The Cat, the Professor and the Poison

Jillian Hart has finally settled into small town life. Her quilting business has taken off and doting on her three cats keeps Jillian busy. That doesn't stop her from wanting to help solve the mystery of a missing milk cow from a neighbor's farm. While lending a hand with the missing cow, Jillian's neighbor mentions that there have been more feral cats than normal showing up at her barn lately and one of them appears to have recently had kittens. Unable to resist helping a cat in trouble, Jillian follows the momma cat in an attempt to find and rescue both the mother and her babies. Little did she suspect that she'd be lead to an even bigger mystery to solve: 50 stray cats and a dead body.

The Cat, the Professor and the Poison is the show more second book in the Cats in Trouble series by Leann Sweeney. Jillian has quite a sense for when cats are in trouble and it never fails to lead to something big. The little town of Mercy oozes Southern charm and the characters are as quirky as ever. This time we're also introduced to Jillian's step-daughter Kara. Kara starts off as a big city girl with a bit of attitude. Gradually Jillian and Mercy's residents win Kara over. She's even able to help with the case! The mystery itself is a fun one. Based on the title, it should be fairly obvious - a professor has been poisoned. But why? What was his teaching specialty and what was he researching? I like how Jillian and Deputy Candice work together to put all the puzzle pieces together.

I am loving this cozy mystery series. They are quick, fun reads. I think I may have found myself a new comfort read series. show less

Probably 4.5 stars, but this book is very close to my ideal cozy mystery!Amateur sleuth? Check. Jillian, the main character is interesting in and of herself. She's got a good back-story, and is living a quiet life that allows here the flexibility to follow up on cats in trouble when she finds them.Supporting characters? Check. They were great this time around. OK, Tom might be a little too perfect in his role as love interest (smart, tech savvy, tough, emotionally aware, good looking... yum!), but beyond that... I like that Jill's link to the Police Department is her good friend Candace, lending some girl power to the sleuthing. And Kara, with her link to Jill's past, lent a nice bit of depth to the relationships here.Bad Guys? Yep. show more There were kinda-bad guys, and really-bad guys, and it was hard to tell one from the other until the end. My one real issue with this book was the attempt to, in the end, redeem a really-bad guy into the kinda-bad camp. Sorry, his actions leave him firmly where he was for me.Mystery? Yes! Clues were left and followed up on, and the final result and the track taken to get there all made sense. It was a little lightweight, as is to be expected from a cozy, but I don't see that as a problem.Hook? Yes, the cats are the cute hook that gives this series that something extra that cozies usually have. There were cats everywhere, wonderful pets, brand new kittens, kitties needing rescuing. There are smart cats, but not overly so-- no cats knocking books off the shelf to spell the name of the murderer.I'm really looking forward to reading the next book,and spending more time with all these characters-- particularly the cats. show less

I am loving this series and I felt this second book was even better than the first. I love how Leann Sweeney is bringing in both cat and quilting facts into the storyline and doing it flawlessly. The story is told in the first person. Jillian finds at least 50 mistreated cats. Now while this is not a pleasant subject, Leann presents it without too much ugliness. The cats were found at the home of a professor who is later found dead. His family arrives into town, consisting of his ex-wife, her boyfriend and 2 sons. When Jillian is attacked in her own home, her best friend policewoman Candace comes and lives with Jillian to protect her. Kara, Jillian's stepdaughter, also shows up unexpectedly. The two have not spoken since Jillian's show more husband's death. The main plot is figuring out the killer, but I also like the introduction of Kara to Jillian's life and of course, Tom who wants to be closer to Jillian than just a friend show less

This second installment in the Cats in Trouble mystery series is sure to delight mystery and cat lovers alike. In this tale, Jillian discovers dozens of caged cats on what looks like an abandoned farm. But then she stumbles over a dead body, and now she is enmeshed in a mystery involving not only the cats but also her friends and stepdaughter as Jillian is targeted by the killer. Will she uncover the truth in time to save herself and her own cats? This is one tale that will keep you turning pages until you know the fate of all the kitties. With likable, believable characters, interesting subplots, and an intriguing mystery, this tale is pure cover-to-cover pleasure.

The Cat, the Professor, and the Poison is the second book in the Cats in Trouble Series. In this mystery, Jillian Hart follows a stray cat to a farm where she observes a man feeding a large number of cats. Within an hour, the man is dead from poisoning and most of the cats are missing. Jillian once again begins to investigate.

As in the first book, this book contains some wonderful characters (such as Belle) and some lovely cat moments (such as Chablis' guarding kittens). The story flows nicely and the ending was a surprise again.

But there was something missing. I personally did not like the "animal activists" being used as a suspect -- it was too easy. I also would have liked more cat involvement -- it was like the cats were a part of show more the scenery and not the story. And I found it amusing to think that Chablis who was allergic to people's dandruff in book one was not allergic in book two (or alternatively, no one had dandruff).

Overall, it was still a fine bit of 'comfort' reading for me and provided me with a few hours of entertainment. show less

The second book in the Cats in Trouble series. Jillian is drawn into another murder mystery when stray cats show up at a friend's house, and lead her to a farm where they're obviously being used in some kind of cat food experiment.

I adored the first in the series, and this book provides so many great cat moments and fun cat facts that it was just as enjoyable. Actually, there could have been a few more great cat moments, but I'm just greedy. I didn't enjoy the introduction of her step-daughter, but she eventually came around, so I have confidence that she won't be so annoying in the next book.

This cozy series is a must for cozy + cat fans.

In this second book in the Cats in Trouble series, widowed Jillian Hart once again stumbles across a mystery when she goes with her friend Deputy Candace Carlson out to investigate the report of a stolen cow. This leads her to a farm where about fifty cats are being kept in very inhumane conditions, and the discovery of a dead body in the farmhouse.

Jillian gets involved in the rescue of the cats, even taking home one mother cat and her four kittens. Meanwhile, her difficult, former journalist step-daughter, Kara, arrives for a visit that really seems more like she is moving in for an extended stay. When Jillian starts investigating the murder of the kooky professor, she gets attacked in her own home. This only fuels her desire to show more figure out who did it.

This was another quirky, humor-filled mystery with lots of plot twists by Leann Sweeney. There was once again a lot of cats and strange, snarky characters. In fact, I liked the mystery, but I am not too fond of the supporting characters. All the cat trivia was interesting also. show less