**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
The Tiger's Tale Series: Undercover Cat Series #3Published by Primedia eLaunch LLC on January 16, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Animals
Pages: 230
Format: eBook
Source: ARC
Goodreads
Is she hitting her stride? Or going nowhere fast? Fresh from a successful undercover operation, scientist/spy-in-training Bree Watson should feel on top of the world. Instead, the ground is shifting under her feet. When her handler abandons her to follow a lead with his sexy ex-partner, Bree must choose between a normal life, or proving her worth as a spy. Not an easy choice, when she factors in:? A police detective's amorous intentions? Her handler's mixed signals? A teaching post at a university filled with intrigue? A dead administrator with a sordid past? A timid tiger and her tenacious trainer-both being framed for murder combined with fanatic football fans, beatnik poets, an orphaned monkey, a demanding boss, quirky colleagues, and her angry cat, the result may be a recipe for disaster. Can she take the heat? Or will she get burned?
The Tiger’s Tale is the third book of the Undercover Cat Series by Kelle Z. Riley. My first foray into the Undercover Cat series, I found this book to be a delightful cozy mystery to curl up with. I was glad to be able to treat this novel as a standalone, but I’m sure a reader would have an easier time connecting with the characters if the series was read in order.
In The Tiger’s Tale, we meet up with Bree in Thailand at the end of a mission. Matthew, Bree’s handler, is off gallivanting about with a former partner leaving Bree to her own devices back home with a tiger cub and young Thai student, Ning, in tow. A contract position takes Bree from the company to teaching at the University where she manages to stumble into a murder mystery. Though Bree is described as a spy-in-training, the plotline in this novel put her closer to amateur sleuth with just a side of spy-craft.
Riley includes incredible detail throughout her novel and a few times the descriptions extend to something entirely mundane and not story-related, like the oatmeal being steel-cut. However, even with the detailed descriptions, I didn’t feel as though the story was bogged down. I suspect these vivid descriptions aided her efforts to keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering if my guess as to the identity of the murderer was correct. I was thrilled to be right and even more so because Riley did such a great job weaving complex characters into her story.
My favorite characters include Sherlock, the cantankerous cat, and Grant is quickly endearing himself with his laidback surfer attitude. I felt like I learned more about him than I did other reoccurring characters (think Matthew, James, and Shoe). Sherlock’s normal cat-antics made me laugh and reminded me of my own two furry beasts.
Though I enjoyed the novel, I rate it as a solid four stars rather than five. I felt like the side-spy mission could have been left out as it didn’t add to the story. Bree continued to pursue a lead to impress her handler but that information never reached him and felt like it just fell to the wayside as the story focused on the murder. It is possible it will be addressed in a future book, but to me, it was just extraneous information for the reader to worry/ponder about while we hunted murders in a collegiate setting.
This book reminded me of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I will definitely recommend A Tiger’s Tale to friends and family that enjoy cozy mysteries and/or other Plum fans. Now I am off to seek out Riley’s other two books so I can catch up with Bree, the mysterious spy, and our handsome detective.
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Tiger’s Tale
Series: The Undercover Cats Series
Author: Kelle Z. Riley
Genre: Cozy Mystery with Romantic Elements
Publisher: Curtis Brown Unlimited
Length: 230 Pages
Release Date: January 15, 2019
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Tiger’s Tale is the third book of the Undercover Cat Series by Kelle Z. Riley. My first foray into the Undercover Cat series, I found this book to be a delightful cozy mystery to curl up with. I was glad to be able to treat this novel as a standalone, but I’m sure a reader would have an easier time connecting with the characters if the series was read in order.
In The Tiger’s Tale, we meet up with Bree in Thailand at the end of a mission. Matthew, Bree’s handler, is off gallivanting about with a former partner leaving Bree to her own devices back home with a tiger cub and young Thai student, Ning, in tow. A contract position takes Bree from the company to teaching at the University where she manages to stumble into a murder mystery. Though Bree is described as a spy-in-training, the plotline in this novel put her closer to amateur sleuth with just a side of spy-craft.
Riley includes incredible detail throughout her novel and a few times the descriptions extend to something entirely mundane and not story-related, like the oatmeal being steel-cut. However, even with the detailed descriptions, I didn’t feel as though the story was bogged down. I suspect these vivid descriptions aided her efforts to keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering if my guess as to the identity of the murderer was correct. I was thrilled to be right and even more so because Riley did such a great job weaving complex characters into her story.
My favorite characters include Sherlock, the cantankerous cat, and Grant is quickly endearing himself with his laidback surfer attitude. I felt like I learned more about him than I did other reoccurring characters (think Matthew, James, and Shoe). Sherlock’s normal cat-antics made me laugh and reminded me of my own two furry beasts.
Though I enjoyed the novel, I rate it as a solid four stars rather than five. I felt like the side-spy mission could have been left out as it didn’t add to the story. Bree continued to pursue a lead to impress her handler but that information never reached him and felt like it just fell to the wayside as the story focused on the murder. It is possible it will be addressed in a future book, but to me, it was just extraneous information for the reader to worry/ponder about while we hunted murders in a collegiate setting.
This book reminded me of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I will definitely recommend A Tiger’s Tale to friends and family that enjoy cozy mysteries and/or other Plum fans. Now I am off to seek out Riley’s other two books so I can catch up with Bree, the mysterious spy, and our handsome detective.
