One day while walking through Cambridge, Theda is taken by a charming kitten and follows the kitten home. There Theda finds Lillian Helmhold, a strange old lady with a house full of cats. Theda thinks the woman might be a cat hoarder and makes arrangements to return the next day to do a story on her.

When Theda returns the next day, she finds Lillian dead. Though the police are happy to accept the death as an accident, Theda finds some things about the scene that make her think otherwise. Lillian’s young friend, Violet Hayes is also convinced that Lillian was murdered and asks for Theda’s help in solving the murder.

While Theda’s short list of suspects includes Violet, she agrees to keep her eyes and ears open. Talks of hidden treasures and a pushy real estate agent next door widen Theda’s suspects. Before she knows it, she is up to her neck in a heap of trouble with no breaking story in sight.  

Theda is a spunky heroine but lacks focus, much like the skittish young kitten she meets. As a freelance writer, Theda’s antenna should always be up for the next big scoop. Even though she is a feature writer, she misses the biggest story of all, as she is the first on the scene at Lillian’s murder.

Theda also has lousy instincts for a reporter, as she is willing to accept a lot of people at face value and is very trusting, something that almost costs her life. Theda is also overwrought over the loss of her cat, sometimes even being overly dramatic. There are several good suspects and several motives, but they are interspersed among several stories that Theda is working on that don’t seem to serve any purpose other than to fill space.

Theda and Violet’s investigations lack focus. Violet is working several angles and while Theda suspects Violet isn’t being on the up and up, she doesn’t investigate her. Cat lovers will be encouraged by the rescue of the cats but will be disappointed, as it never quite takes shape. In addition, the funky Cambridge scene never comes into focus and remains a noisy background character.  

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry