Cover Image: Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping

Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping

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Member Reviews

This story came at a welcome time because I have had it on my kindle for a while, and when I finally picked it up, it sped past, and I was done with it in one sitting!
One of its most significant advantages is the length of the narrative. We meet an author/cat-lady who is getting ready to go to a book signing where she encounters an odd man. Anna's dialogues and thought processes are all wacky and mildly sarcastic. I am not a fan of extra dramatically exaggerated dialogues, but it works most of the time in the pickle she finds herself in. We are also (quite suddenly) given an audience into the criminal and the actual police officer's minds. Till then, things were going well, but the minute these supposedly other characters came into the frame, it got a little weird. The plotline itself was not the issue, being a pretty straightforward one. The language and tone of the narrative did not change between the three characters. It almost felt like all this was happening in the head of the same person! I could not tell who the 'psycho' was, the hero or our leading lady. The style ensured that neither had a distinct personality. The twist also felt unnecessary because there was no foundation for it - I would not have felt bad if that bit had been omitted.
It was a quick read (as already mentioned), fun, but I might not be picking up the next in the series.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review was entirely based on my own reading experience.

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This wasn't the light comedy I was expecting. There was some humor, but it seemed too serious for me. The kidnapping scenes were scary and took it out of the comedy genre. The love interest was a love/hate type, and seemed a bit contrived.

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Crank calls, strange anonymous emails,
noises in the night, a kidnapping plus
cats, cannolis and a handsome detective
all mix together with humorous shenanigans
for a good, quick, fun read.
Anna Romano lives with seven cats:
TaterTot ( the Persian cat), Tiny, Sonny
and Petra (The American Shorthair cats
with unique strips i various colors), Jasmine
(Black Siamese) plus Liza and Bette (the
Ragamuffins).
Anna is not married. She writes novels in
addition to writing a Dear Jesse column
for the local newspaper.
So what causes Anna to steal a ice cream
bicycle cart and be riding down the highway?
Come along with Anna to discover what
causes the mayhem surrounding her!!
I volunteered to read Cats, Cannolis and a
Curious Kidnapping. I received a free copy
of this book via Booksprout and am
voluntarily leaving a review. My opinion is
my own.

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The first installment in the Anna Romano Mystery Series by Cheryl Denise Bannerman introduces protagonist Anna Romano, as well as her new boyfriend, Detective John Solace. Anna is a bestselling mystery author, and was at a book signing when a strange, red-headed man asked her to sign a copy of her newest book with a message to his dead wife. While a bit weird, things get worse when Anna realizes that she is being stocked by the red-headed man. A trip to the library helps her find out who he is, but before she can let the police know about him (they blew her off when she initially went to them about the stalking), she is kidnapped by her stalker, where she finds herself in danger. From the beginning, the book doesn’t seem serious, and is humorous throughout.

Anna is a likeable character and fairly well developed. The storyline is fun and is easy-to-follow, but ideally should contain more detail; the book is so short it would be considered a novella – only 122 pages – which can easily be read in a couple of hours. That could be a plus for younger readers and readers on a short airplane or bus trip. From the beginning of the book, readers will get the idea that this novel is sort of a farce, making fun of some of the more serious suspense-thriller books. The writing style is a bit amateurish

One thing that this series needs is to have recipes for the mouthwatering dishes that are showcased in the novel. Most culinary mysteries include recipes, and this series could benefit from them.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

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I was not a fan of this book, I only made it a few chapters in before I had to stop reading. The writing was..... Well I'm not really sure how to describe the writing other than I have read more coherent and flowing writing in the children's books that my four year old nephew reads.

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Loved it! What a delightful protagonist. A seriously humorous kidnapping occurs. Or should I say a humorous serious kidnapping? I am looking forward to reading more of Anna Romano's adventures.

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Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping is a fun short story, but I think there is lots of editing and additional information needed before it's a book that is ready to be published.

The strongest point of the book are the characters, especially Anna, who is the main character. She has a great sense of humor and a fun reliance about her.

