HAMLET'S PAGE
"LIKE" Hamlet the Cat on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/blackcatbookshopmysteries
Dear Reader, if you are a smart human, you have figured out by looking at my picture that I am Hamlet the Cat, star of the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series written by Ali Brandon. A few humans show up in the story, too, but I'm the VIC (Very Important Cat). And just so you know, I don't talk to people or other animals in this series. I'm far too dignified for silly parlor tricks like that (hey, you show-off cats on the "B" shelf with me, I'm talking to you). I'm also very busy napping and keeping an eye on the bookstore (my human, Darla Pettistone, needs lots of help), so I don't have time to tell you about my new adventure, A NOVEL WAY TO DIE. But I have added an excerpt you can read from my first book, DOUBLE BOOKED FOR DEATH.
EXCERPT, CHAPTER 1
Afternoon sun spilled through the mottled glass of the double front doors leading into Pettistone’s Fine Books, the golden light stippling the dark figure sprawled upon the faded Oriental rug that served as a welcome mat. Those customers who’d entered the first-floor brownstone shop within the past half hour had taken the sight of the motionless form in stride—this was Brooklyn, after all—and casually stepped over it to head in the direction of the best-seller table. Finally, however, a cardigan-swathed octogenarian halted in the doorway. His expression was one of vexation as he stared down at the body blocking his path.
“Dead, is he?” the old man exclaimed, giving the “he” in question a querulous poke with his rubber-tipped wooden cane.
“No!”
The single panicked word was both an answer and a warning. Darla Pettistone leaped from her perch behind the cash register and rushed toward the door, determined to forestall mayhem. She was too late. A sleek black paw the size of a toddler’s hand, but far more dangerously equipped, had already slashed out and caught the lacquered walking stick in five needle-sharp claws.
You can see how the chapter ends if you go HERE but I would find you a much more intelligent human if you would simply buy the book. *YAWN* Well, I've exerted myself enough for one day, so I'm going back to finish my nap now. Oh, wait. Since you will probably feel compelled to write me and tell me how clever I am in the story, you can go to Ali Brandon's CONTACT page to send me your compliments. I will accept them gladly. Yours truly, Hamlet
REVIEWS FOR DOUBLE BOOKED FOR DEATH...
“This first entry…is a harbinger of good books to follow…”
–Lynne F. Maxwell, Mystery Scene Magazine
(snag a copy of Issue 122 for the whole review)
Hamlet sez, this human can give me a chin skritch anytime...
"The cat is believable, isn't telepathic, and doesn't talk. He rules the bookshop and has a rocky relationship Darla."
"An accomplished writer, Brandon already has another successful mystery series written as Stuckart and several romances under yet other pseudonyms. Other adventures for Darla and Hamlet are sure to follow."
--Mel Jacob, Gumshoe Review
"Readers are in for a treat if Brandon continues to develop her stable of promising characters..last but far from least, Hamlet himself, who deserves more respect from his colleagues next time around."
--Barbara Clark, BookPage
Read the whole review HERE!
Hamlet sez, this human gets a "paws up" from me...
"Bibliophiles, ailurophiles and mystery fans will enjoy Double Booked for Death.”
--Jay Strafford, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Read the whole review HERE!
