But Agamemnon and the dog, a Golden Retriever named Cory (Corona Golden Sunshine-named by our children), became fast, life-long friends. I had often had two littermates at a time and they sometimes played together, sometimes not. When his testicles descended, late, he already answered to Jane, so his name was switched to James. The gray one was thought to be a female at first and was named Lady Jane Grey. The black one, because he had been a feisty kitten and was predicted to become a mighty warrior, was named Agamemnon. The gray cats were a completely different kind-different body type (longer and leaner with narrower heads) and different fur (coarser, shorter, and thicker). In every one, all but one of the kittens were black and one was gray. They came pre-supplied with names and they both answered to their names, as much as cats do that. We were used to having cats, though, so I agreed to take two of the male littermates. We were at a cat-less stage in our life, being down to one dog. “Well, Mom, you could take a couple of them.” One day I made the mistake of telling Daughter, “You have to do something. There were a few that were about 8 or 9 months old and considered unadoptable. However, the market became saturated (or something), and the number of kittens in the apartment grew alarming. Daughter and Friend to the rescue! They took in the kittens, bottle-fed them, got them neutered when they were old enough, and adopted them out through local pet stores. The Mommy Cats may have been malnourished, because they left the kittens on a doorstep nearby when they were only a few weeks old. No one seemed to be able to catch them to neuter them, so they had litter after litter. There were two feral female cats at their apartment complex. Even back then, a few years ago, she worked actively on behalf of the animals in her life. Eventually, the friend became a veterinary worker. When my daughter was in college, in the same town we lived in, she roomed with her dear friend from high school, who was-and still is-an incurable animal lover. You can also find several of Sandra’s short stories on UnTreed Reads including her new one Bananas Foster. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes two mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble. Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes-St Louis, Missouri. Use this link to purchase this book and a portion goes to help support KRL: All in all, this is a series readers will love. Ramos, diet aside, and Detective Olson are both possible romantic interests as well. The characters are well-drawn, Quincy is a delight, Chase doesn’t take silly risks and the supporting cast are keepers. There’s also a recipe for Hula Bars, made with walnuts, pineapple and coconut. Chase does develop a recipe that convinces Quincy to eat the Evil Diet Food and lose weight (included in the back of the book). Readers are privy to some of his thoughts, which mostly focus on food. Quincy is not the point-out-clues kind of cat although he does help, and nor does he talk. One who starts hanging out with Chase’s best staff member. What could be worse? An ex-boyfriend showing up, that’s what. Add to all that stress, the fact that Bar None’s two employees are at each other’s throats, there’s money missing from the cash register, boxed bar cookies have gone AWOL and her business partner, Anna, suspects Chase is the one with a hand in the till. When a second body is found (Chase didn’t get along with him either), things are looking bad. Well, that and the fact that she’d argued with Gabe and thrown him out of Bar None earlier that same day. That helps put her in the Number One Suspect spot. She almost pulls the knife out but rethinks the consequences…and is caught in the act. Unfortunately, the maker of said meatloaf is lying on the floor, stabbed to death. One of his forays pays off in terms of meatloaf. Ramos, who is a pretty nice guy otherwise, says Quincy is overweight, like fifteen pounds is too much for a cat! The outrage! Since his person, Chase, refuses to give him a decent meal and monitors the treats he gets while working in the office of the Bar None (bar cookies), he has to take nutrition into his own paws. Give him a door that isn’t quite latched and he’s outta there, always in search of the next fine dining experience. Details on how to win a copy of the book at the end of this post, along with a link to purchase the book where a portion goes to help support KRL. Janet aka Kaye George shares a fun guest post with us after the review about the real life cat who inspired the cat in the book. This week we have the first book in a fun new series–Fat Cat at Large by Janet Cantrell.
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