This author has great potential!

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC for an honest review.

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Princess Fuzzypants here: I was not quite sure what to expect. The title indicated it was going to have some humour to it but I did not expect to have nail biting suspense. It took me by total surprise and I found I could not put it down. I wanted to find out what would happen when the famous author is kidnapped. There are three POV’s as the story progresses- the victim, the cop and the perp. The only ones missing were the kitties whose POV was pretty obvious.
It is a quick read, partly because I wanted to know what happened next. I truly like our heroine and our hero and I look forward to future stories.
Five purrs and two paws up.

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I can't wait to read the next instalment in this series.
This novella was well written, entertaining and engrossing. I laughed out loud and liked the well thought cast of characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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An overall cute book that was a quick and entertaining read.

I received an arc of this book and voluntarily provided a review.

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I received this ARC via Netgalley and Book Baby, in return for an honest review. This is the first book in a new series. It’s more of a novella than a full story. Anna’s an interesting woman and described as a successful mystery writer, lover of cats, lover of good food and cooking. The implication is that she’s quite mature in years, as she’s 37. The author does a good job of detailing what it’s like to be a published author, from book signings to working with your publisher to dealing with the public. Wild things begin when Anna’s asked to dedicate a signed book to a man’s deceased wife. After that, the man keeps appearing around her or does he? Lots of things are great fun; a few strain your ‘really, could this happen?’, like the detective entering her home to feed her cat, eating her food and falling asleep in her houe while she’s not there. Still, it’s fun, light and sets the stage for future stories with more adventures.

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Crazy, Twisted Story
This short novella introduces us to a new series that should be great reading. The plot was humming right along and took a sharp turn that I sure was not expecting! I can say no more without spoiling the plot, but I can say this would be a blockbuster movie. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

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Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping by Cheryl Denise Bannerman is the 1st book in the An Anna Romano Mystery Series, and my first book by this author. Anna is a quirky 37 year old, Italian women who is also a successful published author, loves cats, and cooking. I found this book to be funny and a fast read. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Nice break from darker reads.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

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Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping by Cheryl Denise Bannerman is the first book in An Anna Romano Mystery series.

Anna is quite successful mystery writer, and a great lover of cats. She also loves cooking. She is not in a relationship or has many friends. All in all she leads a very quiet life unless she is doing book signings or promotions. On one such occasion her world is turned upside down when a man wants to have book dedicated to his dead wife. Several other times Anna thinks she spotted him, or maybe it's only her mind playing tricks. Until she finds herself literally fighting for her life.

Light and easy to read mystery with a great deal of humor in it.
I liked how story was told in first person and that each important character had the chance to tell things from their perspective.
There are quite a lot incredulous things, such as detective entering someones house with a stolen key, or eating their cannolis and falling asleep This will put your credulity to the test but if some things are put aside it is really quite enjoyable.
Good first start of a new series.

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Anna Romano is a mystery writer who finds herself in the middle of mystery after a strange man asks her to dedicate a book to his deceased wife. In the end, Anna ends up being kidnapped, and stealing a bike with an ice cream trailer.

This was a fun, fast read. I was kind of surprised that it was so short. In the beginning it was hard to switch point of view because the different characters didn't have distinct enough voices. If any more in the series are published, I would be interested in reading them.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

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A short story yet satisfying. Good characters were fleshed out and the story kept me going till the end.
A very nice read.

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What a hoot! The story jumps from the three main characters: the writer Anna, the hunky cop and the creepy kidnapper. Enjoyed this one and had a hard time putting it down. The book goes at a fast pace, and is an easy read. The end romance was a little fast, and would have liked a recipe for cannolis, but other than that I highly recommend this book and author. Look forward to the next in the series.

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This book was adoreable. Anna was an amazing character. She is so feisty. I love the fact that anna is a mysyery author. That was clever. I found the story to be well written. The book was a thoroughly enjoyable quick read. I would recommend this book.

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