Clea Simon Reviews (4)
(2009) Probable Claws When one of her sources and friends is murdered, it’s Theda who becomes the focus of even bigger story when she finds herself arrested for the crime. Having some experience as an amateur sleuth, Theda decides it’s in her best interest to find the real killer. Meanwhile, she and her beau Bill Sherman, a medically retired cop and current music club owner, are going through a rough patch in their relationship. Plus her professional reputation is being sabotaged by person or persons unknown and Theda must find the culprit and put a stop to it. I’m not a cat person and I know absolutely nothing about today’s popular music – two focuses of Clea Simon’s series. So, it’s a surprise to me how much I like the series (Probable Claws is the fourth book). Younger readers (those in their teens, 20s and 30s) or those who are into cats and/or the club scene will find more reasons than I to become fans. The writing is polished – I especially appreciate the author’s ability to make due with a small “cast” that includes continuing characters who are interesting and well developed. The story moves along nicely to a satisfying conclusion. My only (very minor) complaint is that, after a short prologue, which let me know Theda would discover a friend murdered, I had to read almost 100 before the murder actually occurred. Prologues, in my experience as a reader, seldom add much to and more often detract from a story. But, as they say, them’s small potatoes. Overall, Probable Claws is a most satisfying read. By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library April 17, 2009.
Theda Krakow is up for a staff job at the Boston Morning Mail and her editor Tim convinces her she needs to wow the powers that be at NewsCo, the company that owns the paper. Although music is her beat, Theda’s true love is cats. A story involving the poisoning of cats at a shelter run by Theda’s friend Violet may be her ticket to a new, more secure job – if that’s what she really wants -- for our heroine.
(2007) Cries and Whiskers
Theda Krakow’s life centers on her free-lance writing gig for the Boston Morning Mail, her friends, music,
Our heroine’s friend Violet, who manages a home for abandoned animals, has also enlisted Theda to help round up feral cats an animal activist was trying to save from an oncoming winter story. While in the midst of that project, Gail Womynfriend died after being the victim in a hit-and-run accident.
Theda is also spending more time with beau Bill Sherman, a homicide detective sidelined after two surgeries on the knee he injured in a fall. She’s concerned he’s becoming a real couch potato and not doing enough to aid in his rehabilitation. Theda is hip-deep in interviews when it appears someone is unhappy with her questions. But which questions? Theda’s a reporter and it’s her job to ask questions.
I’ve liked this series from the start, even though I’m at sea with its references to the contemporary culture … and Theda is too young for me to easily identify with. It is, however, a series I believe would be much appreciated by younger (and hipper) readers. The pacing and plotting are terrific, the small cast of characters interesting. Readers who eschew mysteries with feline protagonists should know Musetta doesn’t solve crimes OR talk.
By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library
(2006) Cattery Row
Freelance-writing assignments have been few and far between since Theda Krakow burned her bridges with the feature editor at the Boston Morning Mail. Seems he brought in a younger writer (younger than Theda’s 33) and handed the newcomer a regular music column that was Theda’s brainchild. Needless to say, our heroine let him know just what she thought of THAT turn of events. Now she’s being underpaid by a regional magazine to write a follow-up on four of the women it had earlier featured as “Women of the Millennium.” Theda has been saddled with a free-lance photographer, Sunny LeTourneau, whom she doesn’t care much for.
Theda is particularly pleased that one of the women she’ll be interviewing is a friend, Rose Keller, who owns the Rose Blossom Cattery. A feline-o-phile, Theda is concerned about some cat thieves who’ve been operating in the
That doesn’t sit too well with Bill Sherman, cop and some-time beau, who’s concerned aobut Theda’s safety. To complicate things further, her old flame Rick –who abandoned her for greener pastures and a better job in
Conventional wisdom once was that any cozy worth its salt had a cat and/or a teapot on its cover. Cattery Row is not that kind of cozy. Theda isn’t sitting around in a floral print dress with a white lace collar sipping tea in her drawing room. She’s more likely to wear jeans and a leather jacket while pounding down Blue Moon beer at a local music haunt. Although I’m neither a cat fancier, nor a connoisseur of contemporary music, I appreciated Cattery Row for its tight plotting, character development and the tidy way the author ties together loose ends. It’s a fitting follow-up to her first book, Mew is for Murder. No sophomore slump for
By Diana Vickery. First published in the Cozy Library,
(2005) Mew is for Murder
After free-lance writer Theda
Thanks to her interest in Lillian and the fate of her cats, Theda is pulling out of a months-long funk. Theda’s sense of loss was brought on by the death of her beloved cat James and, to a lesser extent, by the move of her most recent love interest, Rick, to
Although I’m not a huge fan of books in which animals play a prominent role, I really enjoyed Mew is for Murder. Clea Simon has created a very attractive heroine in Theda Krakow and the story rings truer than any cozy in recent memory. The author’s portrayal of the ups and downs of making a living as a free-lance writer are quite realistic; I spent years as a newspaper stringer and am in a position to judge. Plus the story moves along with a pleasant rhythm, solid writing and a very satisfying conclusion – leaving readers wanting more.
But what I liked most about Mew is for Murder that it will appeal to younger readers, who will be able to identify with Theda’s situation and appreciate the references to the
By Diana, first published in the Cozy Library, February 2006.
