Reviews
""Mew Is for Murder"" by Clea Simon (Poisoned Pen Press, $24.95, 224 pages) is the newest mystery for cat lovers. It's also one of the best. Protagonist Theda Krakow is a freelance writer. When she's on an assignment for a Boston paper to write a story about a woman who might be a cat hoarder, Theda finds the old woman dead. Theda isn't convinced it's an accident. Theda's a first-rate new sleuth. She's vividly portrayed and she's likable. Unlike the little old ladies who usually solve cat mysteries, Theda is in her 30s, hip and a serious fan of rock music. The minor characters are also deftly written. For example, there's a purple-haired barista and lesbian rocker who was friends with the murdered woman and her cats. And there's the rock music critic at the daily newspaper -- complete with balding head and little gray ponytail. ""Mew Is for Murder"" has some flaws. Theda got a little too much help for my taste from a clue-giving cat in solving the murder -- especially since this is an otherwise realistic tale. I also don't understand why female sleuths always refuse to tell their cop friends important little details -- like someone slipping drugs into Theda's Diet Coke. Still, it's a well-written, absorbing, character-based mystery. It's a great book for snuggling on the couch with your favorite cat on an autumn evening. I hope there will be many more Theda Krakow books to come. -- Deborah Wood, The Oregonian (9.20.2005), Feline mysteries are a mainstay of the genre, although they tend to be mediocre. Fortunately, Simon turns that trend on its ear with a pleasing effort. The story features Theda Krakow, a freelance journalist looking for a juicy story who stumbles on a crazy old woman living in a house full of cats. Her human interest piece goes up in smoke when the woman winds up dead. The cops say it was an accident, but Theda's not sure. She decides to investigate, with predictably dangerous results. The plot is entertaining, if uncomplicated, but the best thing is the heroine, a pleasant, intelligent woman who easily gains the reader's interest and empathy. --David J. Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times, August 14, 2005., "Theda Krakow manages to save cats, meet journalistic deadlines, choose the wrong hunk, and solve a murder, in a sparkling addition to the mystery scene." - Lea Wait, "Mew Is for Murder" by Clea Simon (Poisoned Pen Press, $24.95, 224 pages) is the newest mystery for cat lovers. It's also one of the best. Protagonist Theda Krakow is a freelance writer. When she's on an assignment for a Boston paper to write a story about a woman who might be a cat hoarder, Theda finds the old woman dead. Theda isn't convinced it's an accident. Theda's a first-rate new sleuth. She's vividly portrayed and she's likable. Unlike the little old ladies who usually solve cat mysteries, Theda is in her 30s, hip and a serious fan of rock music. The minor characters are also deftly written. For example, there's a purple-haired barista and lesbian rocker who was friends with the murdered woman and her cats. And there's the rock music critic at the daily newspaper -- complete with balding head and little gray ponytail. "Mew Is for Murder" has some flaws. Theda got a little too much help for my taste from a clue-giving cat in solving the murder -- especially since this is an otherwise realistic tale. I also don't understand why female sleuths always refuse to tell their cop friends important little details -- like someone slipping drugs into Theda's Diet Coke. Still, it's a well-written, absorbing, character-based mystery. It's a great book for snuggling on the couch with your favorite cat on an autumn evening. I hope there will be many more Theda Krakow books to come. -- Deborah Wood, The Oregonian (9.20.2005), Praise for The Feline Mystique ""A luminous treatise on the ancient and sacred bond between females and felines ... The Feline Mystique delves lovingly into the profound depths of feeling our cats can provoke."