Synopses & Reviews
Spiky freelancer Theda Krakow has fallen on a bare patch. Changes at the newspaper have cut her regular assignments and magazine work is slim. When a call comes in asking her to profile Cool, a gifted musician who's being oddly reclusive, it's welcome relief from both Theda's man and money troubles.
But even with work at hand, there are problems: Someone is stealing show cats. And both the feline-friendly Theda and her friend Violet, who runs the local shelter, are outraged. When a kindly cat breeder is implicated in the thefts, Theda resolves to uncover the culprits. But when a murder hits close to home, the circle of suspects widens to include family, an extortionist, and more....
Theda is a great guide to the city, whether hanging out in her Cambridge neighborhood or enjoying the latest bands in the clubs, particularly Violet's brand of riot grrrl punk. She's less adept at sorting out her own heart, which largely belongs to her kitten, Musetta, but as a sleuth, she's razor-sharp.
Review
"...another fun and well-crafted mystery that is entertaining enough to appeal even to readers for whom cats hold little charm....It's clear that Simon has a real love for, and understanding of, contemporary music, and that knowledge adds a unique flavor to her books that makes them stand out from the rest of the clowder of cat mysteries." -- David J. Montgomery, Boston Globe (September 4, 2006)
Review
Someone is stealing the show cats of Boston. And Theda Krakow, freelance journalist and cat lover, wants to know why. Cattery Row is Clea Simon's second entry in the series, and it finds Theda caught up in murder and extortion, as well as the cat thefts. The mystery's a winner, but the real appeal of Simon's work is Theda herself -- torn between two lovers, trying to make her freelance career work, balancing her eccentric friends, trying to stay active in the rock-club scene. Cat-themed mysteries are often classified as "cozies," but "Cattery Row" is, if not hard-boiled, nowhere near cute -- except, of course, for the cats. Simon writes with grit, and in Theda, she has created a flawed and sometimesinfuriating protagonist, one readers will want to see for many more lives. -- Jay Strafford, Richmond Times-Dispatch (10/29/2006)
Review
CATTERY ROW
CLEA SIMON
Poisoned Pen Press August, 2006
Review
Cattery RowBy Clea Simon
Poisoned Pen, 238 pp., $24.95
Let's be upfront about something: This is a mystery about cats. There's
a big picture of a cat on the jacket, the story's protagonist is a cat
lover, and a series of catnappings features prominently in the plot.
Books like this tend to get a bad rap, and sometimes that reputation is
justified. But Clea Simon, a Globe contributor, is doing her part to
turn that around, with another fun and well-crafted mystery that is
entertaining enough to appeal even to readers for whom cats hold little
charm.
Series character Theda Krakow, who made her first appearance in last
year's ``Mew Is for Murder," is a struggling freelance writer trying to
make a living in Cambridge and barely scraping by. She's got good
connections in the local music scene and a sharp eye for spotting the
latest trends, but she's burned so many bridges that it's difficult for
her to find work.
When an offer to write a cheesy profile of several ``women of the new
millennium" comes along, Krakow holds her nose and takes the job. At
least the article features a couple of her old friends, including a
local musician who's made it big, and a cat breeder who's well known on
the show circuit. Krakow is in the middle of her story when one of the
women is murdered. Naturally, she is determined to get to the bottom of
the mystery.
Books like this are, by necessity, built around fantastic premises. Do
freelance journalists investigate murders? Of course not. Even so,
Simon does a deft job of making Krakow's sleuthing plausible, if not
quite realistic. Also worth noting, and this is to the author's credit,
it is the journalist and not the cats who actually solves the crime .
The plot of ``Cattery Row" unfolds rather simply, but that doesn't stop
it from being fun to read. The cat scenes do tend to get old quickly.
How much purring, cuddling, and petting does a murder mystery really
need? Of course, that is the hook of the series, and Simon sticks to
it. But the real heart of the book is in the music.
It is when the author takes the story into the nightclubs and starts to
describe the rhythms and artistry of the performances that the book
really comes alive. It's clear that Simon has a real love for, and
understanding of, contemporary music, and that knowledge adds a unique
flavor to her books that makes them stand out from the rest of the
clowder of cat mysteries.
A well done example of the traditional (or ``cozy") mystery, ``Cattery
Row" is a pleasant and diverting book. Simon clearly has talent, and it
will be interesting to watch how her writing develops, hopefully as she
expands into new areas. While feline crime novels are fine, the
restrictions of the subgenre are too limiting for an author of her
abilities.
David J. Montgomery is the editor of Mystery Ink
(www.mysteryinkonline.com ). Clea Simon will read from ``Cattery Row"
Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass. Ave.,
Cambridge.
Review
"The mystery's a winner, but the real appeal of Simon's work is Theda herself ...Cat-themed mysteries are often classified as "cozies," but
Cattery Row is, if not hard-boiled, nowhere near cute -- except, of course, for the cats. Simon writes with grit, and in Theda, she has created a flawed and sometimes infuriating protagonist, one readers will want to see for many more lives." -- Jay Strafford,
Richmond Times-Dispatch (10/29/2006)
"With its well-developed cast of characters and a multilayered plot, this feline mystery is the cat's meow." --Publisher's Weekly
"A well done example of the traditional (or cozy") mystery, Cattery Row is a pleasant and diverting book. Simon clearly has talent, and it will be interesting to watch how her writing develops" --Boston Globe
Synopsis
Someone is stealing show cats, and both the feline-friendly Theda Krakow and her friend Violet, who runs the local shelter, are outraged. When a kindly cat breeder is implicated in the thefts, Theda resolves to uncover the culprits.
About the Author
Clea Simon is a Massachusetts-based writer, journalist and a regular contributor to the New York Times, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Ms., Rolling Stone and Salon.com. She's the author of three nonfiction books, Mad House: Growing Up in the Shadow of Mentally Ill Siblings, Fatherless Women: How We Change After We Lose Our Dads, and The Feline Mystique: On the Mysterious Connection Between Women and Cats. She lives in Cambridge, MA, with her husband, the writer Jon S. Garelick, and their cat, Musetta. Mew is for Murder is Simon's first mystery novel.