What the Cat Saw -- Carolyn Hart

If you're one of those people who believes looking into a cat's mind would show you a big blur, this book is not for you.  The cat involved, Jugs, is just an ordinary cat, but ordinary cats see more than you think.  Nela Farley isn't ordinary.   She can look into cats' eyes and sometimes read their thoughts.

Nela loses her job as an investigative reporter, and her fiance is killed in Afghanistan.  She goes to a small town in Oklahoma to work at her sister's job while her sister takes a week's vacation.  Nela will have a free room in an apartment owned by her sister's boss, who's just died in an accident.  Nela will also be taking care of Jugs.  

When she arrives, she looks into Jugs' eyes and gets a message.  The death of the woman who'd lived in the apartment wasn't an accident, after all.  The cat doesn't tell Nela who did it, so she begins investigating the big corporation for which her sister works.  She uncovers lots of unsavory goings on, and she gets some help from a local reporter who looks like Van Johnson.  (Raise your hand if you remember Van Johnson.  Okay, now you can lower it.)

Clever and witty, as usual with Hart, this book is a fine start to a new series.