Cattarina is a Tortie. That in itself makes her a special cat. But, she is also Edgar Allan Poe's cat, which makes her even more special. The Catterina Mysteries series is about how Edgar's kitty solves some mysteries while acting as her companion's feline muse. To the River is a prequel to the series, telling the tale of Catterina's kittenhood behind a shop and her chance meeting with Poe.

I started reading book one of the Catterina series before I realized there was a prequel. I put book one (The Tell-Tail Heart) on hold for just a bit, in order to read this story.

I am a huge Poe fan. Even after more than 170 years his stories still chill the blood of readers, and his genius is still completely apparent. So far, I really like the Cattarina series. Behind every good and creative man is a great cat, of course (ha ha!), and the idea of his kitty helping him find story ideas is just such a creative premise for a book series.

The stories are told from the cat's point of view. I have read other books that tried this type of point of view and failed, but Monica Shaughnessy pulls it off. Catterina is wise and street savvy, plus she loves her companion....her Eddy.

I'm glad I paused my reading of book one long enough to read this prequel. It gave some insight into the characters, and set the scene a bit more for book one.

The cover art is awesome, featuring a Tortie with bewitching amber eyes below a scene of Old London. Just beautiful!

Any cat lover who also enjoys Poe's writing will like this series! :) ( )

Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe had a cat and he called her Cattarina? This is a prequel to the Cattarina Mystery series. It takes us back to before she became Cattarina in Philadelphia in 1838. The story is told through little Cattarina’s eyes. Auntie Sass was one of the first cats she came to know. Her mother and the rest of the litter did not make it. Auntie Sass kind of took her under her ‘paw’ and insisted that cats that make it on their own are ‘real’ cats; not like the cats that are taken care of and become lazy. So Auntie Sass teaches her to hunt and names her QuickPaws because she does so well at hunting.

They stay in the alley in back of Osgood’s Odds Goods store. Auntie Sass refers to the owners as He Devil and She Devil, but actually the reader begins to see that they are very nice people. By QuickPaws description, Mrs. Osgood is pregnant. It’s sad that when Mr. Osgood takes his wife to deliver their baby, something goes terribly wrong. Mrs. Osgood doesn’t return.

QuickPaws begins to love the man and goes inside sometimes. This upsets Auntie Sass, so QuickPaws decides to leave. It is on her little journey that she goes under the Schuylkill Bridge and discovers Edgar Allen Poe close by. He talks to her; she’s affectionate; he takes her home. It’s a very short story and the basic beginning of a very cute and creative mystery series that I intend to continue reading. For being such a short read, the character development is effectively done. I rated To the River at 3.5 out of 5. ( )