Petectives: Stalking Horse

The new Petectives ebook is now available for pre-order!

petectives 4 cover

Check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/Petectives-Stalking-Robert-J-Smith-ebook/dp/B01KBDU36Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1471114704&sr=1-1

 

Petectives: Stalking Horse: The latest Yoshi & Gatsby novella. When cat detective Gatsby is called out to the Blue Moon horse farm to investigate a possible murder attempt on an ex-racehorse, he finds that the farm is a hotbed of new rivalries and old grudges. With no help from his housebound partner Yoshi, Gatsby finds himself out of his element and in the line of fire. For the first time in Petectives history, Gatsby’s on his own and can’t rely on Yoshi to unravel a deadly mystery. Or can he?

 

 

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Coming Cat-tractions!

Here’s the cover for the next Petectives book! Please let me know what you think of it.

(If you’d like to be alerted when the book is released, please sign up here: http://eepurl.com/b6iHCf)

petectives 4 cover

 

And here’s an alternate cover that my daughter whipped up:

 

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Cat Interview!

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Cat detectives Yoshi and Gatsby were recently interviewed by Rocco the Tuxedo Cat from the “Cats, Books and … More Cats!” blog. If you’ve ever wanted to see two cats interviewed by another cat, check it out:
http://catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com/2015/01/rocco-interviews-petectives-yoshi-and.html

This actually wasn’t the boys first interview. Last year they sat down with Truffles the Tortie blogger over at Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries and Meows:
http://www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com/2014/02/truffles-interviewsyoshi-gatsby-from.html

Book reviews with Yoshi the Cat

yoshi reading
Hello people! Yoshi here with another cat-related book review. Today we take a look at “Somerset the Cat’s Belgrade Mysteries: The Case of old Mrs Popovich.” http://www.amazon.com/Somerset-Cats-Belgrade-Mysteries-Popovic-ebook/dp/B008ZNQU80/ref=asap_B00QJW4R8E?ie=UTF8. Before I get into the book review I should mention that I happen to be a strictly indoor cat. I’ve seen Michigan and Ohio and that’s all I’m ever likely to see, so I do most of my travelling through reading. I love visiting modern day Botswana in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency books or Victorian London in a Sherlock Holmes story so a book that takes me to Belgrade, Yugoslavia is a treat. And Belgrade is prominently featured in this tale of a cat who decides to investigate a murder. Somerset the cat is an overweight orange cat whose person has decided that he needs to go on a diet (Sidenote: Is there some kind of stereotype about food obsessed, obese orange cats? The previous book I reviewed featured a sausage crazed ginger cat and then of course, there’s Garfield. As a black cat, I consider myself sensitive to cat related tropes but I’ve never heard of this one. The only orange cat I know certainly doesn’t fit this stereotype. My partner Gatsby is lean, fast moving and only eats enough to keep him going.) Anyway Somerset comes across a human crime and decides to investigate. As a fellow feline detective, I have to say that Somerset’s investigative technique was flawless.

The Case of Old Mrs. Popovich

The Case of Old Mrs. Popovich

Somerset’s second adventure is titled The Vagabond. http://www.amazon.com/Somerset-Cats-Belgrade-Mysteries-Vagabond-ebook/dp/B00PKN85YK/ref=asap_B00QJW4R8E?ie=UTF8 In this one Somerset’s owner places him on a strict diet and the only relief he gets is the food given to him by a local vagrant. When Somerset finds the man murdered, he sets out to find the killer. This is a longer tale than the first adventure and goes a bit deeper into the local flavor of Belgrade while also exploring Somerset’s relationship with his owner. There’s also a well done action sequence towards the end of the story.

The Vagabond

The Vagabond

These stories aren’t so much mysteries as they’re cat detective procedurals as we follow Somerset investigating human crimes in ways that only a cat could. Both books get my recommendation.

Book Reviews with Yoshi Cat

yoshi reading

Ginger the Buddha Cat
ginger 2

Hello people! Yoshi here with another cat-related book review. Today we take a look at Ginger the Buddha Cat (http://www.amazon.com/Ginger-Buddha-Cat-Frank-Kusy-ebook/dp/B00BK7TZ94/), the sequel to a book that I previously reviewed, Ginger the Gangster Cat. The book follows the adventures of an overweight, amoral, cockney speaking tabby cat in England. In the first book Ginger and his sidekick Sparky went through a series of adventures as Ginger planned and executed a daring sausage heist. This time he’s interested in something deeper: spiritual enlightenment. A series of dreams has Ginger contemplating his mortality and struggling to figure out how to make up for the sins of his past lives. This may not sound particularly hilarious but this incredibly self-involved feline straining against his nature to become selfless makes for a fun read. The first book was a bit more entertaining but this books concentration on spiritual themes naturally makes it less funny than its predecessor’s story of a cat plotting to rob a sausage truck. However the purpose of reading fiction is not only to be entertained but to learn and the story shows a lot about Buddhism without ever forsaking entertainment for preachiness. Recommended for those seeking entertaining and enlightening cat literature.

Book Reviews with Yoshi the Cat

yoshi reading

Hello people! Yoshi here with a review of a cat-related book.

ginger

This week we’re looking at Ginger the Gangster Cat by Frank Kusy. We decided to buy this Kindle e book based on nothing more than the picture of the tough cat on the cover and it was worth it. Ginger is an amoral orange cat with a thick cockney accent who scams his way into the home of a Brit couple and their adorable yet wimpy kitten, Sparky. From there the book launches into a series of episodes about Ginger and Sparky’s misadventures. The book was just about as funny as the cover. Urban cat tales were mixed with stories of exotic past lives until the two themes blended at the end. Ginger’s personality of a rough hewn cat with a deeply buried heart of gold played well against the naïve but intelligent Sparky. As a fellow feline, I can’t say that I endorse any of the tactics that Ginger employs to get what he wants but if you’re looking for an entertaining read I highly recommend this book.

Coming soon:

The latest book in the Petectives series:

Petectives: Under Fire – It’s the 4th of July and the Petectives are feeling the heat! In the midst of a sweltering heat wave, feline detectives Yoshi and Gatsby get word that an old enemy is back and running a protection racket in their neighborhood. When an attack lands Gatsby’s girlfriend in the veterinary hospital, he gets hot under the collar but it may take Yoshi’s cool logic to shut down a gang of animal criminals and clear a dog from a horrible accusation. The Petectives are back and there’s going to be fireworks!

Petectives is free today!

Free feline fiction for Labor Day! If you have a Kindle or the Kindle app and you’re in the mood for some cat literature please click on the link at the right and check out “Petectives”.

Book description:
PECTECTIVES
It’s almost Halloween and cat detectives Yoshi and Gatsby are up to their collars in mystery in this humorous whodunnit for pet lovers. When Gatsby and Yoshi decide to help a pretty young cat find her missing brother, what starts as a routine missing pet investigation soon pits them against both a gang of vicious criminal pit bulls as well as the neighborhood dog police, who are looking into rumors of dogfights. While Gatsby’s up to his whiskers in danger and romance, Yoshi’s putting together the pieces of a puzzle that could rock their community. Can the boys find a missing cat and shut down a dogfighting operation while staying two steps ahead of the local dog police? It’s all in a night’s work for the Petectives!
An 18,000 word mystery novella.