Magical Mystery Paws

I received a free copy of Magical Mystery Paws (The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency) by Mandy Morton in exchange for an honest review. If we were cats on two legs, how would we live? Hettie Bagshot and Tilly Jenkins are two such felines living in such a world. Invited to serve as road crew for the Magical Mystery Paws tour, the two sleuths really get to work when crew members are killed or injured. Who could the perpetrator be?

This was a cute concept. I haven’t read the previous books, so my connection to the characters was not as developed as I would have liked. Also, I did not understand some things about the cats’ world. Specifically, why are there no police or hospitals? Still, very cute.

#MagicalMysteryPaws #NetGalley

It takes some getting used to. The main characters as cats but not like house cats… completely anthropomorphic cats.

Hettie Bagshot & Tilly Jenkins, best friends, run the No 2 Feline Detective Agency. When they find themselves between cases, they agree to help a friend on the Magical Mystery Paws tour.

It is a fun cozy read with a twist. The personalities of the characters are so well done and relatable that you find yourself smiling in recognition throughout the book. It is a funny, cute, whodunit style mystery.
Although this is part of a series, it works well as a standalone read as well.

Let’s get the band back together! And that’s one of the things that happens in Magical Mystery Paws, another chapter in the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency series by Mandy Morton. One needs to suspend all disbelief to read these books; once that’s accomplished, feel free to enjoy the feline antics of Hettie and Tilly, the proprietors of the aforementioned private detective company, and their many cat friends, who just happen to talk, and dance, and sing. And kill things. Like the drummer of the backup band The Cheese Triangles who quickly turns up dead, strangled by a guitar string. Hettie and Tilly are soon on the case, whiskers twitching and tails up.

Never mind the bodies strewn about, Hettie’s long-haired tabby hackles (as described) are soon raised over the disaster in the making of a musical tour, recalling her own history of being on the road. And disaster is a good word for a lot of what happens in the book, which is more a tale of musical misery (the lot of a performer, human or cat, is apparently not a happy one) than mystery.

The book itself, apart from the plot, is quite a wonder. The play on words flies fast and furious -- Tabby Road Recording Studios; Agatha Crispy, whose books Tilly adores, since she is so adept at ferreting out the murderer; M. Balm, the town’s undertaker. There's Enya, the cat with the beautiful singing voice that sings “Caribbean Boot.” And lest we forget, Nicolette Upstart, the famous writer. There’s more where that came from -- especially on the last page.

Finally, the killer is revealed (a bit before the ending), and everything plays out to a happy and triumphant end. The Summer of Fluff tour, when everythin’ seems better with a little bit o’ nip.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy of this book, in exchange for this review.

Clever cozy mystery blends with fantasy in this clever story about walking, talking and driving cats on a punk rock band tour, complete with Irish Dancers and a magician. With lovable (mostly) characters and a few total psychos, along with multiple villians, this mystery will keep you guessing until the end.

A very lovely mix of fantasy and cozy mystery. You've to get used to the fact that the characters are cats acting as human as this can be a bit bewildering at the beginning.
The book is well written, the plot is solid and keep you guessing, the characters are likeable.
A fun to read and enjoyable book.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Farrago and Netgalley for this ARC

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Haha, so I probably should do more research into books I request on Netgalley. I assumed this was like many other cozy mysteries; either a human with a cat solves the mystery, or the cat gives off hints and essentially solves the mystery for the human and all is well. I DID NOT expect humanoid cats wearing band shirts and scoffing sausage rolls to drive buses, rock out and then groom themselves! Once I got over it though, I had a lot of fun with this book. At times it was a completely crazy adventure, and the puns are SO BAD (in which I mean that they are good) that I was getting giggly. There was a great cast of characters in the Summer of Fluff tour (even if I picture all of them looking like a pack of Sylvania family toys) and the interactions were great. There is so much food consumed (it must be difficult to walk around as humanoid cats...if they walk. Sometimes it's human behaviour like putting a tea towel to a cut, other times it's hurtling away in a panic, so I don't really know)

Also the body count is super high as cats drown, get strangled, stabbed, walk in front of trams etc and this is ALL NORMAL. What the fluff? But it's one of those odd books that you just have to go with the flow or else it fails entirely. I ended up sold!

