Weekly Mews: Bookish Mewsings on Hammers and Homicide & Vol. 1-3 of The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again, Today

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

I was the first to wake up Saturday morning and curled up on the couch to do a little reading. Our next door neighbor was out fixing the fence, I noticed. His two dogs have slipped into our backyard a few times in the last couple of weeks, getting in through broken boards. I guess they won't be going on any more fieldtrips soon. It wasn't long after that when the rain began to fall. It came down steadily most of the day. Tonight we went to see the city's children's theater production of Finding Nemo, Jr. The kids put on a great show. We are gearing up for the Girl Scout Cookie season, which officially starts next weekend here. Busy times ahead. What are you up to this weekend? Do you have any plans for the week?

This past week I finished reading Hammers and Homicide by Paula Charles and the second and third volumes of The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again, Today by Hitsuzi Yamada. See below for my thoughts on all three. 

I am close to finishing The Witch With No Name (The Hollows #13) by Kim Harrison. I just started reading Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, which I can already tell I am going to like. I decided to go ahead and start another audiobook and settled on Isabel Allende's The Japanese Lover, a dual time line novel set in present day and during the Second World War. It was one of the many audiobooks I ordered when I had an Audible membership years ago. I have only read one other book by Isabel Allende and admit I didn't like it much at all, but I am enjoying this one quite a bit. 

Have you read any of these books? What are you reading right now? 

Kicking aside a jumble of tomato cages and terra-cotta pots, I searched for a pair of gardening gloves heavy enough to tangle with the invasive milk thistle threatening to take over my herb garden. ~ Opening of Hammers and Homicide

Hammers and Homicide (Hometown Hardware Mystery #1) by Paula Charles

Crooked Lane Books, 2024

Mystery/Suspense/Cozy; 288 pgs

Source: Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own. 

I was definitely ready for something on the lighter side after finishing The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan, and Hammers and Homicide proved to be a great choice. Only in a cozy mystery would a book involving a murder be considered light. 

What drew me to this book was the older protagonist, Dawna Carpenter, a recent widow who runs her own hardware store. It's just like any other work day for Dawna until she finds a body in the shared bathroom between her store and the boutique next door. The victim turns out to be a land developer who was in town to buy the town's old theater and turn it into a hotel. The victim had made quite a few enemies in the short time he had been there. When a long time friend of Dawna's is arrested for the murder, Dawna doubles her efforts to find out what really happened, not believing her friend could have committed the crime. With the help of her daughter, there's nothing stopping Dawna, even when danger strikes even closer to home. 

Dawna isn't the most graceful person, nor is she a good cook, but she is a good neighbor and friend. Her daughter April recently moved back to town to work and keep an eye on her mom. I enjoyed the mother/daughter relationship Dawna and April share, with their gentle ribbing and the way they look out for each other. There's a hint of romance between the sheriff and April, perhaps something to look forward to in future books. I did find the tell for who the killer upon first meeting too obvious, but there were still unexpected moments in the book. Hammers and Homicide was funny and entertaining. There's even a paranormal element I hadn't been expecting!

Does Hammers and Homicide sound like something you would like? Have you read it? If so, what did you think?

My 2023 reading ended with the first volume of The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again, Today by Hitsuzi Yamada, and this month I read the second and third volumes. I couldn't resist giving this series a try with a title like that. This is a cute series about Saku and her rather extraordinary cat, Yukichi. Yukichi is unusual not just in his human-like size, but in behaviors too. He walks on two legs, keeps the house spotless, cooks the most delicious meals, and does all the grocery shopping among other things. 

In these three volumes, the reader gets to see what life is like for Saku and Yukichi. Saku took Yukichi in when he was a small kitten. She took better care of him than she ever did of herself. She works such long hours and barely has time for anything else. Yukichi noticed this from early on and took it upon himself to grow stronger to make sure her needs were also being met. 

This series is full of humor and is even silly a lot of the time, but that is part of its charm. The scenes with Saku and her coworkers, as they speculate about the perfect lunches she brings to work each day, about her marriage prospects, and her life in general are amusing. Everyone knows Saku has a cat, but his skills and size are big secrets. I loved the scenes when Yukichi is the grocery store and how others react to him. Even at the birthday party of Saku's boss's niece, most people assume Yukichi is wearing a cat suit.  

In the first volume, I worried that at times Saku took Yukichi for granted, including all the things he does for her, but after reading the second and third volumes, I no longer feel that way. In the second volume, Saku steps in to protect Yukichi in a worrisome moment, for example, and, in volume three, the separation anxiety the two feel while Saku is away on a work retreat is very touching. It's obvious the two share a special bond.

There are a couple of hints at possible romance threads that may or may not become things in future volumes. I do wish the author hadn't made weight an issue in two of the books, but given how small those scenes were, I can look past them. Overall, I am enjoying this manga series. I think my tastes run for a little more conflict and danger than this series offers, but I do want to continue with it and see what Saku and Yukichi get up to next. 

from my copy of The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again, Today Vol. 2 

(reads right to left)

Have you read this series? If so, what did you think? Does it sound like something you would like? 

New to my shelves:

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Ghost Roast by Shawnee Gibbs, Shawnelle Gibbs, and Emily Cannon

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? What new books made it onto your shelf recently? 

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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