BOOK REVIEW: The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer by Lisa Orchard

This book opens in a small town in Michigan where fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman. One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death. Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own fact-finding mission. The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the inquest. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. To make matters worse, the police don’t even believe them. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer.

My Thoughts:

Sarah and her sister Lacey have been sent to their Aunt and Uncle's house for the summer. Sarah is not quite sure how she is going to fill in her time without her friends and their regular activities... That is until she meets and becomes fast friends with local girl Jackie. Deciding on a game of truth or dare, Sarah finds herself taking the dare of knocking on the door of the town's resident recluse Mrs Fedewa or 'The cat Lady" as the local kids call her. But the girls get much more than they bargained for when they discover the cat lady's very dead body on the floor of her house. Sarah, Jackie and Lacey are caught at the crime scene by the police and are taken to the station for questioning and it becomes apparent that one of the police officers, officer Klonsky believes that they are the one's who murdered her. With Sarah's urging, the girls decide to investigate the murder themselves and try to find the real killer before Officer Klonsky pins it on them. 

And so The Super Spies are born!! In the process of trying to find and uncover clues, the girls embark on a summer filled with adventure, misadventure, the uncovering of secrets long buried, all the while cementing their newfound friendships.

Lisa Orchard has written a book bursting with mystery and suspense. The plot moves along at a steady and even pace with a nice build as we head into the climax. The writing is incredibly easy to read. I would say it's aimed at a much younger audience than what I'm used to reading but it was immensely enjoyable none the less and could be enjoyed quite easily by a wide range of ages. 

The characters were all really fun and the friendships formed were one of the things that stood out the most for me. Sarah and Jackie had a real ease about their friendship. 

Overall, The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer was a quick, immensely enjoyable read and I will be reading the next book in the series very soon!!

4/5 Stars!!

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