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A Cat on Stage Left: An Alice Nestleton Mystery

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In Manhattan, Mary Singer hires actress and cat sitter Alice Nestleton to watch her pet feline. When Mary arrives at Alice's apartment house to deliver the pet, she is murdered by her chauffeur. A stunned Alice grabs the pet carrier containing the pet and brings it upstairs with her. To further shock her, a toy cat is inside the carrier. A video of the killing was filmed by a tourist.

The police believe Alice is hiding the identity of the third person inside the killer's car, but she truly did not see the person. Alice meets Mary's friend, a derelict Sam Tully. Together, they investigate the killing and soon uncover a connection to the 1985 off-Broadway production of Marlowe's Edward the Second. However, one of the suspects apparently has threatened Alice to back off or else. Will the intrepid amateur sleuth continue her quest to uncover the culprit or will she wisely back down before she becomes a victim too.

A CAT ON STAGE LEFT, the sixteenth book in the popular Alice Nestleton mystery series, is a cute and fun to read Manhattan based mystery that will be enjoyed by fans of the series, the sub-genre of amateur sleuthing, and cat lovers. Though the novel contains a relatively simple story line, the series remains fresh due to new insight into Alice and her friends (especially Nora) and the addition of Sam, a hard boiled fluffy character.

Harriet Klausner

A Cat on Stage Left! Does this sound as though a cat on the left in a play is pertinent to an on stage mystery and is, in actuality, center stage. This idea is supported by the inquisitive stare of a, seemingly very much alive, cat on the book's jacket. Can we judge a book by its cover? Adamson's book captures the reader's curiosity through every paragraph, page, and chapter.

It may be that we characterize the book as a realistic fiction; however, could it be that the event actually did transpire? Is there a real person named Alice Nestleton? After all, Alice herself relates clearly and succinctly every brief chapter of this mystery story.

Suspense invades the life of out-of- work actress and amateur PI, Alice Nestleton with a telephone call from Mary Singer who seeks Alice's service for four days as a cat-sitter at twenty-five hundred dollars cash, up front. Twenty minutes latter, right before Alice's eyes, Mary with the carrier is shoved from the back seat of a Bentley. Then suddenly the chauffeur sends at close range a bullet through the head of Mary. A "Canadian tourist" films the murder and Alice spread on all fours by the impact. The TV plays and replays the scene.

For four hours Alice responds to police interrogations. With the help of Sam Tully, a derelict, Alice trudges through Manhattan in search of clues. Foremost among these: "Edward the Second", a stage play, those who performed in it, and the feline, Dante. Along with these, she recalls the deep wrinkles in Mary's face.

This mystery, the sixteenth of the Alice Nestleton series, is appealing to all fluent readers. It moves quickly and descriptions and characterizations are for the most part gleaned from the conversations and expressed thoughts of Alice. This sleuth adventure is intriguing from beginning to end.