A Tale of Two Kitties

Finished October 12
A Tale of Two Kitties by Sofie Kelly

This cozy mystery is part of the Magical Cats Mystery series, but the first one I've read in the series. Kathleen is the head librarian in the small town of Mayville Heights, Minnesota. She's a smart women, with good instincts who has solved several mysteries with the help of her two cats Owen and Hercules. Kathleen knows that her cats are special, and understand her when she talks. She also knows they each have their own special qualities. Owen has the ability to become invisible when he wants, and Hercules can walk through closed doors.
The other employees at the library are all interesting characters as well, from Mary with her interesting past, and extensive knowledge of the town and its people to young Mia, with her thirst for knowledge. Kathleen is in a relationship with Marcus a local police detective, and she has a suspicion that his young cat Micah has similar qualities to Owen.
When Mia's grandfather Leo comes to town to visit her and her father Simon, it brings up past memories among the town's older inhabitants. They remember when Leo's wife Meredith left him for his brother Victor, and then died in a car accident, reportedly on her way back to Leo. Victor is in town as well, ill and hoping for a reconciliation with his brother.
Recent renovations to the local post office uncovered a cache of photographs and undelivered mail. The mail was sent on its way, more than twenty years after they were sent, and the photographs, of a range of time periods were given to the library. Library staff are going through them, identifying the people portrayed and finding owners for them among those people. They need more help though and Kathleen welcomes ideas about how to publicize the collection to help the process.
When Leo is found murdered, it is Kathleen who finds him. With her closeness to Mia and her innate curiosity, she and her cats do the research on the people who knew Leo to try to find motive and opportunity.
I enjoyed the various characters in this story, and the personalities of the cats on the case. There is lots going on, but good research leads the librarian and her pets to the discovery of quite a few secrets.