Love The Whole Cat and Caboodle? Readers share 100 books like The Whole Cat and Caboodle...

By Sofie Ryan,

Here are 100 books that The Whole Cat and Caboodle fans have personally recommended if you like The Whole Cat and Caboodle. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Murder Past Due

Catherine Dilts Author Of The Body in the Cattails

From my list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love escaping into a story I know will have a dependably happy ending. Iā€™m an avid reader of cozy mysteries because life is hard. I donā€™t need my fiction to be a mirror image of the horrors of the daily news. I like puzzling through the clues, trying to solve the mysteries before the characters reach the solution. Series are fun because you really get to know the protagonist and the people in his or her world. They become old friends. The best cozy mystery authors rise above the formula and create unique characters, plots, and settings. 

Catherine's book list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries

Catherine Dilts Why did Catherine love this book?

This cozy series breaks the mold of the female amateur sleuth with Charlie Harris, the male university librarian. The rest of my expectations are intact, although the cat character Diesel behaves more cat-like than many felines in cozy mysteries.

This series is set in the South, in usually sleepy Athena, Georgiaā€“sleepy until a murder stirs things up. I feel right at home in Charlieā€™s home/boarding house and getting to know his southern-flavored coworkers, friends, and family. 

By Miranda James,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Murder Past Due as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

FIRST IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING CAT IN THE STACKS MYSTERY SERIES!

Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the good-natured librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel that he walks on a leash.  Heā€™s returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but soon enough heā€™s entangled in a real-life thriller...
 
A famous author of gory bestsellers and a former classmate of Charlieā€™s, Godfrey Priest may be the pride of Athena, but Charlie remembers him as an arrogant, manipulative jerkā€”and heā€™s not the only one. Godfreyā€™s homecoming as a distinguished alumnus couldnā€™t possibly go worse:ā€¦


Book cover of Lending a Paw: A Bookmobile Cat Mystery

Catherine Dilts Author Of The Body in the Cattails

From my list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love escaping into a story I know will have a dependably happy ending. Iā€™m an avid reader of cozy mysteries because life is hard. I donā€™t need my fiction to be a mirror image of the horrors of the daily news. I like puzzling through the clues, trying to solve the mysteries before the characters reach the solution. Series are fun because you really get to know the protagonist and the people in his or her world. They become old friends. The best cozy mystery authors rise above the formula and create unique characters, plots, and settings. 

Catherine's book list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries

Catherine Dilts Why did Catherine love this book?

I love my local library and its bookmobile. This cozy mystery series has both. Even better, it has a clever cat. I enjoy getting a behind-the-scenes look at library operations.

Eddie, the cat, begins as a stowaway on the Michigan bookmobile and quickly becomes a huge attraction for library patrons. Minnie Hamilton and Eddie are in a unique position to discover bodies on their rural bookmobile route. There is a long romance arc in the series that slowly builds to a sweet conclusion. In a unique living situation, Minnie lives on a houseboat during the summer and in her auntā€™s B&B during the winter.

I like how Eddie is involved with uncovering the mysteries in a perfectly logical way, considering he is a cat.

By Laurie Cass,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lending a Paw as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Death in a Budapest Butterfly

Catherine Dilts Author Of The Body in the Cattails

From my list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love escaping into a story I know will have a dependably happy ending. Iā€™m an avid reader of cozy mysteries because life is hard. I donā€™t need my fiction to be a mirror image of the horrors of the daily news. I like puzzling through the clues, trying to solve the mysteries before the characters reach the solution. Series are fun because you really get to know the protagonist and the people in his or her world. They become old friends. The best cozy mystery authors rise above the formula and create unique characters, plots, and settings. 

Catherine's book list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries

Catherine Dilts Why did Catherine love this book?

I fell immediately in love with the human characters and the setting despite the cat being a minor player in the story. Hana Keller is Hungarian on her motherā€™s side of the family. She works at the familyā€™s charming tea house. Grandma Juliana reads tea leaves and is steeped in Hungarian mythologyā€”correct thatā€”grandmaā€™s ā€œtalesā€ are often true to life.

I was engaged with the unique ethnic viewpoint and delighted to learn more about Hungarian culture and food. I devoured the series and have moved on to Buckleyā€™s Writerā€™s Apprentice series.   

By Julia Buckley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death in a Budapest Butterfly as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hana Keller serves up European-style cakes and teas in her family-owned tea house, but when a customer keels over from a poisoned cuppa, Hana and her tea-leaf reading grandmother will have to help catch a killer in the first Hungarian Tea House Mystery from Julia Buckley.