The strangest book I've read this year, but I liked it! Four crazy stars!

First and pawmost I need to note that the characters in this book are cats (which should really be obvious from the title, series and cover, but you never know!).

These are cats that wear ponchos and mini-skirts, drive buses, play guitars and cook delicious Jamaican jerk chicken (with a sprinkle of catnip to mellow the mood). They also clean their whiskers with their paws, sleep curled up on chairs and other surfaces, and take a fairly practical attitude to life and death. So still cats, basically.

I wasn’t sure quite how I would feel about anthropomorphised cats solving mysteries and playing music gigs, but actually it works. It works so well that the characters’ felinity is of as little importance as their breed, sexual orientation or age…it might have a small influence on their actions and behaviours but is irrelevant to the plot and to their characterisation as a whole. I like that.

In fact, at times I suspected the cats’ primary function was to allow the author to exercise her punny bone! Names of characters, places and well-known phrases are all opportunities that the author does not miss to slip in the purrfect feline pun. It added a light-heartedness to the writing that made me smile as I read.

Cats aside, Magical Mystery Paws is a cosy mystery and a well-written one. We have our small clowder of suspects and our curiosity-led amateur sleuths. There are clues and interviews, leading to a big showdown and the final reveal. To my own personal annoyance, I spotted one twist but guessed the actual murderer wrong…a good sign, as that means the author had me fooled!

This book is the fifth in the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency series, and not only will I be tracking back to pick up the first four books, but I will be eagerly awaiting the next release. Recommended for fans of cosy mysteries with their (rough) tongue firmly in their whiskered cheeks!


These days, some of the names resonated with both Hettie and Tilly – cats who had left the earth prematurely and been part of some of the high-profile murder cases that had landed on their desk at the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency. Teezle Makepeace and Mavis Spitforce now rested under nearby trees, no longer burdened by the cares of everyday life; although that made them sad, Hettie and Tilly were proud of the fact that – thanks to them – their murderers were tucked away beyond the consecrated ground, unrecognised by any headstone, and as if they had never been. Justice had been served.

– Mandy Morton, Magical Mystery Paws

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

A Thank you in advance to Netgalley & the publisher for allowing me to read this book in advance for an honest review!
4.5 stars. I must admit that this was my first time reading a N0. 2 Feline Detective Agencey novel and it was a absolute delight! I have taken a break from cozy mystery novels and I have no idea why I actually did that because I realized reading this novel just how much I have missed the genre. Who doesn't need a cute,fluffy and fun mystery? Emphasis on the fluffy!

I must admit that going into this I had no idea that besides being from the kitty POV it is actually a world full of cats that live like humans. They wear clothes,drive,cook and basically do everything the we do. That surprised me but once I started getting into it I was hooked. The characters are just you and me......... if we were cats! I love Hettie & Tillie and the whole lot of them! The mystery was fun and easy to enjoy. It was a bit easy to solve but still fun! What drew me in and kept me in was the well written characters, the play on words for simple things and just the joy put into this. I would give it 5 stars if the mystery it's self was better written. Loved the sarcastic wit of Hettie! I would suggest giving this a go because you could spend your Summer having a lot less fun!

I honestly did not know what to expect when I started this book. a few pages in I was tempted to put it down and not finish. But once I was able to accept that all the characters are anthropromorphized cats, it was easier to read. I had thought this would be more like Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries. No. There are no humans at all.

It is a silly little book. A fun read and entertaining, but certainly not very deep. There was nothing that kept me thinking about it. It was easy to pick up and put down.

The story line is that there are cats who are tied up in the entertainment business. A blind rock singer is ready to go on a short tour with a couple other acts. Hettie and Tillie run a detective agency, but are tasked with helping the tour. Hettie used to be a renowned performer in her won right and agrees. The story about the bus they travel in and the preparations they make for the tour are fun in themselves. There is a lot of talk about food and it made me hungry to read all the wonderful things that were prepared for various meals and snacks. I ended up baking cookies which I haven't done in ages!

Of course, although this is about a band on tour, it is a detective agency novel so you know there will be deaths, soon to be determined to be unnatural. Hettie and Tillie have to put their thinking caps on to try to solve the mystery.

I did enjoy the story and am glad that I persevered and stuck with it! It will be fun to read more in this series.

