This sixth Nick and Nora mystery is the first of the series I’ve read, and I am interested to read the earlier books. Nora Charles has been leading a busy life and trying her hand at more than one profession, seemingly with great success. In A PURR BEFORE DYING, she owns the Hot Bread restaurant, formerly her mom’s sandwich shop. Nora previously lived in Chicago as an investigative journalist. She is a newly minted Private Investigator – without any clients. Not much happens in a small town, barring the odd murder.
Nora’s friends, siblings Chantal and Remy Gillard, and her sister Lacey, are among those pleased when a drama series decides to film in their town of Cruz. Hot Bread gains the work of catering for the show’s meals and craft services. All the Days of Tomorrow is a popular show and features some former big-name movie stars. But the director recently died in a freak accident on set. Anton Forbes is the replacement director, and maybe the stress is too much for him because tempers are raised every day. This means arguments, bad feelings, delays getting started, and other confusion. Luckily, everyone loves the catering, and Nora – with her black cat Nick – is warmly welcomed.
Let me tell you about Nick. I gather he was found as a kitten behind a magic shop, by a PI who mentored Nora but has since left the scene. Nick has a large personality and not only understands what is said, but he also chips in with suggestions. Pets do talk quite well, the trick is to understand them. Maybe Nick is exaggerated, but T.C. LoTempio is clearly an author who loves cats. At times Nick is more doglike, he never bushes up his tail for instance, but he gets to play with a girl kitten, which is lovely. This isn’t a paranormal fantasy, it’s a determined amateur sleuth with her cat and the customary wish to stop a friend from going to jail when a crime is committed. Because yes, the action on set goes from bad to worse.
Nora does quite a bit of investigating and this brings her back in contact with a former college frenemy, Leroy Samms, who seems willing to overlook any awkwardness. Nora has to ask herself if she can do the same. Samms is now with the FBI. Nora has a sort-of boyfriend, but he is abroad and may not return for some time. When the cat’s away… I might feel stronger about this but I don’t know the man, and maybe he doesn’t deserve a lady like Nora. A PURR BEFORE DYING is an interesting story on many levels, with well-rounded characters and a mystery fit to be filmed.
No one’s who they seem in the thrilling new Nick and Nora Mystery, and someone’s playing the part of a clever killer . . .
When a nighttime soap opera comes to town to film an episode, no one’s more excited than Nora Charles, who’s landed the contract for catering the shoot. But if she thought the show’s plotlines were full of drama and intrigue, that’s nothing compared to what she witnesses among the cast and crew. With half of them sneaking off for secret liaisons one minute and at each other’s throats the next, it’s all a titillating behind-the-scenes look for Nora—until she stumbles across the body of the show’s slain director.
It’s not long before the local authorities finger the brother of Nora’s good friend for the evil deed, and it’s up to Nora and her sidekick Nick to get him off the hook. As she begins to sort out the cast’s romantic entanglements and professional rivalries looking for a motive, she also discovers that the victim was involved in the mysterious death of the show’s previous director. And then another member of the crew is found murdered, and Nora knows she’ll have to act fast to figure out who’s playing the part of the killer, before she’s cast in the role of the next victim . . .
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