Hana Keller and her family run Maggie's Tea House, an establishment heavily influenced by the family's Hungarian heritage and specializing in a European-style traditional tea service. But one of the shop's largest draws is Hana's eccentric grandmother, Juliana, renowned for her ability to read the future in the leaves at the bottom of customers'ā€¦


If you love The Whole Cat and Caboodle...

Ad

Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: ā€œAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā€ Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā€¦

Book cover of Cat About Town

Catherine Dilts Author Of The Body in the Cattails

From my list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love escaping into a story I know will have a dependably happy ending. Iā€™m an avid reader of cozy mysteries because life is hard. I donā€™t need my fiction to be a mirror image of the horrors of the daily news. I like puzzling through the clues, trying to solve the mysteries before the characters reach the solution. Series are fun because you really get to know the protagonist and the people in his or her world. They become old friends. The best cozy mystery authors rise above the formula and create unique characters, plots, and settings. 

Catherine's book list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries

Catherine Dilts Why did Catherine love this book?

Serendipity. In 2023, I visited a cat cafĆ© in Tokyo, Japan. Then, I found this series by Cate Conte, which is based on a cat cafĆ© in New England, USA. It has all the classic elements of cozy mysteries I loveā€“a mystery to be solved, a body without too much violence and no gore, a light romance, a small-town setting, a close, if slightly problematic, family, and, of course, cats! Lots and lots of cats.

When I pick up a book in this series, I know Iā€™ll be transported away to Daybreak Island. While Maddie James tangles with solving a mystery and finding her way through her tangled personal life, each book will end with a solution. I can escape my own problems for a few hours.

By Cate Conte,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cat About Town as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Maddie James has arrived in Daybreak Island, just off the coast of Massachusetts, eager to settle down and start her own business--and maybe even fall in love. When a stray orange tabby pounces into her life, she's inspired to open a cat cafe. But little does Maddie know that she's in for something a lot more catastrophic when her new furry companion finds the dead body of the town bully. Now all eyes are on Maddie: Who is this crazy cat-whisperer lady who's come to town? If pet-hair-maintenance and crime-fighting weren't keeping her busy enough, Maddie now has not oneā€¦


Book cover of Desert Star

Stephen J. Gordon Author Of In the Name of God: A Gidon Aronson Thriller

From my list on thrillers for intriguing characters and backgrounds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love a story filled with interesting characters and a plot that reels me in. I know how challenging it is to construct a plotline and create breadcrumbs (not too many, so the solution isnā€™t obvious)ā€“all driven by intriguing characters. I am also a sucker for the ā€œgood guysā€ winning but with no guarantees. The characters must have depth, and I want to learn something new about a situation I am unfamiliar with or how a great story is told.

Stephen's book list on thrillers for intriguing characters and backgrounds

Stephen J. Gordon Why did Stephen love this book?

I love realistic heroes who are fallible yet, to their core, have a sense of morals. Throw in the verisimilitude of police procedurals (or military), plus a good mystery, and youā€™ve got me. Author Michael Connelly has juxtaposed an aging main character, retired LA Detective Harry Bosch, with a younger LA detective, RenĆ©e Ballard. In the old-school, patriarchal LAPD, Ballard had quite a challenge conducting the detective work she was passionate about.

Iā€™m impressed with the three-dimensional characters of the two generations, each equally dedicated to getting justice in the cases theyā€™re working on. Connelly's Bosch is far from perfect, and Ballard, the rising next-gen, are two characters I am compelled to follow.

By Michael Connelly,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Desert Star as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

LAPD detective RenĆ©e Ballard and Harry Bosch team up to hunt the brutal killer who is Boschā€™s ā€œwhite whaleā€ā€”a man responsible for the murder of an entire family.

A year has passed since LAPD detective RenĆ©e Ballard quit the force in the face of misogyny, demoralization, and endless red tape. But after the chief of police himself tells her she can write her own ticket within the department, Ballard takes back her badge, leaving ā€œthe Late Showā€ to rebuild and lead the cold case unit at the elite Robbery-Homicide Division.

For years, Harry Bosch has been working a case thatā€¦


Book cover of Ocean Prey

Virginia Slachman Author Of Blood in the Bluegrass

From my list on a courageous main character who wins.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m an undying, relentless, optimistic champion of right winning over wrong, of justice prevailing over injustice, and of good people and animals (especially horses) being protected, championed, and loved. And I know from experience that all of this is seldom easy when the stakes are high. Couple that with my love of horses, especially Thoroughbreds, and you might understand that I admire main characters who are committed to protecting the innocent and bringing the bad guys to justice, whether thatā€™s in the human or the equine world. And I love learning almost as much as I love people with character, heart, and courage. These books, I think, check all these boxes.

