Black Cat's Legacy by Elaine Faber Review & Character Interview

Black Cat's Legacy

With the aid of his ancestors’ memories, Thumper, the Fern Lake black cat knows where the bodies are buried. He must help Kimberlee solve her father’s cold case murder. But someone at Fern Lake wants to keep the secrets….secret, and will stop at nothing to prevent Kimberlee and her associates, a homicide detective and a mystery writer, from discovering the truth. Thumper tries to assist the humans who can’t seem to understand a clue, even when he puts it right under their inferior noses.

Elaine Faber lives in Northern California with her husband and multiple feline companions. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, California Cat Writers, and Inspire Christian Writers where she serves as the club librarian and an editor for their annual anthology. She volunteers with the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop and with the Elk Grove Friends of the Library. She enjoys speaking in retirement homes and on author panels, sharing highlights of her novels. Her short stories have appeared in national magazines and multiple anthologies.

Black Cat’s Legacy, a tale of intrigue and murder with a touch of whimsy. With the aid of his ancestors’ memories, Thumper helps pursue a cold case murder.

Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer, a tale of betrayal and greed with a splash of fantasy. Thumper accompanies his family to a horse ranch near the Mexico border where they confront wild horses, embezzling, false identities and attempted murder.

Black Cat and the Accidental Angel, a tale of memories lost and love found with a touch of the divine. Thumper loses his memory following an MVA. In the ensuing months, he and his feline companion are taken in by a family facing personal crisis and financial disaster. Thumper learns there are more important things in life than knowing your own name.

Ms. Faber also writes a humorous mystery series set during WWII, yet to be published. Eccentric Mrs. Odboddy believes there are Nazi spies and conspiracies on every hand. In the sequel, she travels with Mrs. Roosevelt to visit the troops on her Pacific Island tour in 1943.

All of Ms. Faber’s novels are available at Amazon.com. and on her personal website, www.mindcandymysteries.com

Interview with Thumper, the Black Cat of Black Cat’s Legacy

1) How did you and Kimberlee come to meet?

Thanks for inviting me to do an interview on your site. Let’s see... Kimberlee and her little girl, Amanda, had some car trouble and left the freeway to have the car checked. She stopped at Herman’s Motor Lodge, where I live. Kimberlee used to live in the tumble-down house next door when she was a toddler. That’s where her father was murdered 25 years ago.

 2) What's a typical day like for you at Fern Lake?

Before Kimberlee arrived, I greeted the fishermen on the dock, or helped out in the gift shop. At night, I’d select a vacationer missing his kitty back home and sleep on the end of his bed. On BBQ night, with a well-placed ankle rub, I would score a bite of hamburger or hotdog. I prefer mine without mustard. Visitors from the East Coast are usually the softest touch. Kids are always a push-over.

3) What is the mystery that you get to help Kimberlee solve in Black Cat's Legacy?
 Well, you know how humans mistakenly say we have instinct? Not on your tin-type. Everything our ancestors ever saw or did is in our ‘memories’ all the way back to the 17^th century. When certain things trigger those memories, we can ‘see’ the whole event our ancestors experienced.  Because my ancestor witnessed the murder−Oh my−I knew I had to help Kimberlee solve her father’s murder. I figured it would tax my energies immensely, but it was my legacy to help her. When we started to uncover the Fern Lake mysteries, Kimberlee found out more about her father than she ever wanted to know.

4) In what way are you able to help her out?  

Kimberlee meets Brett, an author writing a book about her father’s murder, and a shapely blonde homicide detective who has the hots for Brett. (Though, he has the hots for Kimberlee! Look out! Love triangle!) They joined forces to solve the murder. The house, where the murder occurred, had sat empty for 25 years ago. Thus, there were letters and pictures and secret hidey-holes in the house that I would try to point out to Kimberlee, but she didn’t always recognize the clue. In addition, I loved Amanda and comforted Kimberlee when she quarreled with Brett…when the course of true love takes a turn for the worse.

5) Have you noticed any bad people being prejudiced against you because you're a black cat?

Are you kidding? I am so gorgeous and with my magnanimous personality and catitude, most folks are completely besotted when I give them the time of day. There was someone at the lodge who hated Kimberlee and terrible things began to happen once she arrived. It was all Brett could do to keep her there. But you know how girls are. She stayed for Brett, often to her continued dismay.

6) Now onto some important cat stuff: do you have a favorite toy, food, and napping spot?

I prefer to nap on the lawn swing right outside the office door where I can scope out each visitor and assess their weaknesses when it comes to BBQ night. Favorite food... Hum. I like my canned meat in the AM and krunchies throughout the day. I do prefer a spot of cream just before bedtime. People are my playthings. It tickles my fancy to see how quickly I can twist a cat-hater around the sixth toe on my front foot and have him eating out of my paw before he leaves.

7) Anything you can tell us about your upcoming adventures?

In the sequel, coming out this fall, Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer, Kimberlee takes me to Texas to visit her grandmother. We see wild horse, beautiful sunsets and prairie flowers. But there’s also a rattlesnake, a mountain lion, a dishonest attorney, a questionable stable master and more intrigue and mystery than you can imagine. Of course, at one point, I have to save Grandmother’s wretched life, even though I don’t like her much. She is family, after all. The vacation would have been a complete bust if I hadn’t met my soul-mate, Noe-Noe, and fell in love. Yowza! I’ve been a bachelor so long, who knew?

Pretty sure you’d like my book, Black Cat’s Legacy. Through part of the story, I’m the POV character and you get to experience the Fern Lake adventure through my eyes. Things look different when it’s the cat telling the story.

Thanks for having me. I’ve enjoyed our little talk. Hope you’ll check out“MOM’s” website, www.mindcandymyseries.  If you want to write to MOM, she’s at Elaine.Faber@mindcandymysteries.com. She loves to write to authors and readers.

My Review:

I really liked this book, It has all the positives of a great mystery and it has a great character! I was very happy that this book helps to spread the word that not all black cats are bad. I liked that Thumper guided her human and used her ancestor's memories to do so. The dialog was fun to read and I think that Thumper has a lot more mysteries to solve. Cats are naturally moody and I love how the author brought Thumper to life. The ending was good, and I can not wait to read about Thumper's next adventure. The preview at the end of this book really looks good. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.