I am excited to write my review of “Kat Out of the Bag” by Wendy Kendall. I finished my advance reader copy just before the book released on April 13. I enjoy a good cozy mystery, and I highly recommend this book.
“Kat Out of the Bag” will take you away to the charming town of Bayside, Washington, where you’re going to meet your new favorite amateur sleuth, the famous purse designer, Katherine Watson.
Katherine has come home from Los Angeles to support her family, and being the active and entrepreneurial woman that she is, she opens a museum dedicated to women’s history, told through the stories of their purses. At the gala opening, her best friend and Bayside’s mayor is brutally murdered.
Katherine, while she’s devastated to lose her friend, also feels guilty that it happened at her event, and she wonders if she could have stopped it. Then when the wrong person is investigated, Katherine immediately sets out to find the real killer before they strike again. But can she solve this mystery before she becomes the next victim?
Kendall weaves a complex and interesting puzzle with her twisting plot, picturesque town, and eccentric characters. In addition to our strong and intrepid heroine, Katherine, I particularly love MoonJava, or MJ, Katherine’s hippie mother, whose daily mantra always seems to move the plot forward. There’s also the spice of potential romance with Officer Jason Holmes to keep things interesting as Katherine sleuths out the killer. Holmes’s partner, K-9 Officer Hobbs, and Katherine’s own sleek cat, Purrada, gave me my animal fix, something I can’t resist as an addition to any story.
I love the descriptions of the purses that Kendall includes. It’s fun how Katherine can always tell something pertinent about the person carrying them. And as an added plot enhancement, purses offer some mystery all of their own in this charming tale. Wendy is a purse aficionado who knows her subject. So once you’ve read the mystery and you’re eagerly awaiting the next book in the series, be sure to enjoy visiting her blog “A Passion for Purses” where the characters come alive and interview women about their lives and their purses.
If you still can’t get enough of Kendall’s work, check out her “Recommended Reads” blog, her “A Novel Talk” podcast on YouTube, and her syndicated “Recommended Reads” and “Kids are Bookin’ It” columns with the Edmonds News.
Whatever you do, be sure to treat yourself this spring with this charming, fast-paced, convoluted cozy mystery that will make you forget all about those tedious hours of quarantine.