Virginia's book list on a courageous main character who wins

Virginia Slachman Why did Virginia love this book?

As with William Kent Krueger, I love all of Sandfordā€™s Prey novels (and there are a lot!). This is the first one I read, and I guess I got hooked because I want to beā€”if Iā€™m honestā€”either one of the main characters that persist through his books, and that appear in this one. Virgil Flowers is a lithe, laid-back, really smart guy who has long hair and wears band T-shirts; absolutely not the sort of person youā€™d associate with the U.S. Marshals Service, yet there he is! (He also has his own series, good for us!). Lucas Davenport is his boss, and Lucas is big, ruthless, and very richā€”and loves hunting bad guys. But what I think Iā€™m drawn to most is that he says exactly what he thinks, gets the job done by any means possible, and does not brook fools. At all. And, as I said, I amā€¦

By John Sandford,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ocean Prey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING THRILLER**

Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces on a deadly maritime case like no other...

An off-duty Coast Guardsman is fishing with his family when he calls in some suspicious behaviour from a nearby boat. The slick craft has stopped to pick up a surfaced diver, who was apparently alone, without his own boat, in the middle of the ocean. None of it makes sense, and his hunch is proved right when all three Guardsmen who come out to investigate are shot and killed.

They're federal officers killed on the job, which meansā€¦


If you love Sofie Ryan...

Ad

Book cover of Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

Death on a Shetland Longship by Marsali Taylor,

Liveaboard sailor Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived when she blags her way into skippering a Viking longship for a Hollywood film. However, this means returning to the Shetland Islands, the place she fled as a teenager. When a corpse unexpectedly appears onboard the longship, she canā€¦

Book cover of Design for Dying

Laini Giles Author Of The Forgotten Flapper

From my list on capturing the magic of old Hollywood.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an old movie fan and a novelist who has been writing historical fiction about show business since 2010. As a stickler for detail, I use oodles of old Hollywood biographies and other research sources to learn everything I can about my subjects and weave as accurate a tale as I can. My Forgotten Actresses series is up to four books, with plenty more under construction. 

Laini's book list on capturing the magic of old Hollywood

Laini Giles Why did Laini love this book?

I gotta love any mystery that features costume mistress extraordinaire Edith Head as a detective! 

I love this book for the frothy, fun adventures (and, of course, the clothes!) of the plucky lady investigators, Lillian and Edith. 

Also, I loved meeting Bob Hope, director Preston Sturges, Barbara Stanwyck, and costume designer Travis Banton over the course of the book!

By Renee Patrick,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Design for Dying as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Los Angeles, 1937. Lillian Frost has traded dreams of stardom for security as a department store salesgirl . . . until she discovers she's a suspect in the murder of her former roommate, Ruby Carroll. Party girl Ruby died wearing a gown she stole from the wardrobe department at Paramount Pictures, domain of Edith Head.

Edith has yet to win the first of her eight Academy Awards; right now she's barely hanging on to her job, and a scandal is the last thing she needs. To clear Lillian's name and save Edith's career, the two women join forces.

Unraveling theā€¦


Book cover of In a Dark, Dark Wood

Claire Cooper Author Of The Elevator

From my list on locked room thrillers to get your heart pounding.

Why am I passionate about this?

Thereā€™s nothing I love more than a good thriller, especially one with a locked room setting. Iā€™m fascinated by how people react to psychological pressure, and what it would take for any of us to behave in extreme ways. With The Elevator, I wanted to push that locked room scenario to its limits: two characters, trapped together in a tiny space. This might also be the book thatā€™s been gestating inside me for longest ā€“ my mum was trapped in a lift when she was pregnant with me! I hope some of the books on this list appeal to you, and that you enjoy them as much as I did.

Claire's book list on locked room thrillers to get your heart pounding

Claire Cooper Why did Claire love this book?

I was glued to every page of this book!

Itā€™s a claustrophobic thriller with a startling visual image at its heart: an ultra-modern glass cabin in the middle of a deep, dark wood. At night, the light against the glass means you canā€™t see out ā€“ but anyone outside can see right in. I loved the way Ruth Ware turned the rickety old building clichĆ© on its head, turning light from a source of comfort into a threat. 

