Suzy K. Quinn’s latest in the Bob & Shirley series mixes a light cozy mystery with a chapter-by-chapter puzzle that lets readers track clues and decide whether Sambuca the cat is guilty.
The novel is a cozy mystery that invites reader interaction: each chapter supplies clues to add to a grid Bob draws, allowing readers to solve the case as they go.
Bob and Shirley are a contrasting, humorous duo — Bob analytical and pedantic, Shirley scatterbrained and protective of her cat Sambuca — and their banter drives the book’s tone.
Recommended for cat lovers, fans of lighthearted cozy crime, and readers who enjoy solving puzzles alongside a story.
Bob & Shirley's Killer Cat Puzzle is a contemporary cozy mystery that combines a short, amusing story with an embedded logic puzzle. The setup centers on Bob and Shirley, a pub-owning pair who routinely bicker and banter while getting embroiled in village mysteries. In this installment the question is whether Sambuca, Shirley's cat, committed murder — or whether one of the four other lower-village cats is to blame.
Rather than presenting the mystery purely for passive consumption, the book provides a grid that Bob draws and a sequence of chapter clues. Readers are meant to decipher each clue, add it to the grid, and gradually eliminate suspects. The review emphasizes that the reader can engage at two levels: simply enjoy the narrative and characters, or actively solve the puzzle.
The novel's humor rests mostly on the contrast between Bob and Shirley. Bob is the analytical, language-conscious partner who organizes clues and insists on precision. Shirley is more emotional, quick to defend Sambuca, and prone to scatterbrained moments. Their interaction is described as highly amusing and the book's strongest asset.
The reviewer found the puzzle challenging. They enjoyed finding some of the clues and filling in the grid but still felt uncertain about the guilty party until Bob walks through the clues near the book's end. The practical advice: don't jump to the back for the solution, because doing so removes the interactive fun. Alternatively, readers can ignore the grid altogether and simply follow the plot.
Highly Amusing Bob & Shirley’s Guide To Murder by Suzy K Quinn is a wonderfully amusing light-hearted contemporary cosy crime novel which I absolutely adored. I read it in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep. It is the first book in the new Bob & Shirley Mystery series which promises to be fabulous. The […]
Highly Amusing Bob & Shirley’s Guide To Murder by Suzy K Quinn is a wonderfully amusing light-hearted contemporary cosy crime novel which I absolutely adored. I read it in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep. It is the first book in the new Bob & Shirley Mystery series which promises to be fabulous. The […]
Bob and Shirley run a lovely country pub. They also solve murders … A warmly funny, gloriously British cozy crime and murder mystery series that can be read as standalones or part of a series. Set in a village where the pub is the heart of country life and served with warmth, wit and a […]
About the Book: When sisters Jennifer and Lizzie Christie inherit their aunt’s dilapidated B&B, in the beautiful Lake District village of Lupton Water, the only thing they have in common is how much they hate their housemate, Declan Moss. The two of them fell out thirty years before, and now they’re mid-life, mid-menop
Not strictly mine, but Four snow leopards Cheetah
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