PACHYDERM: A KATHERINE KINT MYSTERY

4.5 stars

Pachyderm is the second book in the Catherine Kint Mystery series by Australian musician and author, Hugh McGinlay. A client has invited Melbourne milliner, Catherine Kint to a social function at the Melbourne Zoo. Mixing business with pleasure, Catherine attends, but what occurs during that Saturday night out involves irritation, passion and tragedy: encountering Grace Chichester, her least favourite classmate at Chiefly Girls Grammar (and now a state MP), is something that Catherine could definitely have done without; the kiss she shared with hunky zookeeper, Beau Hacska felt like it could be the start of something good; but the death of the zoo's female Asian elephant, Dong Zei was sad, strange and certainly sudden

Days later, Catherine scores a commission for a very particular hat from an extremely demanding (and eerily psychic) client. It's a rush job, but Catherine is confident she can fill the order. Unfortunately, when Beau is savagely mauled by the zoo's African Wild Dogs, Catherine's concentration is broken. She is convinced that the two zoo incidents are linked, and quite unconvinced by the Zoo director's explanation, believing there has been foul play. Once again, she needs the able assistance of best friend Boris, but will her demands ruin yet another fledgling relationship for this capable barman?

McGinlay's second Catherine Kint Mystery is as good as, if not better than, the first. It's a tale with a dramatic climax, reached via not just red herrings, but an elephant, a tiger, a bunch of reptiles, some African wild dogs, generous quantities of gin and beer, and a lot of green felt. The same quirky support crew appear, and there is some character development in this instalment. McGinlay also touches on Alzheimer's disease and the stigma of mental illness.

Despite some minor punctuation issues, in the category of a cosy mystery, this is just a shade short of a five-star read. McGinlay again conveys his Melbourne setting well, thus appealing to locals. While it is the second of what is, hopefully, a continuing series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone as there are no spoilers for the first book, Jinx. Very enjoyable!

With thanks to the author for this copy to read and review.