Review of "Cat Crimes: Masters of Mystery Present a Collection of New Cat Tales," edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Ed Gorman

 Review of

Cat Crimes: Masters of Mystery Present a Collection of New Cat Tales, edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Ed Gorman, ISBN 155611253x

Four out of five stars

Cats are present, sometimes key other times incidental

 Each element of this collection of short crime/mystery stories contains a reference to a cat. In all cases, the presence of the cat is essential to the proper rendering of the story, but there is a significant variance in the level of relevance. In some, the resolution of the crime is based on a significant action by a cat, such as when there are scratches from the cat of the murder victim on a potential perpetrator of the murder. In another, a suffocation of a homeless man is incorrectly blamed on a cat laying on his face.

 One of the most unusual in the collection is where a convenience store clerk is murdered and the killer drives away in a truck. During the getaway, the driver deliberately drives over the beloved cat of an old couple. The cat is kept as evidence by the detectives, for there are clear tire tracks on the squashed cat. Quite logical clue when you think about it. The old couple are very saddened when their beloved cat is kept in a freezer as evidence and plot a way to recover the remains.

 One of the most interesting stories is “Last Kiss,” by Douglas Borton. A serial killer breaks into a house and kills the male occupant. There is a cat in the house and the story then becomes a duel between the murderer and the cat. Not wanting any “witnesses,” the killer decides to also kill the cat. The duel is amusing, and the ending is very appropriate for a cat victorious over a human determined to kill it.

 There is a wide variety in the tenseness of the stories in this collection, yet all are worth reading as you sometimes ponder in the beginning what role the cat will play in the resolution.

 

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