(Reviewed by Pat Luboff)
I have a friend named Dori. We don’t see each other or speak to each other often, but when we do get together, something special happens. We get into a rapid-fire back-and-forth that turns into laughter and the laughter feeds on itself and grows and grows until we don’t know why we’re laughing. It becomes laughter for its own sake.
This is the second Cat Caliban book I’ve read, and it was like getting together with an old friend who makes you laugh. Only, in this case, I know why I’m laughing. It’s because the character of Cat is so funny and the writing is so good. Cat is a woman who lives in Cincinnati. In this book, she is experiencing the symptoms of menopause, among them, hot flashes.
Her friends have talked her into signing up for pottery classes. She is awful at it and she knows it. She makes blobs that turn into heavy, hard objects when they are fired in a kiln. Heavy and hard enough to be used as a murder weapon, which turns out to be the case when Cat discovers human remains in the kiln. She sets out to solve the mystery of whodunit.
Along the way I learned a bit more about pottery than I needed to. I didn’t mind all the things I learned about the history of silent movie stars, society, and prejudice I learned in the last book of hers I read. I suspect that every Cat Caliban book will have a similar educational aspect.
The action takes place around Halloween. One day while I was reading the book my husband got the blues. I said, “Let me read you some of this.” It was Cat’s description of trick or treat in her neighborhood. Before long, both my husband and I were laughing out loud. Beats taking a happy pill!
I look forward to reading more of Cat’s adventures. I can always use a good laugh.
For more background information, see my review of the first in the series: One for the Money.
