Cattery Row
Clea Simon
Reviewed by Barb Radmore
Cattery Row is Clea Simon's second entry into the Theda Krakow Mystery
series, the first being Mew is for Murder. Both are published by
Poisoned Pen Press.
Theda Krakow was a reporter covering the music scene until a
disagreement with her boss ended that job. So, with a dwindling bank
account, a tangled relationship and aging by the day, she is pleased to
get a free lance assignment to follow up on the women profiled in a
previous article. She is especially happy to get an excuse to be back
in touch with her old friend Cool, a best selling musician who is
back in town after a long absence. She is distracted when a series of
catnappings start to occur. But the catnappings become her focus
when another one of the article's subjects, a cat breeder, is murdered.
Theda and her cat loving friends must solve the crimes as more cats
disappear and the suspects hit close to home.
This book is seems, at first glance, to be a common addition to the
"cozy mystery with cats" that litters the current literature landscape.
But Clea Simon has much more to offer. She has created main
characters and settings that are evolved beyond the feline fanciers
facade. The music setting adds a new, welcomed environment which she is
able to bring to a colorful, rich focus. The world of girl bands,
music clubs and the alternative Boston music , long known for producing
great acts, is a different, interesting venue.
It is tempting to call this a feminist mystery due to its strong
female characters; women who find love important but not all consuming,
with careers they embrace and expand. They work together as
friends and allies, supporting, aiding and abetting each other thorough
life and future dreams. Competent female characters are a refreshing
addition, cats and all. Theda and her friends, male, female and feline,
are all well defined as individuals, each is given a role but not
stifled into cardboard portraits.
Clea Simon has been able to combine her knowledge of journalism, music
and cats into a strongly written mystery. It leaves hope that Ms Simon
is hard at work writing the next entry into this series, two is not
nearly enough.