Murder by Death

All the angst is finally over:  Kathleen has decided on her career path and her love life.  All that's left to do now is solve murders and herd cats.

There are no heavy questions hanging over this 6th entry in the series; Kathleen and Marcus have sorted themselves out and are learning to work together.  There progress of the lack thereof is tested when a woman drops dead during a fundraising gala after eating a piece of chocolate - one of hundreds handed out randomly to the guests.  The woman had only been in town for less than 24 hours and hadn't told anyone she was coming, but it turns out she had quite a few connections to people in town and Kathleen finds herself the recipient of information not offered to the police.

The characters of this series are the big draw.  They're likeable; the kind of people you'd enjoy having in your life.  They're normal, hard-working, and kind.  The setting is small-town northern Minnesota and this one takes place in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  I sort of wish I'd known that before reading it the week before Halloween, but other than mentioning decorating a few Christmas trees, the book is not overly seasonal.

The author was canny with the mystery plot.  I get the feeling she likes to take plot formulas and twist them around; using them against themselves.  It was good; better than the average cozy.

The high point of the book was, as it always is, Owen and Hercules.  Their feline antics are slightly less magical in this book than previous, but they more than make up for it in sibling drama.  Poor Hercules and his little purple mouse - honestly I became a bit verklempt over the whole thing at the end.  Just a little.