Schott’s latest whodunit purr-fectly pleasing

Philipp Schott’s latest mystery is the cat’s meow for animal lovers, cozy mystery fans and locked-room aficionados.

The recently retired Manitoba veterinarian has his fictional vet Dr. Peter Bannerman off on what appears to be a wild goose chase in this, his fourth in a series.

Hassled by his disturbed, hoarder and artistic brother Sam, the autistic vet is on continuous back-and-forth travels from his home base in New Selfoss to the North End of Winnipeg.

First it’s an unexplained death (possibly featuring sexual shenanigans gone wrong) in Sam’s apartment block and then, if that isn’t stressful enough, it’s the disappearance of one of three Bengal kittens from Sam’s apartment.

The story then takes an even more urgent turn, with Sam arrested and charged with murder, and his mental health decline while in the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Although this is the fourth in the series of Dr. Bannerman books, Three Bengal Kittens can be read as a standalone. There are some references to previous cases as well as tensions between the vet and his wife Laura that suggest past history, but nothing that slows the pace of the case.

This is reinforced with shorter chapters as the novel comes to a conclusion — and the solution.

Schott plays fair with clues and suspects, although some readers may grumble that late revelations produce a sudden, dramatic end.

Multiple suspects in a thriller can pose a challenge for readers — and in this case, they all live in Sam’s apartment block. Each is questioned by the amateur detective. Peter tries to use approaches and tactics that he has learned from his earlier cases, much to the concern of his wife and his Mountie brother-in-law.

Just when the reader is considering drawing a floor plan and a suspect list, all is made clear following enough revelations to remove most of the tenants from the suspect list.

There are several storylines here. The missing kitten (the adventurous Mr. Bingley) has his say from time to time, and the vet’s autism (and his brother’s delusions) are major plot features — this allows his wife to serve as devil’s advocate on behalf of the reader. There’s also the major conflict in Bosnia — which saw the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) involved in one of our most serious military actions since the Second World War — as well as the locked room aspect of the crime and the information and suspicions each tenant offers.

In all but one instance the novel’s unusual touches are accurate. Linseed oil can produce spontaneous combustion. The unusual tea, Frisian, is as described. The poisons referred to are as potent as suggested (in case the reader has designs of their own).

However, the PPCLI does not have a pipe and drum band, although there were bagpipers with the regiment in the First World War.

A cozy mystery should have a place that the reader would like to live or revisit. Sam’s apartment block qualifies, and what was broken is somewhat mended by the book’s end.

There will be a fifth in the series and certainly this one leaves you with a good “feline.”

Ron Robinson is eagerly awaiting the next Ludwig and Professor T TV series.