Nine Lives Last Forever: (2010-08-30) 
I enjoyed reading Rebecca M. Hale's second book in the Cats and Curios Mystery series. So far, they're a real fun read with interesting and sympathetic characters. Her knowledge of Old San Francisco is phenomenal and I keep learning from her even though I was born and raised in San Francisco 79 years ago.

Frog Hunters: (2010-07-20) 
Several of the quirky characters Hale introduced in the first mystery in this series (How to Wash a Cat), lure former accountant and current San Francisco antiques store owner, Rebecca, into a scheme that involves frogs, treasure, and Frank Napis, the villian from the previous novel.

Rebecca, who inherited her uncle Oscar's antiques shop and also lost her accounting job, is not having much luck generating customers, even after rennovating the store's exterior and cleaning up its interior. This leaves her plenty of time to be intrigued by two volumes of Mark Twain stories that come into her possession and, initially, appear to be the same edition. But the books are both bait to spark her curiosity and entice her to become part of a rather complex plan designed with more than one purpose in mind. Soon Rebecca is seeing frogs in her shop, stalking Monty the nosy art dealer from across the street, smelling her dead uncle's fried chicken, trying to avoid Dilla's formidable daughter Miranda, and touring city hall with Sam the janitor.

The very delightful Isabella and Rupert, Rebecca's cats, accompany their person on much of he journey and prove to be excellent frog and fried chicken detectors.

Hale features San Francisco history in her story, particularly focusing on Cliff House and on the political era when Harvey Milk, the first gay city supervisor, and Mayor George Mascone were murdered. Interesting and significant as this history is, these sections of the novel at times read more like lectures and could be more smoothly incorporated into the narrative.

Felines, frogs and fun.: (2010-07-12) 
Rebecca M Hale served up another fun weekend for me with a thoroughly enjoyable romp through San Francisco and its history via her uncle's intriguing friends, her endearing cats, and some funky frogs. Rebecca's lyrical writing, interwoven plotline, and a subduded but still quirky Monty kept me turning the pages of her newest cozy, Nine Lives Last Forever. Way to go, Rebecca; I'll definitely buy the next in your series!

refreshing thriller: (2010-07-10) 
Her last blood relative Uncle Oscar died and within a week of his death, Rebecca lost her job at an accounting firm. She moves into the apartment above the Green Vase antique shop she inherited from Oscar, accompanied by her cats Rupert and Isabella. She quickly learned that her uncle used the store as a front to locate hidden treasures of historical figures he researched.

Life turns dangerous when Frank tries to kill her using spider venom. She knows he still stalks her so she s so frightened she rarely leaves the shop. Her cats notice frogs in the apartment and give chase. Rebecca learns city hall has a frog infestation too. She ponders what her late uncle meant when he advised her with a note to "follow the frogs". Desperate and confused she visits Oscar's friend. Meeting Oscar's eccentric friends, Rebecca asks about the enigmatic note, but none of them grasp the meaning. However, dealing with betrayal and a stalker, Rebecca needs to know rather quickly what the hell is going on.

The protagonist makes the tale work as she just wants to live a serene ordinary life, but is caught up initially in failure and fear, but quickly moves on to eccentricity as Uncle Oscar's zany crew welcome her as their leader. With a nod to the late Academy librarian Margaret Herrick for claiming claimed the annual awards statue looked like her Uncle Oscar; this tale crosses Charlie Chan with the Three Stooges to give readers an idea of Nine Lives Last Forever, a wild refreshing over the top of Nob Hill thriller.

Harriet Klausner

NINE LIVES LAST FOREVER: (2010-07-07) 
We are back at the newly renovated Green Vase antique shop and Rebecca, Isabella and Rupert have been joined by some green amphibian intruders. The antique shop is not the only place the creatures have turned up and what does the note left by Uncle Oscar mean?

Rebecca leaps right into another mystery filled with political conspiracy, faked deaths, hidden gold, and cold-blooded betrayal. Working with her uncle's quirky friends and even his arch enemy, Rebecca and the kitties are on a mission to find the truth "warts and all".

I LIKE IT!!!

This second book in the Cat and Curios Mystery series again takes us back in history to the days of Harvey Milk, who was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Mayor George Moscone, both were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back. Milk's election was made possible by and was a key component of a shift in San Francisco politics.

She mixes history with her wonderful tale of the great frog invasion and her characters involvement in San Francisco's politics. So believable you wonder what parts of this story are true and what comes from Rebecca M. Hale's imagination. This is a truly enjoyable mystery with plenty of leaps, jumps, and little and not so little cat feet.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rebecca M. Hale worked as a patent attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area for several years before taking time off to write her first novel, HOW TO WASH A CAT. The paperback version of the book published in January 2010 and quickly became a New York Times Bestseller. The second book in the Cats and Curios Mystery series, NINE LIVES LAST FOREVER, comes out July 2010.

Rebecca and her cats, Rupert and Isabella, now live in Western Colorado where they are hard at work on the third book in the Cats and Curios Mystery series, FUR IS PRE-FURRED, as well as a new mystery novel set in the US Virgin Islands called THE WATER TAXI.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."