By Ruth Ware,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked In a Dark, Dark Wood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*AUTHOR OF THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 and THE LYING GAME
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
*SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

An NPR Best Book of the Year * An Entertainment Weekly Summer Books Pick * A Buzzfeed ā€œ31 Books to Get Excited About this Summerā€ Pick * A Publishers Weekly ā€œTop Ten Mysteries and Thrillersā€ Pick * A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * A BookReporter Summer Reading Pick * A New York Post ā€œBest Novels to Read this Summerā€ Pick * A Shelf Awareness ā€œBook Expo America 2015ā€¦


Book cover of Fatal Affair

Nika Rhone Author Of Worth Any Price

From my list on romance books with strong women and the men who love them for it.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a voracious reader, and Iā€™ve come across way too many books where the female MC was an airheaded TSTL (too stupid to live) ninny. I donā€™t want to read about women who have to be saved by big, strong men. I want to see women who can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and save themselves, maybe with a little help from the big, strong man if she needs or wants it, AND who can turn around and do some saving of said man of her own, should HE need it. I think the healthiest relationships, even fictional ones, are those based on mutual strength, trust, and respect.

Nika's book list on romance books with strong women and the men who love them for it

Nika Rhone Why did Nika love this book?

I adore the character of Sam Holland. She is a badass cop, not willing to take crap from anyone, even her fellow officers, with a smart mouth that gets her into as much trouble as it gets her out of. Her character is written with such nuance and honesty that sheā€™s someone Iā€™ve willingly followed through 22 books (and counting).

Sam works twice as hard to make sure sheā€™s living up to her own expectations as much as anyone elseā€™s, always afraid of falling short, something I think we all tend to be too hard on ourselves about at times. The love interest throughout the series sometimes struggles with her strong personality, even as he admires her for it, which I think lends a depth of realism to their relationship as it grows and sometimes flounders.

By Marie Force,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fatal Affair as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Walking the thin blue lineā€¦  

Detective Sergeant Sam Holland of the Washington, DC, Metro Police needs a big win to salvage her careerā€”and her confidenceā€”after a disastrous investigation. The perfect opportunity arises when Senator John O'Connor is found brutally murdered in his bed, and Sam is assigned to the case. Matters get complicated when Sam has to team up with Nick Cappuano, O'Connor's friend and chief of staffā€¦and the man Sam had a memorable one-night stand with years earlier. Their sexual chemistry still sizzles, and Sam has to fight to stay focused on the case. Sleeping with a material witnessā€¦


If you love The Whole Cat and Caboodle...

Ad

Book cover of To Dye For

To Dye For by Greta Boris,

Imogeneā€™s client has a special request. The only hitch is, the client is dead. Itā€™s an ordinary day at Harryā€™s Hair Stop until Imogene hears her favorite clientā€™s dying wish. Two days later, she finds herself in the embalming room at Greener Pastures Mortuary, bottle of hair dye and scissorsā€¦

Book cover of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Ruby Todd Author Of Bright Objects

From my list on life after personal tragedy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always been preoccupied with how personal tragedy, loss, and grief can ultimately teach us truths about existence and our own strength that we might never have learned otherwise. As a child, I was confounded by the fact of death and the transience of life, and as an adult, Iā€™ve spent much time contemplating how literature is able to testify to the magnitude of these things in ways that ordinary language cannot. This interest led me to complete a PhD on the topic of elegiac literature and has also influenced the themes of my own fiction. I hope you find connection and inspiration in the books on this list! 

Ruby's book list on life after personal tragedy

Ruby Todd Why did Ruby love this book?

I was moved and delighted by this highly original novel, which blends murder-mystery with heartfelt philosophical explorations into animal rights, mysticism, existential anxiety, and our own humanity.

Narrator-protagonist Janina, a woman who translates Blake, studies horoscopes and feels a deep connection to the animals around her; she tells the story of what happens one winter when a series of men in her Polish village are murdered by a culprit yet to be found.

I adored this bookā€™s intelligence and blending of tragedy and humor. Its narrative combines a compelling plot with a distinctive first-person voice and deeply thoughtful reflections about the beauty, cruelty, and wonder of life.

By Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (translator),

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD, Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Olga Tokarczuk returns with a subversive, entertaining noir novel. In a remote Polish village, Janina Duszejko, an eccentric woman in her sixties, recounts the events surrounding the disappearance of her two dogs. She is reclusive, preferring the company of animals to people; she's unconventional, believing in the stars; and she is fond of the poetry of William Blake, from whose work the title of the book is taken. When members of a local hunting club are found murdered, Duszejko becomes involved in the investigation. Byā€¦


Book cover of Murder Past Due
Book cover of Lending a Paw: A Bookmobile Cat Mystery
Book cover of Death in a Budapest Butterfly

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,888

readers submitted
so far, will you?