Cries & Whiskers-Clea Simon

Cries & Whiskers
Clea Simon
Poisoned Pen, Nov 2007, $24.95
ISBN 9781590584644

Theda Krakow covers the Cambridge-Boston music scene. The freelance Boston based journalist has noticed at her favorite club, a new designer drug has become popular.

At the same time she begins her inquiry into the latest music drug helix, over the top animal rights activist Gail Womynfriend, who championed wild animals and detested pets, is killed in a hit and run that the cops believe was no accident. An autopsy revealed that the victim had dangerous toxic levels of strychnine in her blood. Theda’s pregnant friend who is careful about taking anything is drugged at the club that they frequent. When her beloved cat Musetta vanishes an upset Theda goes berserk searching for her feline only to receive a threatening call. None of these incidents seem linked except in Theda’s mind although she has not found the connection between any two let alone all of them. On top of all this, her friends are acting strange as if they are involved with one or all of strange happenings and her boyfriend Bill the homicide cop wants her to drop out of the music scene.

The third Theda Krakow investigative tale (see MEW IS FOR MURDER and CATTERY ROW) is an entertaining mystery as the heroine’s seemingly unrelated incidents are for the most part personal in nature. Theda’s mind is full of anxiety over finding Musetta safe and sound, and her concern for her friends especially Tess who are acting strange. Although Bill’s demands seem unreasonable as music reporting is what Theda does, animal lovers will appreciate this fine thriller as Theda looks for the string that ties everything together with the only nebulous link being animal rights extremism.

Harriet Klausner