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 whos being oddly reclusive, its a welcome relief.

Reviews

..."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)

• • •

CATTERY ROW

CLEA SIMON

Poisoned Pen Press August, 2006

ISBN: 1-59058-306-X

Cover ImageIn Clea Simon's second novel, CATTERY ROW, freelance writer Theda Krakow covers the underground club scene in the Boston area. Theda's column requires hitting the club scene frequently to follow the latest bands in the area. Her purple haired friend, Violet, is leader of the hard core punk rock music group The Violet Haze Experience. Theda and Violet solve the mystery of a cat breeder friend's murder and break up a ring of kitten and cat thieves.

Theda has many interesting and complicated relationships with human beings, both men and women; however, her most solid and uncomplicated relationship is with her "tuxedo" cat, Musetta. Written in the first person, CATTERY ROW is fun to read and will have a special appeal to all cat lovers. Theda talks to her cat throughout this interesting mystery. People who love cats will enjoy CATTERY ROW with special insight. Cat lovers will absolutely love this book. Put this one on your gift list for all your cat loving friends.

- Maureen Bouffard, "I Love a Mystery Newsletter"

• • •

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.

• • •

...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)

• • •

"In Simon's satisfying second kitty cozy (after 2005's Mew Is for Murder ), spunky Boston journalist Theda Krakow and her feline friend, Musetta, are plunged into a crazy quilt of cat-related crime. In recent months, eight catteries near Beantown have been broken into, and expensive show cats stolen. Theda is puzzled over these thefts-without documents of their lineage, the cats are practically worthless, so why would anyone steal them? Then, one of Theda's friends, eccentric cat-breeder Rose Keller, lets on that she's received some threatening phone calls. A few days later, Rose turns up dead. Meanwhile, a blues singer called Cool tells Theda that she's being blackmailed. Someone has evidence that Cool has been drinking and using prescription drugs. With its well-developed cast of characters and a multilayered plot, this feline mystery is the cat's meow." -Publishers Weekly

• • •

"This was an interesting story, with an amateur, sleuth that is somewhat more believable than many.. Theda Kraow is a freelance writer which, of course gives her the opportunity to ask questions and poke around. At the moment, , things aren't going too well, jobs are scarce. When a magazine asks her to go back and touch bases with four memorable women featured in an earlier published article, she jumps at the chance. Not only is it work, but two of the women are friends of hers.

One, an older woman who raises cats and is a judge at cat shows, acts very strange when Theda calls her. When they meet, it is almost a cloak and dagger affair, and the journalist learns that the woman has been receiving threatening phone calls. Another, an old rocker friend of hers, Cool, seems to be avoiding Theda, letting her manager run interference. When Theda is inexplicably attacked, everyone assumes she startled a burglar, but she is not so certain. This doubt becomes stronger when one of the four women she is to interview is murdered.

There is a lot going on in this book. Theda herself is an interesting personality: a hard-playing, rock-loving, somewhat wild soul with an even wilder assortment of friends and a cop boyfriend who is as straight as they come. These off the wall characters add an element of interest and diversity to the story. Add in an exboyfriend who appears on the scene, the odd relationship with her current boyfriend, and her true love-her cat-and you have the basis for a good story. A well constructed plot adds to the mix and helps tie the various situations together. Although cats feature in this story, they neither solve crimes nor speak, so if you are not into that you donot have to worry. Cat lover or not, this story should please." --Mystery News

• • •

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)

• • •

In Simon's satisfying second kitty cozy (after 2005's Mew Is for Murder), spunky Boston journalist Theda Krakow and her feline friend, Musetta, are plunged into a crazy quilt of cat-related crime. In recent months, eight catteries near Beantown have been broken into, and expensive show cats stolen. Theda is puzzled over these theftswithout documents of their lineage, the cats are practically worthless, so why would anyone steal them? Then, one of Theda's friends, eccentric cat-breeder Rose Keller, lets on that she's received some threatening phone calls. A few days later, Rose turns up dead. Meanwhile, a blues singer called Cool tells Theda that she's being blackmailed. Someone has evidence that Cool has been drinking and using prescription drugs. (This is the weakest strand in the plotwould a celebrity musician shell out big bucks to keep a little pill-popping secret?) With its well-developed cast of characters and a multilayered plot, this feline mystery is the cat's meow. --Publishers Weekly