The Bengal Identity

The Bengal Identity is the 2nd book in the Cat Groomer Series by Eileen Watkins. It is the first book that I have read in the series though. The main character is Cassie McGlone who owns a cat grooming shop in Chadwick, New Jersey called Cassie's Comfy Cats.  Cassie has a degree in psychology and has had training in animal behavior and grooming. This cat mystery series is different from all others. While a different cat breed will be profiled in each book, the cats do not have special powers that help solve crimes. Cassie is the amateur sleuth of the series, not the cats.

The story opens with a new customer named Rudy Pierson coming in to Cassie's Comfy Cats asking to board his cat for a few days because his house just burned to the ground. Cassie was suspicious about his story because she had not heard about a fire on the news, his behavior was frantic and he said his cat only ate natural food and liked walking outside on a full face leash.  After agreeing to board the cat Cassie and her assistant Sarah noticed the cat Ayesha had matted hair and tried combing it out. That was not working so they gave her a bath, which did not bother her in the least. Brown dye came off of her fur in the bath and Cassie noticed Ayesha had fur that was marked with rosettes. Cassie discussed the unusual fur pattern with her boyfriend Dr. Mark Coccia, Chadwick's local veterinarian. He suspected the cat was a rare Bengal pedigreed cat. They both wondered if Pierson stole the cat since the cat's fur had been dyed to hide its identity and they suspected that he would try to sell it for thousands of dollars.

A few days later Cassie saw an article on the local news showing the dead body of an unidentified person who had died in a car accident. The face belonged to Rudy Pierson. Cassie went to the local police station to report her contact with Pierson.

There were many more twists, turns and red herrings in this adorable, well plotted cozy mystery.  The pace was quick which made the story a fast read. I was captivated by the plot and read the book in one sitting.  It has been some time since I have read a perfectly written mystery, true to the mystery formula. The Bengal Identity was a delightful surprise.

The Cassie and Mark characters have perfect professional backgrounds to work together to solve clues about cat breeds. The author chose their professions well and made this cozy series more believable by the choices she made.  I also think the author came up with a great idea for a cat mystery series. Usually the cat is the sleuth in a cat mystery series which requires a suspension of belief too far for me to travel. By having the cats as the potential victims she has created a way to celebrate the cats but not get too ridiculous. I also enjoyed reading about the Bengal breed. I assume that facts about whatever breed is featured in a story will be a regular feature in each book in the series.

I loved this book and happened to find it at the library by accident. While I was waiting for a librarian to locate a book that I had on hold, this book was staring at me on the closest shelf of books.  I got lucky here.

5 out of 5 stars!