Everything is all set for the wedding as far as Clyde and Ryan are concerned, but little do they know, there are several mysteries brewing that all converge the night before the wedding. Lindsey Wolf has returned to town, ten years after her fiancé disappeared just before their wedding.  Lindsey has since dated Ryan’s father, Mike, has moved her accounting business to L.A., and has now returned to Molena Point in Northern California with a newspaper clipping about the remains of a hiker found in Oregon.  Lindsey is convinced that these are the remains of her fiancé Carson Chappell. 

Charlie has also found the remains of a woman on an estate where a group of special feral cats live, but she can’t explain to anyone what she was doing up there, and the talking cats don’t want anyone poking around on the estate where they have found an old book full of the ancient lore about their ancestors.

At the same time, Kit, another member of the talking cat clan, comes to Charlie with Sage, a feral cat who has just been in a mortal fight with the evil leader of the clowder of feral cats.  Sage has been Kit’s longtime crush, (assuming cats have such a thing) and is very hurt, but very distrusting of humans. 

Joe Grey, who has been reading up on and mulling over the two bodies, and his cat lady Dulcie are called upon to give blood and learn that the vet not only knows their secret, but knows the American history of the Celtic cats. 

More evidence about Chappell’s disappearance “turns up” after almost ten years, casting suspicion on several people, Lindsey reminds Mike that Chappell’s partner Gibbs and his wife were involved with several extramarital affairs, and there was speculation that Gibbs’s wife ran off with Chappell.  Somehow, in the midst of all this, Clyde and Ryan manage to get married and launched on their honeymoon.  Now Joe Grey is calling the shots in the investigation and tossing apartments, with Charlie helping him where he can’t reach.   

The plot is very confusing, especially for newcomers to the series. The talking, acting cats may be a stretch for some, though the thorough history offered helps in accepting their presence and talents. It’s a series of coincidences that set Mike and Dallas back on the case of Carson Chappell: Lindsey’s return to Molena Point, her insistence that the Oregon body is that of Chappell and her sister turning over a letter that she had kept for the past ten years. It is pretty obvious from a certain point what happened and who the bodies are and who did it. 

The subplot of the mysterious book found on the abandoned estate and the odd woman who lived there would have added much to the story if it had been fleshed out a bit more. There’s a lot going on in the story, maybe a bit too much, but the characters are charming and fans of personified animals will enjoy the wry Joe Grey and his lady friends.                                      

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry