Customer Reviews

Cattery Row (Theda Krakow Mysteries, No. 2)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cat lovers will appreciate Simon's second Theda Krakow mystery, with its information about pedigreed cats, kitten mills, and cat shows. But, this book has so much going for it even if you're not a cat lover.

Theda Krakow is confused about her career and her relationship. But, she does understand the importance of her friends and her love of music. These get her through the rough times when her freelance journalism career is slow, and her boyfriend, Bill, doesn't seem to understand her life. It's her loyalty to her friends that drags her into another mystery. When her friend Rose, a breeder of pedigreed cats, is killed, Theda refuses to believe that Rose was involved in a ring of cat thieves who stole pedigreed cats from catteries. She knows that Rose and her cats had been threatened. She also discovers that another friend, a singer, is being blackmailed. As Theda tries to clear Rose's name, and help her other friend, she's dragged further into investigations that truly belong to the cops.

Theda Krakow may be an amateur detective, but it's her friendships that drag her into the cases she works on. She's a fascinating character because of her loyalty and her own insecurities. Readers might pick up these mysteries because of the cats. They'll return to them because Theda is a wonderful, changing character.

Theda Krakow's life gets hairier (or furrier) in the second installment of Clea Simon's excellent series. Once again there is a murder to be solved and cats in distress to be rescued. But this time we get drawn further into Theda's world of nightclubs, freelance writing and rock'n'roll-- a colorful and inviting place that we don't see in enough mysteries. New Englanders will recognize some of Theda's favorite haunts, but the colorful characters should appeal to everyone. Simon's knack for plotting has also taken a few leaps since "Mew Is For Murder"; and Theda is lucky to escape with her skin more than once. There's also a bit of romance between the lines. Very crafty and highly enjoyable.

Prize-winning Simon's second novel in the Theda Krakow series (after the wonderful The Feline Mystique)is really witty and totally engaging. This time, journalist Theda (who is a great heroine, by the way) is investigating someone who is stealing show cats--and there's murder afoot, too. Set in Boston, where Simon lives, the whole book is so spot on in detail, so atmospheric, that it makes me homesick for the town. And of course, all the cat details make me wish I weren't allergic so I could have two, or six. This is a fabulously written mystery and a really smart series.

Cattery Row is Clea Simon's second entry into the Theda Krakow Mystery series, the first being Mew is for Murder. Both are published by Poisoned Pen Press.

Theda Krakow was a reporter covering the music scene until a disagreement with her boss ended that job. So, with a dwindling bank account, a tangled relationship and aging by the day, she is pleased to get a free lance assignment to follow up on the women profiled in a previous article. She is especially happy to get an excuse to be back in touch with her old friend Cool, a best selling musician who is back in town after a long absence. She is distracted when a series of catnappings start to occur. But the catnappings become her focus when another one of the article's subjects, a cat breeder, is murdered. Theda and her cat loving friends must solve the crimes as more cats disappear and the suspects hit close to home.

This book is seems, at first glance, to be a common addition to the "cozy mystery with cats" that litters the current literature landscape. But Clea Simon has much more to offer. She has created main characters and settings that are evolved beyond the feline fanciers facade. The music setting adds a new, welcomed environment which she is able to bring to a colorful, rich focus. The world of girl bands, music clubs and the alternative Boston music , long known for producing great acts, is a different, interesting venue.

It is tempting to call this a feminist mystery due to its strong female characters; women who find love important but not all consuming, with careers they embrace and expand. They work together as friends and allies, supporting, aiding and abetting each other thorough life and future dreams. Competent female characters are a refreshing addition, cats and all. Theda and her friends, male, female and feline, are all well defined as individuals, each is given a role but not stifled into cardboard portraits.

Clea Simon has been able to combine her knowledge of journalism, music and cats into a strongly written mystery. It leaves hope that Ms Simon is hard at work writing the next entry into this series, two is not nearly enough.

Misplaced loyalties, misbegotten relationships, and murder all groove to a heavy underground beat in this fascinating look at the Boston music scene. Simon writes lovingly and well about cats, but the greatest character in her books is Boston and its famous rock-n-roll clubs. I loved the interesting and authentic backdrop which was worth the price of the book alone. Layered on top, though, is a tightly plotted murder mystery that cleverly dispatches a couple of old-wives cat tales.

