Spider in the Sink: A Kate Mulcay Mystery [Hardcover]

Celestine Sibley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kate Mulcay Mystery | Publication Date: November 1997

On a fine December morning, as she is out gathering stones for her garden, Kate Mulcay instead finds a man. The new reverand at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church is a tall, attractive bachelor named Jonathon Craven and he lives near enough to be considered a neighbor. When Jonathon asks Kate if she would like to show her garden for charity come spring, she surprises herself by saying yes. After all, she reasons, her garden spruced up is just as fine as any and so is the new preacher!

With the possibility of romance on the horizon, Kate's holiday plans take on more excitement. It has been years since her beloved husband died, and the holidays have been a little lonely. Kate can't help thinking to herself what a wonderful Christmas this might turn out to be. The only dark cloud is her inability to find a place for Shag and Warty, two homeless men to whom she has dedicated her newspaper column, and their dog, Foodstamp. No shelter would take the men because they refused to give up their dog, so when the wealthy (and more than a little eccentric) Miss Iris Moon announces she will open her home to the three strays, Kate can't believe the good turn her luck is taking.

The joyous feeling of the season is shattered the next day, however, when Kate learns that a murder has taken place. Worse yet, Shag and Warty are the prime suspects. Knowing that the men are not capable of such violence, Kate sets out to find the truth and in the space of a few days discovers some very interesting and scandalous secrets.

Kate's vision of a lovely Christmas begins to dim, and when it seems that a trio of teenage girls is vying for and maybe winning Jonathon's affections, she turns to Miss Willie, her wise neighbor, for some good old-fashioned advice. The clock is ticking against Shag and Warty and Kate's romantic possibilities with Jonathon. With the holidays closing in fast, Kate races to set things right. Spider in the Sink  is colorful, playful and utterly charming. It is the fifth Kate Mulcay mystery, and it is vintage Celestine Sibley.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Celestine Sibley is one of the south's natural wonders." -- Pat Conroy --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Celestine Sibley is the author of more than twenty books, including A Plague of Kinfolks, Straight as an Arrow, Ah, Sweet Mystery, and Dire Happenings at Scratch Ankle. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006017515X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060175153
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,306,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love the kate Mulcay Series!!!!, February 7, 1998

By 

Beth Coberly([e-mail]) (Jasper, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider in the Sink: A Kate Mulcay Mystery (Hardcover)

What a treat to again get a glimpse of the wonderful world of Celestine Sibley. The stories always end too quickly or rather you wish they would just continue.

4.0 out of 5 stars Kate Mulcay at Christmas, February 21, 2011

By 

H. F. Corbin "Foster Corbin" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spider in the Sink (Kate Mulcay Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

It is almost Christmas and Kate Mulcay is working with plants, as she is prone to do, when she meets the new handsome priest from the nearby Episcopalian church. She hasn't been in the market for a husband since the death of her beloved Benjy, but this man is terribly attractive. Ms. Sibley weaves the priest, along with three teenage girls, a couple of homeless men Shag and Warty, a driver Beau, at al. smoothly into a plot that involves what appears to be the murder of a rich Buckhead socialite. Ms. Sibley was a longtime Atlantan who has written book after book about her beloved city, one of the problems I found with this otherwise most inviting little mystery. Since the story is told from the viewpoint of Kate, Ms. Sibley gives far too much information about the city she loves. The references are accurate and interesting certainly to another Atlantan but Kate tells the reader a lot more than she shows him. But there are references to the Olympics, Mayor Maynard Jackson, Capitol Homes, Underground Atlanta, the City Grill, the Carter Center (President and Mrs. Carter make a cameo appearance in the novel) the Candler Building--the list goes on. You can almost find your way around the entire city from just reading this novel. Another problem is that sometimes the characters speak better than they should. For instance Beau may use the word "git" in one sentence and in the next one speak impeccable English: "I don't know anything about that poor woman's being murdered." And while "Foodstamp" is a perfect name for a homeless man's dog, surely a newspaper in a major U. S. city would never be named "Searchlight." Perhaps Ms. Sibley did not use the actual name of the newspaper in Atlanta in her novel for legal reasons; on the other hand, she did use the real name of one of its employees, Robin McDonald, a police reporter. In the novel she becomes a character that Ms. Sibley refers to several times as "Robin McDonald, the pretty police reporter."

For the most part, however, Ms. Sibley gets the dialect right. People "knowed," they "git," they "brung," they have "young'uns," they "spark." Her plot also moves right along as she develops both a murder mystery and a love story.

For those who read Ms. Sibley's column in the ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION for many years, it is easy to see shades of her in the character of Kate. Like Celestine, she lives in a log cabin in north Fulton, she is fond of simple things and gardening, she detests pretention and she always has a hand for the homeless and those less fortunate than she. The ending of this little gem is really quite moving and makes a fine statement on why people of all faiths or no faith at all celebrate Christmas.

When I finished SPIDER IN THE SINK, I was reminded how much I always enjoyed reading Mr. Sibley and how much I miss her comments about the way the world runs and what we can all do to make it better.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Spider in the Sink, May 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Spider in the Sink: A Kate Mulcay Mystery (Hardcover)

One of the most worthless books I've ever read-and I don't ask much from pulp mysteries. What's with this chick?!? She meets this preacher who almost minute one inexplicably starts talking of wanting to marry her, and even though she seems to barely like him she considers it ... over and over again?!? Even if she did like him, what kind of fool must she be to seriously think of marrying someone she has had so little actual contact with?!? His actions were so bizarre at times that any sane person would be running for the nearest exit. Their whole interaction was ridiculous. As were the antics of the schoolgirls. Do not waste a single second on this book! I only gave it 1 star because there wasn't a lower option.