This book was WAY different than I had initially assumed that it would be. I was thinking a cozy, based on cats. It as so much more than that. Wildly entertaining with a cast off interesting characters, it's will written and fun to read. #magicalmysterypaws #netgalley

*I would like to thank the author/publisher/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review"

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I’m a sucker for mysteries and kitties, so I really enjoyed MAGICAL MYSTERY PAWS. Add in humor and a British cozy, which this fun read also has a plenty, and I’m in heaven. 5/5

Grateful to Farrago and NetGalley for the review copy, in exchange for my honest opinion.

#MagicalMysteryPaws #NetGalley

Princess Fuzzypants here: I do enjoy the way these books create an entire world that mimics the human world but is populated by cats. Hettie and Tilley run the Feline Detective Agency out of a room at the back of the local village bakery. Their lodgings are a lovely mix of English Moggy, as is the rest of their environment. It is both charming and sweet. In their world, there are cats who are both decent and kind and those who are mean or villainous.
Hettie once had a thriving singing career before joining forces with Telly and Bruiser, the other corner of the triangle. She is apprehensive when approached by a former colleague to participate in a comeback tour of a blind Punk Rock cat. The title of the story comes from one of the supporting acts. It is a hodgepodge of chararacters who take off in the psychedelic bus. There is everything from a Russian ballerina who choreographs an Irish Dance Troup now that she is wheelchair bound. There is a magician who is pretty pathetic and his obnoxious and pushy girlfriend. And there are the backup performers for the Punk star. When the drummer is found dead after the first performance, Hettie and Tilley must solve the murder as well as assist on the tour.
It is a fun read, almost Beatrix Potter-ish if those books had been written for adults and written as a mystery.
I give it four purrs and two paws up.

This series is pure catnip to cat lovers ! This is the 5th in this successful series and I found it as delightful as the first in series. I love the entire series.

Magical Mystery Paws is a new cozy mystery with a surprising set of protagonists!. The characters are cats - real cats living like they are human. The author has written such a well crafted story that reading this series is so enjoyable and a delight. Move over Shirley Roussou Murphy a new set of crime solving cats have arrived.

In this small town setting Hettie Bagshot & Tilly Jenkins ( cats) run the No 2 Feline Detective Agency. There next job is as actual road crew for the Magical Mystery Paws tour. Now crew members are being hurt and killed. Can they stop the killer in time? Will they solve these series of clues and close this case of crimes and murders. This was a fun new take on a mystery .that i enjoyed from beginning to end. Their cat like characteristics are great fun to read as they function as crime solving detectives. The author definitely has a great sense of humor.

What works here in this series is the authors knowledge of real life cats and how she incorporates the mannerisms, likes and dislikes into crime solving realistic cat detectives. The author knows her subject and that makes reading this series all the more enjoyable.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Net Galley and the publisher. My opinion is my own.

This is a delightful new take on cozy mysteries that will appeal to all cat lovers. Its pure catnip to those of us that love cats. If you love Shirley Murphy's crime solving cat series you will adore these new crime fighting cats. I look forward to the next in series and more adventures by these smart crime solving cats !

The No.2 Feline Detective Agency novels are difficult to categorize.  They are fantasies in that all of the characters are cats - walking, talking, driving, clothes wearing, pastry eating cats.  They look and behave like cats, but at the same time do all the things humans do. Apart from this, they are strictly mysteries- delightfully whimsical ones, with plenty of cat reinterpretations of pop culture history.  The novels aren’t for everyone, but if you love cats and enjoy a bit of whimsy you will have a lot of fun reading Mandy Morton’s novels.


In the newest No. 2 Feline Detective Agency novel, Magical Mystery Paws, Hettie and co agree to accompany Patty Sniff on her new tour.  Crammed together on Psycho Derek’s bus along with Patty and the Cheese Triangles, Kitty O’Shea’s Irish dance troupe, and Derek and Belinda Beacon they prepare to set off.  The first stop - murder. One of the Cheese Triangles is strangled and everyone associated with the tour is suspect. As the tour goes on, it quickly becomes clear that someone is looking to stop the tour, and is more than willing to kill to succeed.


