Sunny Coolidge has problems. She lost her big city newspaper job while caring for her grumpy bad-patient dad, her car door barely opens, and she's just given up her Saturday to help the town Cat Lady hunt for a lost lottery ticket. When Sunny finds the woman dead, she soon finds herself at odds with the county sheriff, who wants to rule it an accident; her travel agency boss, who fears that the murder will hurt tourism; and the killer, who wants to end Sunny's journalistic inquiries permanently. With the help of handsome town constable Will Price, and Shadow, one of the Cat Lady's feline friends, Sunny begins to uncover more clues, the bodies begin to pile up, and Sunny soon finds that she may be the killer's next target.

THE BIG KITTY falls squarely between dark, intense thrillers and comic detective romps. The murders are handled fairly seriously, and the dangers feel very real. The overall tone, though, is somewhat light-hearted. The mastermind's henchmen are bumbling, at best, and the small-town politics and neighborhood squabbles keep things from getting too dark.

Author Claire Donally tells part of the story from Sunny's point of view and part of it from Shadow's perspective. Shadow has his own way of looking at the world, and his observations help us, the readers, make connections that the humans in the story can't quite see. His actions -- though not always deliberate -- also help protect his new family.

THE BIG KITTY was a fast and enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to reading future tales of Sunny and Shadow, solving mysteries in Maine.