Freelance journalist Theda Krakow is having a rough time of it lately. The reporter, who has had many of her articles published by the Boston Morning Mail, had a major blow up with her editor Tim and walks out in a tiff, which leads to her current financial crisis. She wonders whether her relationship with Bill, a Boston homicide detective, should go to the next level; finally she is further confused when her former ex-boyfriend comes back to Boston wanting to see her.

Her friends aren't doing much better. Her cattery pal Rose is being blackmailed for $20,000 which she insists she does not have but must pay otherwise they will kill her cats. Another pal Violet has had some sick cats stolen from her shelter. When Theda goes to interview Rose for a story she finds the woman murdered and believes the blackmailer committed the crime while the police think she was killed because of her involvement in stealing purebred cats. Theda investigates not realizing she may need as many lives as the cats possess.

CATTERY ROW is much more than just a great mystery; it is a story of a woman's life. Through her eyes the audience will adore the quirky and culturally rich Cambridge protagonist who deals with failure responsibly while also enjoying her relationships with her lover and her friends, all with distinct differing and distinct personalities. The whodunit is fantastic as Clea Simon brings her heart and soul into CATTERY ROW.

Harriet Klausner

Tough times have hit Theda Krakow, a freelance journalist. She had a blowup with Tim, an editor of The Boston Morning Mail, which means she isn't writing for them any more. Plus she's not sure about her relationship with Bill, a Boston homicide detective.

Her friends are having their own problems. Rose has received a blackmail phone call. She doesn't have the money they asked for. If she doesn't pay, they will kill her cats. Violet has had some sick kittens stolen from her shelter.

Theda gets hired to write a follow up about 4 women. Her friend Rose is one of those women. When Theda goes to interview her, she finds Rose murdered. She figures the blackmailer killed her. The police figure she was involved in the string of robberies of purebred cats.

To muddy the waters even more, her ex-boyfriend returns. Should Theda get back with him or work on her relationship with Bill?

Can Theda figure out who the killer is and what is really going on without using up her one life?

I really enjoy Theda. She's such a fun character. I love the Boston setting as well. I like this series with cats. The author really knows cats. That comes through in the way she has them interact with the humans. Yet, she doesn't feel a need to make them "talk."

I felt this was even better than her debut novel in this series. I can't wait for the next one to be published. I highly recommend this book.

After journalist Theda Krakow manages to lose her one steady job - as a music columnist - she lands a well paying article that puts her back in touch with several old friends. These women share, in different ways, Theda's two great loves: rock music and cats. She soon learns that someone is blackmailing one of these friends, and that another's cattery has received a telephone threat while yet another's cat shelter has been the victim of a break-in. What on earth can be going on?

The answers involve theft of purebred (or close enough to it in appearance) cats for a smuggling market, as well as old secrets. Theda juggles solving the mystery with keeping her bank balance positive, dealing with a former boyfriend's attempted return to her life, and with her current relationship. The new man in her life happens to be a homicide detective, which can be useful at times; but it can also present decided complications.

An enjoyable, fairly light mystery that has well developed characters both human and feline, and a plot with enough layering to hold my interest. I will want to read more Theda Krakow books, for sure.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of "Tabitha June Is a Shoulder Cat"

The Cattery Row (Theda Krakow Mysteries, No. 2) by Clea Simon continues the story of Theda and her cat, Musetta. Definitely different and a cut above other cat cozies, this book is a real page turner! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I read the first book in this series, and enjoyed some parts of it a lot. However, I thought this book was more shallow and slower paced. than the first book It really doesn't read like a mystery, and it's not good chick lit or literature either. Theda really doesn't do any detective work in this book--everything just falls into place in the end. The more interesting characters, Violet and Bunny, are not given enough time in the book. I thought this book seemed like a half-hearted effort. Also, "kitty mills" are not explored fully. It would have been more fun to make this book both more deep and more exciting. This was neither a cozy mystery or an exciting mystery, mostly just dull. Maybe the author could spend some time going into the villians motives more too. I like the fact that the characters are less typical, and that I can relate to them well, and I like cats, and that is the reason I finished this book. But this book lacked both heart and enthusiasm. It's a day at home doing laundry.