Lawyer for the Cat: A Sally Baynard Novel

By: Lee Robinson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 2016
ISBN: 978-1-250-05242-1
Reviewed By: Kristi Benedict
Review Date: May 24, 2016

South Carolina lawyer Sally Baynard is no stranger to interesting cases as she has tackled intense divorces, messy child custody cases, and burglaries. However, nothing prepared her for representing Sherman, a lovable schnauzer that was caught in the middle of a custody case between his two owners who were divorcing. Fortunately, Sherman's owners had a reconciliation and they are all living happily together which was best for everyone. With this unique case behind her Sally is ready to get back to a normal caseload and normal human clients. Her relief is short lived as a judge who is close to retirement gives her a case where she will represent a cat.

The cat's name is Beatrice and after the death of her wealthy owner this cat is named the beneficiary of a large plantation and multi-million dollar trust. Sally's job is to decide between three people who will be the best caregiver of Beatrice and with this choice that person will be allowed to live on the plantation and be given a handsome salary to pay for the care of the cat. So, in order to make a sound decision on which person will be best, Sally will have to visit and interview each of the three contenders and try to figure out the most important questions to ask. As Sally begins her investigation she reads that in the will the plantation is supposed to go to the son of the deceased after the death of the cat. This in turn creates an extremely upset son who feels he is being cheated out of his rightful inheritance.

As Sally gets a chance to meet each of the three people listed, the choice becomes harder and harder to make as each person has some positive but also some negative aspects that makes a solid decision difficult. In addition, Sally receives some threatening notes that she believes are coming from the angry son. It will take all of her skills as a lawyer to get through this unique situation and find the right home for Beatrice.

After reading the first book by Lee Robinson, Lawyer for the Dog, I was ecstatic to see that a sequel had been written and I could not wait to read it. Author Lee Robinson creates such a fun story full of southern charm that I absolutely love. The character of Sally Baynard is so relatable that I felt as if I was sitting down with a beloved friend as I was reading this book. In addition, adding the element of the animals to this relatable story is a beautiful mix. Once I started this book it was hard to put it away as the writing transfixed me in a way that I became lost in the story and time didn't matter.

Quill says: A book that is absolutely perfect to curl up on the couch with that allows for a wonderful reading experience.