Emily Carmichael, The Cat’s Meow

The Cat's Meow

Emily Carmichael

Bantam, Nov 2004, $6.99

ISBN: 0553586343

In Sedona, Arizona, Bradnor, Kelly and Bolin defense attorney McKenna Wright works late into the night on a case involving client Todd Harmon. The state accuses Todd of selling drugs to an undercover cop; the only other witness, Maria Oranto, returned to Mexico, having been bought off to leave town. When McKenna learns that Maria was bribed, she knows she must tell the prosecution, in this case Tom Markham, who used to work at her firm.

Before she can, McKenna is in a car accident and she suffers amnesia. Her doctor thinks the crash was caused by her high blood pressure leading to a transient schematic attack similar to a stroke. As she recovers and wonders why she never made a play for Tom, someone wants her dead. Only Tom and Titi the cat keep McKenna safe from a culprit raising the ante, making her wonder what she knows inside her amnesiac brain, especially in light of Titi directly talking in "English" with her, something that has only occurred since the accident.

Titi will remind readers of Midnight Louie as she gets involved with keeping McKenna safe. Meanwhile, the tale starts as a legal thriller, but switches into more of suspense tale with McKenna as the target. Tom is a likable protagonist, but the amnesia changes the heroine; before the injury she was a Type A lawyer with nothing torpedoing her path from achieving victory for her client in the courtroom as long as the actions were legal. Though the culprit's motive seems off kilter and the opportunities too easily achieved, fans will appreciate THE CAT'S MEOW and want Titi to star in future tails.

Harriet Klausner