Cynthia Baxter Who’s Kitten Who?

Who's Kitten Who?

Cynthia Baxter

Bantam, Oct 2007, $6.99, 336 pp.

ISBN 9780553590340

Veterinarian Jessica Popper has a unique practice on Long Island in which she doesn't have an office but a clinic on wheels so she can care for her patients where it's convenient for them on their turf. She can use less stress in her personal life because she just got engaged to Nick and is afraid it won't last. When his parents come to visit, she and her future mother in law clash so Nick feels they need some time apart.

Luckily, Jessica has something to keep her mind occupied; a speaking part in a community theatre that is scheduled to go to Broadway. The writer and star of the show Simon Wainwright is found murdered in a trunk, his head bashed in. Jessica's best friend and leading lady who cared for Simon asks her to find the killer which is not easy because she is dealing with thespians who know how to fake their emotions. However, the killer is watching Jessica, warning her off and if she doesn't listen, she will be the next victim.

WHO'S KITTEN WHO? is a humorously entertaining amateur sleuth mystery especially the scenes with the heroine and her feline mother-in-law. This tale contains a finely developed mystery because there are many suspects with motives who want the victim dead. There is enough action to keep readers absorbed in the storyline but it is the characters who make this who-done-it an interesting tale as the various personalities more often squabble than work together.

Harriet Klausner