Blaize Clement Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter

Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter

Blaize Clement

Dunne, Jan 2006, $23.95, 240 pp.

ISBN: 0312340567

In Sarasota, Florida Dixie Hemingway still reels from the accidental deaths of her thirty year old husband and their three year old son when a nonagenarian driver hits the wrong pedal in a parking lot. Needing to time to recover, Dixie goes on medical leave from the Sheriff's Department to become a pet caretaker.

While making her rounds, Dixie enters the home of Marilee Doering to take care of the client's cat Ghost. In the Abyssinian's water bowl lays a dead male, who apparently drowned on the spot. Marilee has vanished and soon the corpse is identified as her lover who sired a child with her that he forced her to give away. Soon Dixie uncovers other lovers of Marilee before finding the woman's decaying corpse. Knowing she has to be the prime suspect having found two dead bodies, Dixie uses her skills to investigate the homicides.

The key to why this is a fantastic who-done-it is the multifaceted Dixie who brings so much to the story line; not just angst and grief. Her investigation into Marilee's life reveals secrets, money, and Ghost who inherits it all. The killer keeps an eye on Dixie to insure she does not get too close because if she does stalking will become murder. With a strong support cast (including animals especially Ghost and people deceased) fans of fast-paced clever mysteries will appreciate Dixie's efforts to uncover the culprit before she either goes to jail or dies.

Harriet Klausner