Cries and Whiskers by Clea Simon, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Boston music journalist Theda Krakow's chaotic life gets a little more complicated with the death of a fellow animal rights activist in Cries and Whiskers, the third mystery in this series by Clea Simon.

It's becoming cold in Massachusetts and Theda Krakow needs to put her freelance journalist job on hold to help out her friends of an animal rights shelter. She usually writes about new club acts coming to the local pubs, but lately a new mysterious, dangerous drug showing up in the clubs has her seeing headlines. However Violet, a close friend of Theda's, begs her to help find some savage and wild cats and kittens that had been caught, caged, and taken to a local shelter. Gail, an activist for the group, who would have been there to help, but she had been killed in a hit-and-run accident. Violet is afraid the cats will starve or freeze to death in the cold weather. During Theda's hunt for the animals she comes upon some questionable facts not only concerning the cats and Gail‘s death, but also the drugs. She receives a call telling her that someone has her beloved cat Musetta and if she does not quit asking questions, it could mean the death of her cat, and possibly herself.

The book's title and overview suggest this may be yet another "cat cozy", but it isn't. Theda's personal life is anything but idyllic: her small apartment has intermittent heat and her boyfriend is on medical leave from the police department, on crutches, and (just like a man) feeling helpless and needy. Her job requires her being up and about late at night and often well into the early morning. Her environment adds a sense of realism and introduces conflicts into the story.

The plot of Cries and Whiskers is edgy and has many twists that keeps the reader turning the pages. Don't think of this as a cat mystery; rather, it is a mystery, and a very good one at that, that includes cats.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Cries and Whiskers.

Acknowledgment: Poisoned Pen Press provided an ARC of Cries and Whiskers for this review.

Probable Claws
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), April 2009
ISBN-13: 9781590585641; ISBN-10: 159058564X

Cries and Whiskers

A Theda Krakow Mystery by Clea Simon