The death of the person Sarah finds appears to be an accident at first. When it is determined to be a murder and the police are looking at a friend as a suspect, Sarah and Charlotte’s Angels are on the case. It was interesting to see if this was tied to an older murder. I couldn’t put the book down!

Sofie Ryan offers a twisty Second Chance Cat mystery Cat Got Your Killer. Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat Elvis take on the case of who killed a man at the same location where young woman drowned years before. There was some doubt that the young man who went to jail for the latter death actually did it. Sarah and her friends are sure that the initial suspect in the current death did not do it. The group of sleuths eliminate one suspect after another. Then a surprise perpetrator comes out of the woodwork and this leads to a downer ending. Enjoy this unusual plot.

Anytime I encounter the question, "What fiction book would you like to spend time in?" the first thing that comes to mind is any Second Chance Cat Mystery, and Cat Got Your Killer, the 12th book in that series, is the perfect example of what draws me into this series. As much as I adore the Magical Cats series, the relationships among Sarah's friend pulls me in even more. Sofie Ryan has almost a magical touch in creating realistic relationships and wonderful people as she builds a community and develops mysteries that make me care about the resolution. She weaves the plot of a mystery about the lives and work of the group, she fills the action with delightful banter that balances the seriousness of the crime that they investigate. The intelligence, humor, and contributions of senior members of the team are a strong reminder that people don't fade away after 50 unless they choose to, and none of our dear friends are willing to back off from getting everything from life that they can. I love that the younger generation also has dynamic lives, and a couple of the steps forward in Cat Got Your Killer had me almost shouting, "YES!" I love the guys so much.
The death that becomes the investigation for Charlotte's Angels touches us because Sarah and Cleveland find the body and are both affected by the discovery and because another of our friends is an obvious suspect.
My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this outstanding cozy mystery. I will be buying my own copy, but I had to request Cat Got Your Killer because I knew it would be great, and I couldn't wait. I was thrilled to get the ARC. Sofie Ryan, under both of her names, is one of my top authors of any genre.
#NetGalley #BerkleyPublishing #SecondChanceCatMystery #SofieRyan #CatGotYourKiller

Sarah, Elvis, and the Charlotte's Angels are back in this latest in a long running series that will also be just fine as a standalone. Sarah's pals- the Angels-hang out on the porch of her thrift store- get very involved when a body is found in the same place and killed the same way as someone was years ago. And why- because the finger is pointing at one of them! Or is it someone else they know? No spoilers but this is a classic cozy that's also fun for the personalities. I'm an Elvis the cat fan and was a bit disappointed that we didn't see more of him in this installment so here's a nudge to Ryan for the next one. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read for fans of Ryan and all who just enjoy cozies.

Sarah approaches her friend Cleveland just as he calls 911 to report a dead body. Sarah and Charlotte’s Angels are soon investigating since there is a chance the current death might be linked to a 15-year-old murder case.

The crew is now looking for clues – Sarah, Rose, Liz, Mr. P, Mac, and Charlotte – in the past and the present. And, of course, Elvis provides his expertise as their feline rescue sleuth. Sofie Ryan writes an intriguing mystery with well-developed and interesting characters in this 12th Second Chance Cat Mystery.

⭐️ 2/5
First Person POV, Single Narrative | FMC: Sarah
Linear Timeline
Mystery

Sarah is the owner of a second-hand store with a tight-knit friend group that is like family. One day when visiting friends Cleveland and Memphis, she stumbles upon a dead body with Cleveland. The story continues with members of the community trying to investigate the death as well as law enforcement, and whether the death is related to a murder that happened 15 years earlier. There is also the layer of figuring out if the person in prison for that murder 15 years ago is indeed the one who is guilty for committing the crime.

I hadn’t realized this was the 12th book in the series, and while I understand they can be read as stand-alones I do think it would be helpful for readers to have previous experience with this series. There are many characters introduced right away and if I had read previous books in the series the mini recap of information introduced in the first few chapters would’ve been appreciated. However, as a newcomer to this series I was overwhelmed by the overload of quick character profiles thrown at me. The way it was written made me feel like I was missing something, like I was being left out of insider information and that’s when I learned this was a series.
I was also not a fan of the writing style; it reminded me of someone writing in their diary. A lot of unnecessary fluff details like the very specific items in her store, or the type of meal she had on a date. There are times when lots of details and adjectives are useful and necessary to create depth in a story but I didn’t find it was executed very well in this book. I ended up skimming over all the unnecessary fluff like that and repetitive conversation between characters just to get to the relevant parts of the storyline, the murder mystery investigation. I would possibly revisit this book in the future if I read others in the series first. However, if the other books are written the same, with lots of repetitive dialogue and irrelevant details to the storyline, then I think I will have to skip this series all together.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for providing me this advanced reader copy of the book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Always a good puzzle in the Second Chance series, but the all the characters are what keeps me coming back. With the senior P.I. firm, the employees at the Second Chance store, the pickers and friends, there's enough loveable quirks to keep the story moving along and totally engaging. This time a murder at a beach raises concerns because of a murder at that same beach 15 years before. Are they connected?

I enjoy this series. I lke the setting and really enjoy all of the characters. Things progress in their lives making them interesting as one waits to see how their lives turn out. The mystery kept me guessing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series so much!

This is the 12th book in the Second Chance Cat Mystery series. When Sarah and her friend Cleveland find a body, her and the Angels are thrust into the investigation to find out what happened. It turns out the dead guy was killed at the exact same location as another death 15 years prior. Was the person that was sent to prison for that murder correct or is the real killer still on the loose. I love all the characters in this series, they are funny charming, and Elvis is the best!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a super fun, super charming cozy mystery! I’m never good at guessing what’s going to happen in stories like this so it’s fun to be surprised and try to unravel what’s going on. I can’t wait to check out more from the author!

3/5 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC
Sarah's small town is once again the scene of a mysterious death - it turns out to be a murder that's linked to one that happened many years ago.
Is the man who went to jail for that death connected to this one? Is he innocent?
Sarah's senior sleuth friends help her investigate, there's lots of talk about recycling and food, and early summer social events unfold.
I didn't get really engaged by the mystery or excited by the resolution, but these books are more like cozy little interludes with people you want to catch up with, so they're good escapism.
Recommend to fans of cozy small town contemporary mystery series.

"Cat Got Your Killer" is a cozy mystery. It's the 12th book in the series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one. This book didn't spoil any of the previous mysteries.

The main characters were generally nice people. More time was spent describing refurbishing furniture and eating food than on actual detection. Sarah and the PI detectives asked questions, mostly about the past murder. I identified whodunit for the current murder, how, and why from the first time we met that character. Whodunit for the old murder was a little less clear-cut, though the clues did point a certain way and I had that correct. However, no one suspected whodunit because Sarah made a bad assumption. I was a little annoyed with several main characters, too. For example, Mac tried to control his little brother and just couldn't understand why he (an adult) might want to make some decisions on his own.

There were only a few uses of bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this mystery, but the earlier mysteries were better.

The senior sleuths helping Sarah out make this entire series in my opinion - I love all of them, even though Sarah is supposed to be the star. This one kept me guessing until the end. LOVED it, just like all of the 11 others in this series!

We are back at second chance with Sarah and her senior sleuths. After Sarah finds a body and it looks like it might be an accident, she feels there is no way they will be dragged into the investigation. Until the police rule it a homicide and a friend becomes the number one suspect. Can the Angels find the killer before trouble finds them? As always this is a well written story with some surprising twists and turns. The characters are amazing and lovable, especially Elvis. I can't wait for the next book.