Cat Nap - Claire Donally

 

Cat Nap

A Sunny & Shadow Mystery
Claire Donally
Berkley Prime Crime
 
Mystery
 
I guess the lesson here boils down to this: choose your vet very carefully.  Jane and Martin Rigsdale are veterinarians who used to be married.  Both popular around the small town of Kittery Harbor, Maine, they made a strikingly handsome couple.  But, when the marriage unraveled (due to Martin’s roving… eye) so did their business partnership.  Jane has gone on to increase her work with homeless animals, getting a grant to do so.  Martin, never good with money, thinks he sees a way to get his hands on some quick cash.  He’s wrong.
 
After a fairly public blow-up, Martin approaches Sunny for help.  He says that if Sunny can help him get his hands on some of Jane’s money, he’d be happy to spend some of it on Sunny.  Since Sunny has a brain and a conscience, she tells Martin to get lost, then contacts Jane.  Sunny agrees to go to Martin’s new vet office with Jane to explain the financial realities to Martin.  When they get there, they find him in an exam room, dead.  Of course the young, blonde receptionist (clearly another of Martin’s conquests) immediately tells the police that Jane and/or Sunny must have killed Martin.  Lacking any other viable suspects, the police focus their attention on Jane.
 
The main mystery is quite absorbing and unfolds in quite an unexpected way.  There are plenty of suspects, from duped and dumped women to people who felt his medical practices were less than above-board.  The suspect pool just keeps getting wider.  Shadow, of course, has his own plotline here, and some of his scenes (narrated from his point of view) are quite touching.  The final outcome was both surprising and satisfying on all levels.  Animal lovers will adore this series (beginning with THE BIG KITTY) and mystery lovers will enjoy the offbeat plotlines and realistic characters.
 
Rating: 7 ½
May 2013
ISBN# 978-0-425-25213-0 (paperback)