The Tiger's Tale

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The following review is my own thoughts on the book.

"A Tiger’s Tale" is the third book of the Undercover Cat Series by Kelle Z. Riley. My first foray into the Undercover Cat series, I found this book to be a delightful cozy mystery to curl up with. I was glad to be able to treat this novel as a standalone, but I’m sure a reader would have an easier time connecting with the characters if the series was read in order.

In this book, we meet up with Bree in Thailand at the end of a mission. Matthew, Bree’s handler, takes off to go gallivanting about with a former partner leaving Bree to her own devices back home with a tiger cub and young Thai student, Ning, in tow. A contract position takes Bree from the company to teaching at the University where she manages to stumble into a murder mystery. Though Bree is described as a spy-in-training, the plotline in this novel put her closer to amateur sleuth with just a side of spy-craft.

Riley includes incredible detail throughout her novel and a few times the descriptions extend to something entirely mundane and not story related, like the oatmeal being steel-cut. However, even with the detailed descriptions, I didn’t feel as though the story was bogged down. I suspect these vivid descriptions aided her efforts to keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering if my guess as to the identity of the murderer was correct. I was thrilled to be right and even more so because Riley did such a great job weaving complex characters into her story.

My favorite characters include Sherlock, the cantankerous cat, and Grant is quickly endearing himself with his laidback surfer attitude. I felt like I learned more about him than I did other reoccurring characters (think Matthew, James, and Shoe). Sherlock’s normal cat-antics made me laugh and reminded me of my own two furry beasts.

Though I enjoyed the novel, I rate it as a solid four stars rather than five. I felt like the side-spy mission could have been left out as it didn’t add to the story. Bree continued to pursue a lead to impress her handler but that information never reached him and felt like it just fell to the wayside as the story focused on the murder. It is possible it will be addressed in a future book, but to me, it was just extraneous information for the reader to worry/ponder about while we hunted murders in a collegiate setting.

This book reminded me of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I will definitely recommend A Tiger’s Tale to friends and family that enjoy cozy mysteries and/or other Plum fans. Now I am off to seek out Riley’s other two books so I can catch up with Bree, the mysterious spy, and our handsome detective.

Alana from Dream Come Review

This story is about a tiger and Ning the international exchange student who came to the college with the tiger. Then there is the murder and these two find the body. Bree Watson is a scientist/spy who has brought them to the college. What is going on at this college? Too many strange things and possible suspects. An interesting read.

The duo Sci-spies are back with a bit more zest in their strides, making a tiger’s tale a most interesting one. A lot is happening in this book which tends to send you off the beaten path, but it no way detracts from the intrigue. Very engaging.

Bree Watson is thrown into a murder mystery when the head of a university where she has just negotiated the delivery of a tiger cub is found dead in his office covered in scratch marks.

As she starts to investigate his lurid past starts to unfold - is there anyone at the campus who didn't want him dead?

The story telling is done in an easy style which keeps you entertained throughout the length of the book and the main character is given enough background to allow you to root for her. There are plenty of sub-plots to keep you from guessing the murderer too easily and I found the narration to be very enjoyable.

My only concern was the amount of teachers who started to blend into one another after a while and I found myself having to think which was which at some points.

Overall there were plenty of elements to keep a diverse audience interested in The Tiger's Tale.

I would certainly read another title by this author

I first discovered the Undercover Cat series last year and was excited about the first installment « The Cupcake Caper », but not so much about the second one « Shaken Not Purred ». I was waiting for this third adventure to be released to see whether I’d get to feel once again the excitement from the first investigation. I must say that the introduction of a tiger from Thailand brought an exotic touch. A fun way to renew the cat component of the series. Besides, I thought it was a good idea to take Bree out of her lab and make her investigate in another context: she has a temporary teaching post in a university where she’ll uncover dark secrets.

Like in the previous installments, I enjoyed the mixture of science and sleuthing. It’s an intriguing and entertaining story. Hopefully, there’ll be a fourth episode!

