I downloaded this book after having read about 17 titles in the series, one after another, having become a bit attached to the characters and accustomed to a good bedtime yarn. Took a look at the reviews a nanosecond before the final step, and found it had been rather thoroughly panned, but I was willing to form my own opinion. Well, I hate to report that the review was sadly spot on. I had been skimming over some rather overt political sentiments intruding clumsily and pointlessly into the characters' dialog for a couple of titles before this one; it was annoying but didn't interfere unduly with the plot. In this title, the grandstanding pretty much took over and sapped all the life out of this fictional world. It was not remotely possible to imagine people speaking as they do in this book. It's as if the author figured that the audience has been established and now the characters can serve as sock puppets to express her political views, at the expense of plot and character development.After slogging through to the end of "Cat of the Century", I read the reviews of the next volume, which reported more of the same, and reluctantly took my final leave. Sad. And I see that I am far from alone in my objections. I listened to this book on CDs. It is about a group of alumnae of William Woods University in Missouri. The ladies are old, tough, and intelligent. They smoke, drink, and swear. Aunt Tally celebrates her 100th birthday at a fund raiser at her alma mater, to help raise funds for the school. Two of their members are overheard fighting, and one of them disappears. The ladies think that person has been up to no good. Then the other women is found murdered. They begin to worry, that someone is out to murder all the members of the board of the school. Tally is given a gift of a gold handled cane, which has a sharp sword hidden in it, which ends up saving the life of her and a friend. This is an O.K. book, but not great.
What do You think about Die Geburtstagskatze (2011)?
after many of her books and other "cat" mysteries...i think i'm burned out.
—miekeveejay
