Book Review: Murder Faux Paws by T.C. LoTempio

I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

When a local PI’s untimely death is ruled a suicide by the police, budding sleuth Nora Charles has no intention of letting sleeping dogs lie—or sleeping cats, for that matter. Certain it was a case of foul play, Nora rouses her trusty sidekick Nick and launches an investigation of her own. Then a second PI is murdered, and Nora knows the two men were on to something—and that she’s on to something too.

Following the enigmatic clues left by her late predecessors, Nora soon uncovers a plot that involves a local politician, missing campaign funds, and what could be a bogus real estate deal. But when hints of treason surface, what started as small-time thievery soon balloons into a matter of national security. With the uncanny Nick sniffing out—and spelling out—leads, Nora follows a trail that will take her to the heart of a shadowy conspiracy, and into a trap set by a conniving culprit that will have her wishing she had Nick’s nine lives. (NetGalley’s synopsis)

I have read all of the Nick and Nora mystery series and love them. However, I am now beginning to become annoyed with the main character Nora and her two human males.

Nora has proven to her FBI boyfriend and Detective Leroy Samms that she is more than capable of solving a murder case. But this doesn’t seem to stop them from omitting facts or being condescending. At this point it is obvious that Nora is also capable of keeping her mouth shut, so why they simply won’t say “hey let’s tell her why we need her to stop looking” feels very misogynistic. In their difference, however, there is Nora also being a bit of a brat. She’s follows clues and then irrevocable puts herself in danger. Once in danger, she has an epiphany of “I should have called Daniel or Samms.” It doesn’t seem like Nora ever learns her lesson. I also still don’t care very much for the love triangle, and sincerely hope this fizzles out in future novels.

The mystery itself was attention catching and interesting. It flowed smoothly and was a very quick read. It caused this reader to think (if that wasn’t obvious) and experience the events along with Nora and Nick. Nora is working on getting her PI license which is something most amateur detectives don’t do, so I did appreciate that detail. I hope with the license that other law enforcement officers will begin to take her more seriously than the current two.

Nick is still my favorite part of this whole series, and quite possibly the only being that Nora listens to. I love that he uses Scrabble tiles to communicate, and that everyone knows about it. I also love the fact that he is twenty pounds and can disappear without a trace. The fact that he reappears whenever Nora needs him is testament to have much he adores her. Everything that they say about cats in this series I have found to be true.

It seems like this novel doesn’t have the undercurrent of Nick Atkins attached to it like the previous novels do. My hope for the next novel is that Nora learns more about where Nick the cat came from, and has more postcards from Nick Atkins. It feels like this particular mystery has strayed away, and I would like to see it come to the forefront of one of the investigations.

Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.