Biscuit (nicknamed in grammar school, a name derived from her given name, Bisque, chosen by her pottery fanatic mother) is about one week away from her marriage to Martinsville’s only policeman, Bob Sheffield.  Her sister Glaze has arrived; while visiting with Glaze prior to the wedding, Biscuit relates the events of the past year leading up to the wedding, beginning with the body Marmalade and Biscuit found in the library.  

Harlan Schneider was a local mechanic and wildlife photographer and no one in town can fathom how he ended up in the library with a knife stuck in his chest. More importantly, no one can imagine anyone among their neighbors—for it has to be one of them as no one else could have known about the hidden, unlocked door into the library—having murdered Harlan. 

As Bob begins to investigate, the narrative slips back in time to detail the events leading up to Harlan’s murder. Since the story is being told in real time (in Biscuit’s world) and the murder and investigation took place over the previous year, there are three time frames occurring at once. Each section is clearly labeled as to the date, but the switching between the present, the past and the far past is a bit confusing and takes some getting used to.

  Marmalade often interjects her two cents into the conversation, sometimes mirroring Biscuit's thoughts, sometimes contradicting them. The cat loving crowd will find these comments delightful, but they are not so cutesy as to turn off the non-cat crowd.  Biscuit is very likable and full of get-up and go and is fitting in nicely in her new community which seems to have a few other, older, mysteries of its own. 

Orange as a Marmalade is a fun read—though not terribly fast as the time shifts take some concentration—that will appeal to cat lovers and those who favor mysteries set in small Southern towns.  

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry