Do you ever wonder what makes some books a fast read, and others not? This books is 324 pages long. The print is really small print. It was not a fast read. Some authors space out the book with gaps with all the dialogue. This author compacted her book's space. It was more like reading 400 plus pages.

I liked the cat, Hamlet. He gave great clues to the bookstore owner, Darla. There were a few nice twists and turns in the book, but none that really ever gave you any clues to help you determine the villain. So the villain is just revealed without much of a rhyme or reason. It still ended well.

I gave this book 3 stars, but I am not really sure if I can really recommend this book when there are so many great other cozy mysteries out there. There is another book coming out in 2012. I think I would still give the next book a try.

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It seemed to take me forever to read this book. It started a little slow, but did pick up a bit after the accident/murder. The central characters are likable and I appreciate the cat. I would give the next one in the series a chance. 3 stars

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Very ambivalent about this book. It is a long, slow read and I was never invested enough to want read past bedtime. No complaints about grammar, characters are believable, the plot was a bit basic and seemed to be secondary to setting the stage for the series. The main character has inherited Hamlet along with the shop and that shows in her lack of concern for the cat roaming the shop, apartment, and outside without anyone knowing or seeming to care how that is happening. I really had some issues about how she dealt with some employee issues, that took me out of the book and made me question if I wanted to finish reading the book, but I am glad I did.

I would recommend this book to animal loving, cozy mystery readers; I just wouldn't recommend paying full price. I going to give the series another try be reading the second book, I hope I can give number 2 more stars.

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