Beginning ~ with a late-night knock on the door

The Cat, the Vagabond, and the Victim ~ by Leann Sweeney, 2014, mystery (South Carolina)

Visitors don't often knock on my front door at eleven o'clock at night.  But my friend Allison Cuddahee from the local no-kill shelter had called me in a panic to ask a favor.  She arrived thirty minutes later bearing a gift.

I may be becoming "the library lady" around my new apartments.  It's a place for seniors, and many of them no longer drive.  I not only still drive my car, but go at least weekly to the nearest library.  I got this book for one of the ladies on my floor, but I may have to read it before I give it to her.  Don't worry — she still has one or two I got her last time, plus the six or seven delivered to her from the U-City Library the other day.  And I'm a fast reader.  Here's a summary of the book from the back cover:

When Clyde the cat travels two hundred miles back home only to find his former owner dead, the story makes national news.  While everyone seems eager to tell Clyde’s incredible tale, someone needs to step up to care for him.  Because the media attention is creating chaos at the local shelter, cat quilter Jillian Hart agrees to foster the loyal orange tabby, hoping his location is kept secret.  But while the media circus around Clyde continues, Jillian learns the real story behind his owner’s death — he was murdered.  Why would an eldery man already dying from a serious illness become a murder victim?  As the local police search for an answer, Clyde makes another escape.  Jillian is drawn into the case when she finds Clyde has returned to his home again — and he’s found another body.  When the motive behind these murders is finally revealed, Jillian understands Clyde is in danger of becoming the next victim, and she must help find the killer before the claws really come out.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Mister Linky.