JANUARY BLACK ICE/FEBRUARY WHITE LIES/MARCH BLUES

4 stars out of 5

As I write this, it's mid-summer. What could be better than sitting in the shade of a big old tree (well, maybe it would be sitting on an ocean beach) and reading a cozy mystery? Not much, in my book. And just as those relaxing thoughts popped into my head, I happened across a six-book series that's pretty close to perfect for just such occasions.

In truth, I didn't "happen" across them; rather, the author happens to have been one of my husband's speech and debate team students in high school (we won't say how many years ago). When he  reconnected with her on Facebook not long ago, he passed on to me that she's written quite a few books. Curious, I checked them out and found her "Cat Collier" series. Hmmm, I said, I'm always on the lookout for a new mystery-type series, and this one just might work. Oh, and did I mention that it's mid-summer?

Because they're more like short stories than books, I snagged a boxed set of all six at Amazon. Figuring I'd read one to see how I liked it, I ignored my waiting stack of advance review books from publishers to sneak in the first one. Like it I did - quite well, in fact - and since it took only about an hour to finish, I kept going another couple of hours to read two more before I had to turn to the books I'm obligated to review. Better still, now I've got three more waiting in the wings to look forward to (yeah, I know about that sentence-ending preposition no-no, but hey - I'm not getting paid to write this, so deal with it).

This review, then, is of the first three in the series. Needless to say, the brevity of each means I can't divulge much about any of the stories without giving too much away, but I'll share what I can. First, though, I'll advise other readers interested in the series to start at the beginning (advice I give with any series). The length of each makes them perfect for the above occasions - or waiting in a doctor's office or long line somewhere - but it doesn't allow much room for carrying over details of what happened previously. 

I'll also point out that anyone who is familiar with the Mahoning and Shenango valleys of northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania should get an extra kick out of reading these. That's where the author is from, and references that pop up are sure to elicit smiles. The fictitional setting of Heaton Valley, for instance, brings to mind the original name of the town in which we, and the author, used to live. There's a Central Park that overlooks the Mahoning River there, and the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is just a few miles away. Also of interest are the names of some of the characters (which I won't mention here to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent). That seems to be a pattern; I'm told my husband and I make an appearance in a couple of the author's other books. Woo hoo!

Everything revolves around Mary Catherine Collier, better known as Cat. As are the heroines in just about every cozy mystery I've read, she's her own person - independent and strong-willed. Unlike many of them, though, she's not bull-headed; when someone points out the folly of doing something stupid, she tends to listen. And although she's single, she's not bogged down in memories of a murdered husband for whom she still pines. Better still, from my point of view, she isn't wishy-washy - constantly wondering if she should do this, or that, or if she's offended him, or her. In both name and personality, she reminds me a great deal of Mary Catherine, the nanny in the Michael Bennett series by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. 

In the first one, "January Black Ice," readers learn that Cat is the obituary writer for the "Heaton Valley Herald" (a task she performs among other researchy kinds of things). Early on, Cat gets called to meet with Detrick Bittmor, an elderly and irascible lawyer who suspects that a young man who's been sitting on a park bench every day staring up at his penthouse window may be his son - and more importantly, his only heir. He'd like Cat to finagle her way into the young man's good graces and try to ferret out the truth. Somewhat reluctantly, she takes on the challenge. On the one hand, she learns that she likes him a lot. On the other, there's a good chance that his life (and maybe hers) could be in danger. 

Resolution of that issue brought me to the next story, "February White Lies." In this one, Cat's newspaper goes out of business, she opens a business

called Red Cat Investigations and she's canoodling with Carter, the young man she met in the first story. He's now formed something of a bond with his father, and in part because he and Cat are smitten, they've moved to the old man's fancy building (both with offices, and he in an apartment as well). Cat takes on and easily solves a couple of Mickey Mouse cases, after which she lands a far more serious one that involves a murder. More disturbing, though, are clues near the end of the story that her sweetie Carter might have something to hide (honestly, I'm not very fond of him anyway, so if she loses him, good riddance  - he fills the role of whiny heroine that I detest in other cozies even though he's a, well, guy).

Then it's on to No. 3, "March Bliss." Cat is still enamored of Carter and ensconced in her luxurious new office - complete with a new secretary she met under very different circumstances in the second story. She gets hired by a mother who wants to find her errant school-age daughter Lark.

Cat locates her, but not under the best of circumstances (let's just say mom isn't pleased when she finds what her daughter's been up to). As Cat pokes her nose further, she not only alienates Carter but ends up in a life-threatening situation herself.

Now I'm looking forward to the next three, which I'll work in here and there around what's already on my book plate. Meantime, if  you're looking for them - as I hope you will - the titles are "April Yellow Moon," "Lavender Mist of May" and "June Green Leaves of Deceit"). Happy reading!

January Black Ice/February White Lies/March Blues by Carol Ann Kauffman (Amazon Digital Services LLC (94, 102 and 100 pp., respectively).