The story opens as Kate is pondering her life, sinking into an introspective quagmire of "Am I tired of catering? Is this all there is to life?" Luckily for readers, Kate is diverted when an old acquaintance, local blueblood Charlotte Oakley, arrives to try and hire Kate for a little private eye work. Seems Charlotte's daughter has fallen for the son of flamboyant businessman Victor Lloyd, and Lloyd "isn't one of our kind". Kate, in spite of her better instincts, agrees to attend a party given on a paddlewheel boat by Victor Lloyd in hopes of checking him out. When Lloyd's mangled body turns up in the paddle, Kate's investigative instincts go into overdrive.

And there's a long list of suspects to choose from, starting with Lloyd's widow, Tammy. Seems she and just about everyone else in town had reason to loathe Victor Lloyd. The authors keep the reader guessing until the end, though, as the plot twists and turns. The arrival of Bobby and Paco, two old friends from Kate's hippie days, as well as a coyote creating havoc on Kate's property, add to the mix. Boo-Kat the terrier is back, too.

Unfortunately, it felt as though there was a little too much going on, and the book lost some of its focus partway through. Kate's frequent segues into middle-aged angst and introspection distracted me from the plot, and she couldn't seem to make up her mind whether she wanted to be involved with this murder at all. At the beginning of the story, she's vehemently denying that she wants anything to do with solving crimes -- they just seem to find her. Yet when Lloyd turns up dead, Kate can't wait to get into the middle of things, which made me think she didn't know what she wanted.

And maybe that's the theme of the book, really. Having read the second book of the series, my expectations were to meet the same gutsy, independent sleuth in this installment. But Kate seems to be flailing a bit. Hopefully, the glimmer of self-understanding at the end promises a more centered Kate in the future.

Having said that, Kate Cavanaugh is one of the more endearing amateur sleuths you're likely to come across. Readers looking for something a bit different might well enjoy Carve a Witness to Shreds. The husband and wife team of Cathie and John Celestri, writing as Cathie John, have delivered another tasty mystery.

--Cathy Sova