Sarah Grayson runs Second Chance - a shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine, where she sells items that have been lovingly repurposed and refurbished. Elvis, the stray cat that has chosen Sarah as his companion, charms all the customers that come into the store. And when Sarah's elderly friend Maddie is found with the body of a dead man in her garden, it's up to Elvis and Sarah to clear the old lady's name and to make sure the real murderer doesn't get a second chance to kill again.

I have to mention Elvis first.. I love him. He has cattitude, but he's so charming and smart and you can't help but fall in love with him. At first I did have trouble keeping names straight since there are a few old women who hang out together in this story. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, the setting, the second hand store aptly named Second Chance, the mystery. I especially enjoyed the main character's reluctance to get involved with finding out who the murderer is - that was very refreshing! I feel like I have to mention that there were a lot of errors in chapter 15 and it was distracting. With that being said I still can't wait to read more in this series! ( )

This is the first in another series with a cat in the title, the Second Chance Cat Mystery Series’. The series revolves around Sarah Grayson, who owns and runs “Second Chance, the Repurpose Shop” in a small coastal town in Maine called North Harbor.

Sarah had only been in town for a few months. She had returned to a place she dearly loved from childhood visits — where her grandmother lived after her late-night syndicated radio show had been canceled. After only a few months, Sarah’s new store was already a success. And, Sarah had already acquired Elvis, a big black cat that, as a stray in the town, had acquired a large scar across his nose. Before long, one of Sarah’s grandmother’s friends is found sitting beside a dead man, and the friend, Maddie, is accused of murder.

Maddie’s friends, who are mostly elderly ladies, are though. Sarah is, however, very interested in trying to keep Maddie’s and Sarah’s grandmother’s friends out of trouble. And, after failing to persuade them to let the police do their job, Sarah reluctantly begins to participate in the sleuthing to try to keep them safe.

It is an interesting journey of finding the murderer by way of many guesses and misses and one is surely going to enjoy this series.... ( )

Fun to read mystery. ( )

Book # 1 in the Second Chance Cat Mystery series, featuring Sarah Grayson, proprietor of Second Chance, a consignment shop in North Harbor, Maine, and her rescue cat, Elvis. When Sarah’s elderly friend, Maddie, is accused of murdering her special friend (who was NOT a nice man), Sarah and her “crew” of elderly detectives are convinced they can solve the crime and exonerate their friend!

This is a cute cozy mystery with a decent premise and a wonderful cast of colorful supporting characters. I love that the crew of senior sleuths is christened “Charlie’s Angels” … with a nod to the movie, NOT the original TV series! There are plenty of suspects, a sprinkling of red herrings, and some creative scenes of sleuthing. The final reveal is satisfying and somewhat surprising. I’ll keep reading this series. ( )

This series has been on my TBR pile for a long time. I'm so glad I finally brought it to the top of the stack and started reading!

Sarah Grayson makes a living from finding, refinishing/repurposing and reselling items in her shop, Second Chance. In this first book in the series, she also gives a second chance to a stray cat. She names him Elvis. :) When her elderly friend Maddie doesn't show up for a class she's giving at the local community center, Sarah and Elvis go to check on her. Maddie is fine....but the man sitting at her patio table is not. He's dead. And not from natural causes. Maddie is immediately the top suspect in the murder, but turns out her friend was hiding a life of crime and deceit. There are several people who might have wanted to see the cad and trickster dead. Sarah is determined to discover the killer's identity and clear her friend's name.

All in all, a great start to a cozy series! I love Elvis the Cat! Sarah is a great main character. She's intelligent and feisty when necessary. The story has a nice mix of humor and mystery. There were plenty of twists, suspects and investigation to make the story interesting. It kept my attention from start to finish.

I own the physical book, but opted to listen to the audio book version. Narrated by Marguerite Gavin, the audio from Tantor Audio is just over 8 hours. At first I found the narrator's voice a bit too nasal and annoying, but was still able to get invested in the story. Gavin reads at a nice even pace....I just didn't like her voice. I have partial hearing loss, but was still able to hear and understand the entire audio book.

There are five books in this series so far, with a sixth coming out in 2019. Sofie Ryan is a pseudonym for author Darlene Ryan. She also writes cozies under the name Sofie Kelly (Magical Cats series -- one of my favorites!). ( )