The mystery isn’t very complex, but the interplay between characters and the charming and humorous events that occur make up for any weakness.  As a cat lover and mystery aficionado, I like these novels a lot. They are a unique blend of fantasy, mystery and whimsy.


4 / 5


I received a copy of Magical Mystery Paws from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom

Was not expecting a book full of cats, though I have to say it was an enjoyable cozy mystery. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

It took a few minutes for me to realize that cast of characters in this book are all cats. They are not people whose cats help them solve mysteries. After I just let that go, it’s a really cute mystery story.
Hettie Bagshot and Tilly Jenkins run the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency, but decide that they will help Poppa as he goes on tour with Patty Sniff, an aging punk star. Hettie, a former singer, keeps everything organized, and Tilly is assigned to help Patty, who is blind. The Cheese Triangle, Patty’s back-up band, is made up of Suzi, Deirdre and Alice. Kitty O’Shea and her Irish dance troupe, along with Derek and his significant other Belisha, make up the motley crew.
When Alice is found dead, it appears to have been an accident. The tour goes on, although Hettie and Tilly do wonder.
Just immerse yourself in the feline cozy mystery world.

The book was funny. It was one of those books which are slightly weird but still wonderful. At first, it was hard to understand the cats. I mean I was wondering if they were actual cats who were pets or a humanized cats. Although it took me sometime, I did quite enjoy the book. The whole detective agency and stuff were so fun. It seems quite cleverly constructed. The mystery part os it kept me guessing.

Magical Mystery Paws is about a society that is made up of cats that mimics humans. It was very interesting. and fun. The cats wear clothing and even cook chicken. Very creative. The characters are very well written, too. The storyline is fun and written well. I really liked this book. A fun and creative story.

Styling on Sgt. Pepper

What a delightful romp and change of pace! No humans, but cats forming a tour for a punk revival artist with nods to rock music, groupies, certain pharmaceutical practices, and food. All is going well until cats start turning up missing and dead. The ace feline detectives investigate until they solve the mysteries. Turns out this is the umpteenth in a slew of tales by author Mandy Morton, but this is the first I've read and it managed quite nicely as a stand-alone tale (tail). Fun, fun, fun! Okay, the dead bodies are not fun, nor is blood and gore, but you knew what I meant! Four paws!

Quirky, and caught me off guard. I went into this expecting a couple of cats to be solving mysteries around their human for some reason. Anthropomorphised cats was surprising, but it did add to the cosy charm of the novel.

The mystery takes a while to get going, but the humour and plain weirdness of the concept does make up for it.

cosy-mystery, cats, urban-fantasy, fun

I am so not a cat person, hard to enjoy something whose fur makes me miserable, but this book is just too much fun! I think that anyone who has the imagination for other world creatures, the fae, and ornithopters can easily envision this delightful bunch. The mystery itself is as good as it is entertaining, complete with plot twists, suspense, and red, well, herrings. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes cosies and fun!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Farrago via NetGalley. Thank you!

What a fun read! Not sure what I was expecting but I was charmed by these cool cats. When I first started reading and realized these were not actually household cats, my mind went to the cat nuns in Doctor Who. A very bit of silly fun. Definitely recommend

Hettie and Tilly run the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency. They are cats, in a world run by cats that act like humans. It is kind of hard to get your head around sometimes when cats are being plumbers and riding bikes. And there are a ton of puns and bad jokes... fur real...
I found my self laughing out loud at the incredulity of it all, but once I kind of got into it I found it a light, albeit very silly read.
A book best read while not wanting to think too much.. perhaps on a plane or at the beach. :)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is great fun! It's a feline cozy mystery with Hattie and Tilly as the main characters. They run the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency.
There are lots of witty one-liners, an intriguing plot, likeable cat characters and masses to enjoy in this very escapist novel. It's not twee or silly, just very original, and cleverly written.
This is the second book in a super series that promises nothing but delight and great entertainment.

The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency.


Quite a change for this reader, coming from the blizzards and snow-to-the-roof of #8, THE ICE MAID'S TALE (Smile) to the hot-weather paradisical (not) Road Trip of entertainers in MAGICAL MYSTERY PAWS. Nonetheless, felines Hetty Bagshot (attitude non pareil) and bestie shy, retiring, Tilly, of The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency, are firmly on the case--er, cases.