Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: Cat Tricks

As usual, I've got several books going right now, so it took me a while to decide which one to use for this week's teaser. I settled on Hazel Holt's Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death, one of a series of cozy mysteries that I'm hopelessly hooked on. I know this snippet is more than two lines, but I had to include the whole excerpt because it reminds me so much of a Persian cat I once had:
Foss, my Siamese, in his endless quest for entertainment, has invented a new ploy. When I go upstairs he rushes past and lies across the stair in front of me. This means that I either have to step over him (difficult because they are steep cottage stairs) or pay him the attention he requires by stroking him. This continues all the way up the stairs (mercifully he doesn't do it for the downward journey). [p.14]
Sheila Malory, the main character and amateur sleuth featured in the books, lives in a small English village, writes scholarly articles, teaches part-time, and solves murder mysteries as a sideline. She also has pets - several dogs, and her Siamese cat Foss. The books are full of village life and lots of dotty characters. The author, Hazel Holt, was a close friend and literary executor of novelist Barbara Pym, and her books are very Pym-ish in feeling, and Holt's sense of humor is similar to Pym's. I like to think if BP had written mysteries, they'd be much like the Mrs. Malory series; so it's almost (but not quite) as good as still having Dear Barbara around.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizb17 at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

19 comments:

  1. I love a cozy that has pets. Nice combination. Here's my teaser.

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  2. Awww, that reminds me of my kitties!

    Thanks for stopping by and visiting my teaser :)
    -Jess
    (Find the Time to Read)

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  3. That's cute! I love the quirks that our pets have...

    Here are our teasers!

    ♥Isalys
    Book Soulmates

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  4. Cute teaser. Enjoy your book. Here's Mine.

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  5. love it.

    here's mine

    http://blog.readinggroupchoices.com/content/blog/barbara/10/february/teaser-tuesday-223-angelology-danielle-trussoni

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  6. That's a really cute teaser! I hope you are enjoying your book. Thanks for the comment on my page!

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  7. I've heard alot about this series. Sounds wonderful!

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  8. Sounds like a typical cat to me... great teaser!

    http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/02/teaser.html

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  9. Thanks for stopping by. Cute teaser!

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  10. If you like these village type books, have you ever read Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson? I love those stories and have read them over and over.

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  11. What a cute teaser.

    Mine is here.
    http://teawithmarce.blogspot.com/2010/02/teaser-tuesday-manufactured-identity.html

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  12. Thank goodness the cat doesn't do that on the way downstairs! Fun teaser.

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  13. Awww, kitties. I love kitties.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  14. There speaks an author who knows her cats!

    Mine's at http://hampshireflyer.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/teaser-tuesday-4/

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  15. Great teaser...I hope you have a great reading week.

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  16. I just picked up a couple of Pyms. Maybe I should move them more towards the top of the massive To Read pile?

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  17. This looks like a good book! I wonder if I could find it as an audio book.

    Gotta love those cats, eh?

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  18. Thanks for stopping by my blog. What a cute teaser. Very much looking forward to getting a cat this year :)

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