I don't think I'm the ideal reader for The Tiger's Tale. The main character didn't appeal to me that much and I felt a bit disconnected from not having read the earlier books in the series. I'm not really sure why I didn't much like her, but I wasn't able to immerse myself like I usually am.

The mystery itself was okay, but I kept wondering why someone who seemed a key suspect to me kept being ignored. And I was right that that was a bad idea.

I suspect other readers will take more joy in the which guy should she choose thing than I did. I just kept feeling like she was playing with the one at least as much as she thought the other was playing with her.

Finally, if you're a reader who, like me, is jolted out of the story by copious italics, this isn't a good choice. But I'm sure more normal readers really don't notice like I do.

Overall, this book ends up on a low 3 for me. I'm sure many will disagree and rate it higher.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Curtis Brown Unlimited for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. This is the third in a series, and I think they should maybe be read in order. It took awhile for me to day h up as there is no introduction. Still a little confused why this is labeled as a romance? The plot is a little convoluted, but the story was.interesting. I loved the parts about the tiger! Bree is an interesting character, I found her very likeable! I rate this a solid 3.

As cozy mystery series go, this is one of the more entertaining and interesting ones I’ve read. With unique, intelligent and captivating storylines, and best of all, relatable characters who you find are quite easy to develop an emotional attachment to, I can’t turn the pages fast enough. As soon as I started reading this latest installment in the series, I was hooked into the plot and immediately drawn into Bree’s whirlwind life...I especially enjoy her brand of deductive reasoning, and her scientific methods of problem solving...best of all, what could easily be dry, humorless data actually is written to fascinate and add value without being boring. The author’s creation of an intelligent and empathetic heroine adds another dimension to make this one story that is unputdownable!

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Bree is such a fun character and the recipes found in the book are awesomely creative. The idea of a dessert periodic table of elements is pure genius. Oh the sweet but then there is the sour. Manipulation, chauvinism, blackmail, a diamond stud club, and a very special tiger cub. As Bree is left to her own devices by taking on a legitimate teaching assignment at the university, Matthew Tugood is doing "who knows what" with his former Russian partner. Bree keeps herself busy helping new transfer student and tiger trainer Ning to assimilate while also solving the murder of a most unscrupulous school admin while giving the thoughtful Detective James O'Neil assistance a helping hand and a smile or two. As with the last two books there are delectable recipes at the end of the story and I for one would LOVE to see the periodic table of desserts turned into a cook/recipe book for sale complete with pictures! The only sour to this sweet is the push and pull of James and Matthew over poor Bree's heart. Will she go with rugged good looks and danger of the cryptic spy or the strong handsome detective who has made his intentions crystal clear.

The Tiger's Tale by Kelle Z. Riley is the 3rd book in the Undercover Cat series, and my 2nd book by this author. Not only is this book funny, it has a great mystery, and a unique protagonist. There are twists and turns around every corner. Just when I thought I figured out the who the murderer was, more clues come to light. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love humorous cozy mysteries, you will really enjoy this book.

I was given a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

Bree is keeping herself busy assisting a new transfer student and tiger trainer, Ning. Bree is contracted to teach Chemistry at the university that she has escorted Ning from Thailand to attend. She attempts to keep an eye on Ning and the tiger cub while trying to solve the murder of the school administrator.

There are twists, turns and misdirections. A good combination of science and probing into the mystery.

This is the third in the series. Maybe read as a standalone. I feel Bree should chose the James, detective.

I read the first book of the series a while ago and since i enjoyed reading it i was happy to pick this one and see how the story of this rather funny scientist-spy-consutant detective.
This time, Bree finds herself again in the middle of a murder investigation where a tiger and his trainer are framed for murder. The murder happened on the university ground, which means there was no shortage in suspects.
The story was enjoyable and the characters were rather interesting; i felt however that the end was a bit rushed. At some points there were so many things happening, a lot of threads to follow and the final revelations felt like thrown into the story; i had to reread the passage to organize my ideas and follows the line of thoughts of Bree.
It was nonetheless a quick nice story to start the year with.