Much Ado About Felines (Whales and Tails #4) by Kathi Daley

Synopsis: A cozy mystery series set on Madrona Island, a fictional island within the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. As a fourth generation islander Caitlin Hart is struggling to make her way as the economy and culture of the island evolves toward a tourism based industry. Cait lives in a cabin on her aunt's oceanfront estate where she helps her aunt run Harthaven Cat Sanctuary. When she isn't working with the cats, she helps best friend Tara, operate the coffee bar/bookstore/cat lounge they own, named Coffee Cat Books. In the fourth installment in the series, the body of a long time island local is found buried in her own grave. Cait and the gang set out to investigate the strange occurrence and along the way they uncover the truth about the mysterious man who arrived on the ferry every week and is followed everywhere he goes by a black and white cat.

Review: Another winning story from Kathi Daley. I love the title and the play on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing...including the fact that one of the cats central to the story is named Beatrice (a character from the play).

As is true in other books in the series, Cait and Tara, who run Coffee Cat Books together, get involved in a murder mystery (a woman is murdered and her corpse hidden in her burial plot), and a cat (in this story, it is Beatrice) appears to help them crack the case, then disappears once his or her job is complete. 

While the murder is the main story, there is also a subplot of a mystery man who arrives on the island once a week and is always met and followed by a cat. The way that story plays out is a true heartbreaker!

I had a fairly good idea who the murderer was about halfway through, and I figured out the motive shortly after that, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. 

Can't wait to see what happens next on Madrona Island!

Rating: Four stars