The first book in the "Anna Romano Mystery Series" finds the cat-loving crime writer caught up in a kidnapping.
Anna Romano is a successful crime writer who lives in Central Jersey. She's 37, lives with seven cats and fears she's going to end up a lonely old maid. When she's not cleaning out kitty litter she's watching the travel channels or trying out new recipes. And Romano has an obsession with Italian food. At a book-signing, a strange red-haired man asks for her autograph. And then she sees him again. And again. Is he stalking her? Eventually the stranger kidnaps Romano and she discovers she has become part of his fiendish plan to escape chronic gambling debts by faking the death of his family. But as the police investigate her disappearance there are secrets revealed about the kidnapper's past and a connection to one of Romano's earlier books.
CATS, CANNOLIS AND A CURIOUS KIDNAPPING is a fun, light-hearted mystery with a lot of laughs amongst the action. Author Cheryl Denise Bannerman's characterization of her lead, and of the supporting characters, is solid. She accentuates their eccentricities for comic effect but not to the point of parody. That said, most of the story is played for humor and there is not a great deal of nuance in the thoughts or actions of the characters. The plot is slight but entertaining and there's a twist in the ending which, while not exactly a surprise, does bring the story to a satisfying close.
Although at one point Romano imagines she's living out an episode of "Law & Order", the television series the book most evokes is "Murder She Wrote" and the plot is the kind of straightforward, only moderately complicated, mystery that Jessica Fletcher would have wrapped up within the hour. And, like an episode of a cozy TV crime series, with its short page count CATS, CANNOLIS AND A CURIOUS KIDNAPPING is the kind of fast-paced page turner that most readers will devour in a sitting.
The first outing for mystery writer and cat lover Anna Romano is an enjoyable and entertainingly comic adventure. Bannerman's character is instantly engaging and, though it's very short, the novel is a fun ride from start to finish.
CATS, CANNOLIS AND A CURIOUS KIDNAPPING, the first outing for the instantly engaging mystery writer and cat lover Anna Romano, is an enjoyable and entertainingly comic adventure. And though the book is short, Cheryl Denise Bannerman's novel is a fun ride from start to finish.
