Uncle Oscar has suddenly died and his niece finds she and her two cats, Isabella and Rupert, have inherited his antiques shop, the Green Vase. Located in the historic Jackson Square area of San Francisco, it is more like a museum than an actual shop due to Oscar's interest and knowledge of the Gold Rush era.

While getting to better know the shop, she also meets the odd assortment of neighbouring shop owners. Some are very friendly and others not so, but all seem exceptionally interested in the shop and what secrets it may hold. There are numerous clues that seem to be hidden for her to find that may help solve the secret and the possible sudden death of her uncle.

Keys, cuff links, jewellery and architectural ornamentation in the form of tulips abound and seem to share some sort of relationship and are part of the clues. There is also a system of tunnels dating back from the early days of San Francisco.

Dollops of history along with a cozy plot keep the story moving. The cats are not the only characters in the story, either. ( )

Despite some intriguing premises, this mystery seems to miss the mark.

The plot flailed. There was too much going on, and it did not, in the end, come together in a coherent way that made sense of the previous events.

Like most "cozy" mysteries, this one had a full cast of eccentric characters. I wish they had been more coherently depicted.

And the cats. Sigh. I read this because of the cats. These cats, while at least they do not speak English, are all to anthropomorphic- tiny humans in fuzzy coats as much or more than they are CATS. I mean- cats WANTING to model JEWELRY on a RUNWAY??!! REALLY??!! Not only is that unrealistic, it is arguably insane.

Not to mention someone able to identify real diamonds at a glance, when it normally takes very high magnification and various tests to tell the difference between the real thing and fakes.

I will add that washing cats was in no way intrinsic to the plot.

I wish Hale had done a better job at exploring an intriguing premise. As it is, I will not be reading more of the series. ( )

Whether it's the first book from the author, or the first in the series, a seasoned reader can always tell. This, unfortunately, is both. The characters are gratingly eccentric. Not just one, not just two, but many of them are virtually caricatures of people. Their eccentricities do not make them endearing, either. I found myself putting the book down numerous times because one of the main players was so irritating that I could no longer take it.

The mystery was okay, but the San Francisco tunnels, gold rush history, paintings, disguises and ever present tulips were very, very, very overdone, leaving me flat as a pane of glass at the end.

I had to force myself to finish it, would not have if it had been much longer, and will more than likely not read another until I have had time to forgive Hale for this waste of my precious reading time.

Not recommended. ( )

How to Wash a Cat by Rebecca M Hale is the first of the Cats and Curios series. It's set in and around Jackson Square, San Francisco, California. The setting and it's emphasis on San Francisco history seem to be two details that either make it or break it for readers. Let me be up front and say, I LOVED THE BOOK.

Now before I go into the review itself, you should know a few things about me. I am the daughter of an antique dealer. I grew up in a home very much like the Green Vase (including the occasional packing crate and odd home repair job). I have two cats. I live within sight of San Francisco. I used to work within walking distance of The Palace Hotel (discussed heavily in this book). My father had a friend who was called to building sites to appraise the junk dug up (usually glassware) for its historical value. So right off the bat, I share many connections with the unnamed female protagonist whose cats happen to resemble heavily the authors own cats.

Some negative reviews I read point to the protagonist's missing name. Frankly, I didn't notice. I was having too much fun exploring the tunnels with her to care what her name might be. So often now in mysteries, the protagonist is given an idiotic name — I figure no name is a step up.

Although Uncle Oscar's death (maybe by stroke, maybe not) should be the start of a whodunit type murder mystery, it really isn't. Even when the modern day criminal is caught, Oscar's death is left hanging. The author leaves open the possibility that Oscar might be faking his death and all his tulip wearing friends might be in league with him. In this regard, Oscar is this series's Robin Masters (who in Magnum PI originally was a separate character but quickly morphed into an aspect of Jonathan Quayle Higgins).

No — the real meat of the mystery was a historical one — set in the post Gold Rush days of the City. The two main characters are historical figures: William Alexander Leidesdorff and William Chapman Ralston. Their rivalry and their deaths have been spruced up a bit for dramatic license but their roles in building the city remain close enough to fact to either be fascinating (for SF history buffs, like me) or boring (for anyone not interested in SF history). The rest of the mystery is wrapped up on some diamonds, some historical cats, and a tunnel spreading from Jackson square, along the edge of the financial district and to the edge of SoMa (South of Market). While there are dozens of tunnels (and some are in fact abandoned), the tunnel in this book is most likely completely fiction.

Again, though, it doesn't matter. It was fun to believe there was a tunnel. Who doesn't want to discover a secret passageway? Apparently, though, not many reviewers. Our heroine, while afraid of some things, isn't afraid of tunnels. I'm not either. Like her, I'd be down there with a flash light (and my camera) to see where it went. Unlike her, though, I'd also be wearing a hard hat (just in case).

I definitely plan to continue with the series. ( )

One star for history/mystery, one star for antiques, one star for cats but I'm probably being a little generous. The book is very uneven. The history is great if you like history mysteries and the cats are pretty good, too. The humans in the book not so much. They were pretty much all cartoon characters. ( )