Customer Reviews

The Man Who Understood Cats

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i can add little to the previous reviews. i am contributing my own simply to further encourage any browser to read this book.

the author reveals a rare depth of understanding in the creations of her characters. they are believable, multi-faceted human beings. and the protagonists are admirable people. there are displays of social responsiblity and moral courage, qualities i sometimes think are completely absent from the contemporary american character. the relationship between the detective and the psychologist is well drawn.

the writing is wonderful. the plot is well developed. the secondary characters are as well drawn and as interesting as the protagonists. the dialogue is extremely good.

i disagree with the reviewer who faulted the motivation of the crimes. i was satisfied with it, and i felt that there were just enough clues for the reader to work out at least some of the plot.

i have gone on to read other titles in this series, and have enjoyed them thoroughly.

all in all, this writer and this series are definitely worth pursuing.

Don't let the title of this mystery fool you into thinking that this is one of those cute mysteries in which man and cat solve crime. This riveting first mystery features Chicago detective John Thinnes and psychiatrist Jack Caleb, neither of whom believe that Dr Caleb's patient, Allan Finley, an obsessive but otherwise unremarkable accountant, committed suicide.
The plot is complex and suspenseful, but what makes this book special is the relationship between Detective Thinnes who is near burnout and the openly gay Dr. Caleb. Each man is forced to reassess what he thinks of the other as they work together to solve the crime.
As a psychotherapist, I found Dr Caleb very believable. He is a skilled, well-trained professional not a mind reader. Dymmoch understands, as many writers don't, that a good pyschiatrists and detectives have a lot in common with the ideal writer of fiction who in the words of Henry James is "a person on whom nothing is lost."

There are lots of cats and crime novels out there...crime solving cats are almost a cliche. But in Dymmoch's first mystery novel, cats are metaphors for human behavior: independent, intelligent, and irrepressible. Dymmoch writes about them well...in fact, Dymmoch is an excellent writer in general. "The Man Who Understood Cats" is well written, and fairly well constructed, though I felt it a bit repetitive: the sequence of murders seemed similarly devised (suicides made to look like murders) and the ultimate discovery of the murder was an anticlimax: he was the least developed of characters and his motives remain unclear.

However, I enjoyed the setting and the partnership of cop and shrink, and I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

The award-winning THE MAN WHO UNDERSTOOD CATS is a police procedural in which the cop shares time and details with a psychiatrist who is gay. For mystery junkies, this may sound a good bit like Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series in which a psychologist shares some of the time and most of the details with a cop who is gay. Once past those details, the two series are very different (except that Jack Caleb and Alex Delaware are both rich and the cops aren't).

In Michael Allen Dymmoch's series, of which THE MAN WHO UNDERSTOOD CATS is the first, Detective John Thinnes of the Chicago Homicide Division is called to what clearly appears to be a suicide, a young man killing himself with a gunshot to the head. While Thinnes is examining the scene, Doctor Caleb arrives, explaining that he was concerned because Allen Findley, a young accountant, is obsessive-compulsive yet failed to arrive for a scheduled appointment. Caleb explains that someone with Findley's condition could not do that.

Thinnes is quick to put Caleb at the head of the list of suspects; who ever heard of a psychiatrist making house calls. But there are things about the crime scene that set off warning bells for Thinnes, not the least of which is the perfection of the crime scene. It looks like it was an arranged movie set for the scene in which a suicide is discovered.

The doctor and the homicide investigator have nothing in common but each is drawn to the other, seeing the honesty and decency that is part of the other man's character. Thinnes isn't going to let Findley's death be written off. Caleb isn't going to let Thinnes be tempted to do so.

As they investigate, they realize that Findley may have found evidence of money-laundering, art theft, and real estate fraud in one of the accounts he was assigned. When Thinnes makes it clear that he is believes Findley was murdered, he and Caleb are blackmailed, assaulted, and there are attempts made on their lives. It is particularly difficult for Thinnes when he realizes that if Caleb isn't guilty of killing Allen Findley, the most likely suspect is another cop.

I read this book when it was published in 1993; I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it just as much the second time. Thinnes and Caleb are very likeable characters. Their awkwardness together gradually dissipates as they discover they have much in common. Both men served with distinction in Vietnam. Both are intelligent men who approach their jobs practically and with reason. Thinnes' perception of gay men is turned around when he realizes that Caleb doesn't fit the stereotype in anyway. Caleb's perception of the police is turned around when he realizes that Thinnes doesn't fit the stereotype of gay-bashing cops looking to harm and demean homosexuals.

I have read all of Jonathan Kellerman's books and enjoyed them neither more nor less than Dymmoch's books. Dymmoch's are a much faster reading experience than Kellerman's but the shorter length of the first's books doesn't mean the story is less compelling, less well-written, or less enjoyable. I do wish that Dymmoch had written as many Thinnes/Caleb books as Kellerman has written Delaware/Sturgis books.

The first of a series of books that introduce our two main characters. If you love a mystery that is not solved till the last chapter this is one for you.