The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency: A Hettie Bagshot Mystery

British author Morton’s exceedingly whimsical debut and series launch introduces Hettie Bagshot, a mac-wearing tabby cat who’s the founder of the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency, and Hettie’s able assistant, Tilly Jenkins. Hettie’s unnamed community is populated solely by cats with careers as musicians, bakers, and plumbers; they own shops and put on fashion shows. Facing eviction and desperate for a case, Hettie agrees to help her friend Marcia Woolcoat, matron of the Furcross Home for Slightly Older Cats, discover who has snatched the bodies of three recently deceased residents from their graves. Hettie does her best but, constantly distracted by the prospect of lunch and a catnip pipe, she’s not the most dedicated detective. When the furless bodies turn up in a rubbish bin and the nurse at the retirement home commits suicide, Hettie finds that solving mysteries isn’t as easy as she hoped. Rather like actual cats, the story meanders all over the place. But for lovers of cat cozies, the world that Morton has created will be irresistible. Agent: David Marshall, Marshall Rights. (Mar.)