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Cat's Claw (2012)

Cat's Claw (2012)

Book Info

Genre
Series
Rating
3.75 of 5 Votes: 4
Your rating
ISBN
0425245276 (ISBN13: 9780425245279)
Language
English
Publisher
berkley

About book Cat's Claw (2012)

The book starts with a gathering of the Texas Star Quilting Club, some old ladies of Pecan Springs, who are experts at gossiping and watching their neighbours. And lately, they have had their eyes on Larry Kirk. He is going through a divorce, as he is a work-a-holic, and his wife has found a new lover. But recently, a lady has been showing up at his house, especially when he is not at home. So what does that mean? And then Larry Kirk is found murdered. Do those old ladies actually have clues to solve the mystery? Sheila Dawson is the police chief of Pecan Springs, and she is really trying to make it a modern department, but she is hindered by the budget cuts the city council keeps throwing at her, and especially her second in command, who was hoping for her function when the previous chief was fired. She is not happy in her work, and even doubting her decision to stay as chief and have her new husband Blackie give up his job as sheriff. But they both decided that there can’t be two police officers in one relationship, and they flipped a coin for it. Blackie is happy enough with his new job though, he went into the private investigator business with Mike McQuaid, China Bayles’ husband.Lucky for Sheila, Deputy Chief Clint Hardin is going on vacation for 10 days, so she can relax a little and perhaps even go out in the field herself. When the call comes in that a dead body has been found, at first it looks like a suicide, and Sheila knows her detective Bartlett can handle that fine by himself. But it is close where she lives, so she will hop over for a quick look. As chief of police, it is important that she is seen out and about, and not only busy with the necessary paper work. But when there is reasonable doubt that this is actually a suicide, Sheila decides to help with the investigation herself, but leaving her Detective in charge of the case. Is this case combined with the almost closed Timms case? Timms is supposed to hand himself over to the police this afternoon, on the charge of breaking and entering in Larry Kirk’s shop. Timms is one of the most important and influential citizens in Pecan Springs, so this is sure to cause a scandal. Timms claims to have been blackmailed, but so far he has not told anything about the how or why. Unfortunately, Timms fails to show up, and even his lawyer withdraws from the case. He never liked his client anyway, so Timms is now officially missing. Of course, when China hears about those new developments, she can’t help herself to investigate a little. McQuaid told her about some kind of bachelor pad’s of Timms not far from their home. She is not sure if Sheila knows about it, so the next morning she decides to go take a look. And there she does not only find a possible reason for Timms supposed blackmail problems, but also Timms himself. And that is not a pretty sight. But Sheila now has two distinct cases on her hands, and she needs all the help and information that China can give her. Still, Sheila is not called Smart Cookie for nothing, and she weaves the clues together to find out the truth and catch the real murderer(s).I really did enjoy this book, even though I am used to more personal life stuff of China and her friends. Still, all the different threads are nicely woven together into a neat story, with lots of surprises and twists. I like China and her family and friends a lot, and it was nice to read a bit more about Sheila in this episode. I did have my suspicions about the murderer, but it was still a well written mystery.I do recommend this series, but for the most enjoyment, and to know the main characters, please read in order.8 stars.© 2013 Reviews by Aurian Full review on my blog, www.boeklogboek.blogspot.com

If you are a long time reader of Ms. Albert's China Bayles series, you'll notice a slight change. This book is written from Sheila Dawson's perspective. Sheila is the first female head of the Pecan Springs Police Dept and has recently married the former sheriff, Blackie. He resigned his position and decided to go into business with China's husband as a private detective. Dawson is finding it a little daunting at times to navigate the political ins and outs of a small town as the first female head of the police department. When a local man is found murdered, she assigns the case to one of the detectives. Her next in command (and also the one she bested when she got her job) is taking some well-deserved time off. She also takes the unusual step of assigning herself as second to the detective to whom she has assigned the case. When a local computer shop owner is found dead in his home, it initially looks like suicide. However, things don't add up. The case soon takes quite a few twists and turns. I enjoyed this book, although I have mixed emotions about the book being written from a different character's point of view. It could be that China's character has run its course. She is happily married. She and her husband have adopted her niece, plus his own son is a senior in high school. Both kids call her Mom. There's no more conflict there, whereas there's still plenty of possibility for conflict in Sheila's life. We'll see. I'm not a fan of the author's newer series nor of the other older series she writes. This was an interesting read, but the herbal angle really didn't have much to do with anything in this book. We'll see how the series progresses.

Do You like book Cat's Claw (2012)?

It was interesting to look back on my last China Bayle's mystery review and see that I'd read #19 Mourning Gloria in April of 2012 and at that time said I'd taken a break from the series because they were beginning to feel like reruns. That book was written in 2012 and I must have bought Cat's Claw paperback when it came out and then proceeded to misplace it. So about a week or so ago, looking on Amazon for something new to read, I ordered another copy ( I've since found the first on my nightstand, where I was putting this one each night before turning in.). I'm glad I waited three years to resume the series because not only is it nice to see China and her family, including recently adopted daughter, Caitie, but also to reconnect with Ruby. It is refreshing, too, to see that Susan Albert apparently recognizes that the stories needed a bit of a tweak. This episode focuses on Smart Cookie, Sheila Dawson, the new Chief of Police in Pecan Springs, having kept the job after winning a coin toss with her new husband, Blackie. They decided that they couldn't both work in law enforcement after marriage and could not figure out which of them should resign when both loved their work so much. After the coin toss Blackie joined China's husband in forming a PI company and in this installment the two men are on their way into Mexico to find a young Austin child kidnapped by his non-custodial parent.Not only do I enjoy the stories Albert tells but being familiar with the area of Texas she writes about I enjoy the information she shares such as the dangers around Piedras Negras/Juarez that have developed in the few years since I've crossed the border there with no thought of danger. Sad developments. Also until I read this I had never heard of the dead peasant insurance policies that large corporations take out on their employees. Interesting use of the system. All in all, with the new tweaks focusing on some of the other characters in Pecan Springs, the new crimes being investigated and the breaking news of changes in the Hill Country, I am happily back on board and have a new copy of Widow's Tears ready to go.
—Katherine

I am very disappointed in this book. I am a big fan of the China Bayles series, but I didn't enjoy this one. I had to think about it for a while to figure out exactly what bothered me. It wasn't that some chapters were from China's point of view and others were from Sheila Dawson's point of view as the author did a great job of letting the reader know whose point of view they were reading from. China's chapters were in first person and Sheila's were in third person. Part of my problem was that I missed reading more about China's homelife. There was very little about that. Also Ruby and her sister weren't mentioned much either. The investigation was boring. I didn't get to know enough about any of the suspects to try to figure out who did it. Most of the information was told to us, not by any of the suspects, but by Sheila and it was boring. Also, one of the clues that was hinted to in the prologue, didn't come up again until near the end of the book. It would have been better if the clue would have come up sooner and China would have investigated it for some reason.
—Gerri Balter

Although this is the 20th book in the series it was the first for me. I really enjoyed it. A nice cozy afternoon read with a mystery thrown it. Very everyday and identifiable characters and setting in a small town. I loved the ladies quilting circle. I'm sure I know every one. A nice added feature was the main characters interest in herbs, gardening and cooking. Especially like the recipes at the end for the food mentioned in the book. Not prize winning fiction but an enjoyable read and I will be looking for some of the others in the series.
—Jill

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