I enjoyed the 1st novel in the series and decided to continue reading the series. The 2nd novel is "filled" with the history of San Francisco, California (primarily the California Gold Rush era) almost to the point that in certain chapters it reads more like a nonfiction book than a cozy mystery. It also uses information related to Mark Twain's short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" (1865) which was Twain's 1st great success as a writer and brought him national attention. It is then a natural leap for Hale to add all things frog into her novel but sadly that doesn't necessarily make for an interesting story.

I'm going to give the series one more chance by reading "How to Moon a Cat." ( )

Did not flow well ( )

Nine Lives Last Forever by Rebecca M. Hale is the second of the Cats and Curios mystery series. Frogs have begun to appear in unlikely spots around San Francisco: the Green Vase and City Hall. Somehow these amphibians are tied to a long lost fortune.

Interestingly the online publisher's description for this book lists the protagonist's name as Rebecca. Although the author does bear a physical resemblance to her protagonist and does have two cats, her protagonist is never named in any of the books. She is either "the person", "the human" (from the cats' point of view) or she is "Oscar's niece" or "the woman above the Green Vase."

The books in this series aren't typical cozies because murder isn't the primary motivating factor of the plot. Instead it's a mixture of local history, treasure hunting, and modern day politics. To truly appreciate Hale's series, one needs to know a thing or two about the California Gold Rush, San Francisco geography, recent San Francisco politics, and Mark Twain.

In Nine Lives Last Forever, Oscar's niece needs to "follow the frogs." There are the frogs of Mark Twain's short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" (link), a set of sunken frogs at the old Sutro baths (Google Map), the frogs in City Hall, and an old carousel.

My two favorite minor characters are the PM (previous mayor) and the Current Mayor. Though again not named, they are very recognizably Willie Brown and Gavin Newsom. ( )

This is book 2 in the Cats and Curious Mystery Series and much better than book 1. The writing is less weird. In #1, the author adds strange large words here and there because authors are suppose to use large words? Hale did none of that in this book. The plot moved along nicely. The characterization and inclusion of cat details was much more than the previous book and VERY well done. One of the best chapters involved telling the story from Rupert's point of view -- Rupert is a cat. Hale has created some interesting characters and has some interesting locations/plot fragments.

The big disappoint to me was the climax of the plot. It was a non-climax really or a very subtle one. The supposed mystery was actually explained early in the book. The book basically followed the characters as they confirmed the earlier remarks. There was no big "ah ha" or even dramatic point towards the end.

Overall, the writing is improving, the plot still needs work, and the cats are getting better. I'm very much hoping that Hale pulls it together more in book 3. ( )

It was a very interesting book. ( )