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Carve a Witness to Shreds |
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 Carve a Witness to Shreds byCathie John Journeybook Press 259 pages, 1999 ISBN 096341836X Reviewed by Lisa Eagleson-Roever Read another review by PJ Nunn Carve a Witness to Shreds is a modern American cozy, sort of Hettie Wainthrop meets Murder She Wrote, but the characters are more complex and highly endearing. Kate Cavanaugh is asked to step outside her normal role of caterer-to-the-wealthy and poke around into the background of Victor Lloyd. Victor's son Eric, is engaged to Melissa Oakley, and her mother, Charlotte Oakley, is suspicious of the Lloyds because they aren't "one of us." And she's right. The Lloyd's are not gracious hosts. The family has Mafia connections, and the last business deal Victor Lloyd touted left at least one investor penniless. A rival entrepreneur can barely take a breath without spitting venom in Victor's direction. Victor's wife is a lush and not a polite one, either. His son is explosively angry and self-centered. So who pushed Victor Lloyd into the spinning paddle wheel of his own steamboat, the night he unveiled his latest project? The list of suspects is long and the herrings are smelly in the summer heat. Perhaps I should read the back-cover blurbs before I start a novel, because, in my mind, Kate Cavanaugh is a 50-something ex-Navy officer and male. Kate's name and gender weren't revealed until after the introduction and part of chapter one. No matter how hard I tried to match the novel's descriptions of Kate to the name, I couldn't shake my original impression. It was rather distracting. I don't know whether this distraction results from picking up John Celestri's influence (the "John" of the pseudonym "Cathie John") in the writing or my own inability to shake strong first impressions. The fiercely independent Kate might forgive me the lapse, however, as she hates being put into "boxes." I enjoyed meeting her, nonetheless. |
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