Paws and Effect by Sofie Kelly

"..... Another great Magical Cats Mystery, Paws and Effect starts with another dead body. Thankfully, this body is found by both Marcus and Kathleen and not just Kathleen and the culprit is immediately known; the culprit steps right up and is proud of the act. Spoiler...Marcus' kitty companion, Micah, is determined to rid her domain of voles and she is showing Marcus how she is taking care of him by bringing him her kills....... Kathleen and Marcus are now a couple, but whilst Kathleen is an open book with very few secrets, Marcus is the opposite; he is a very private person and has told Kathleen very little about his past. When Marcus and Kathleen go to breakfast, four people at anther table are strangers in town, but they know Marcus on sight; they went to college with him and have been friends for years. A developer has come to Mayville Heights and is planning to put in a large spa and resort on Long Lake not far from Wisteria Hill and the feral cat colony. Marcus' four friends now work for an environmental group and are opposed to the development of the area. The development has the town, even families, divided. Marcus' friends are in Mayville Heights to try to find a way to halt the development. One of the friends is still angry at Marcus because he believes that Marcus stole his girlfriend. And in very short order, one of the friends is found dead. Marcus is a suspect, placed on leave, and told to stay away from the investigation. Marcus doesn't even tell Kathleen to stay away from the investigation, he knows it would be a waste of breath ..."

"思い、思われ、ふり、ふられ"라는 제목의 일본 영화를 본 적이 있는데... 번역을 하자면 "사랑하고 사랑받고 차고 차이고"이다. 이 작품에도 어울리는 제목이 아닐까 싶다. 물론 이 작품이 일본 영화처럼 청소년기의 이야기를 다루고 있는 것은 아니지만 갈등의 원인이나 이야기의 중심 전개가 비슷하다. 중반까지 읽다 보면 이야기가 어떻게 끝날지 예측할 수 있다. 주변적인 이야기가 너무 많기 때문에 지루한 느낌을 가지는 독자도 있을 듯싶다. 문장이나 표현은 평이해서 읽는데 큰 문제는 없으나 이 시리즈에 익숙하지 않은 독자들은 인물관계나 내용 전개에 불만이 있을 수 있다.