Cross My Path by Clea Simon

 Reviewed by Jeanne

In a bleak, dystopian world, a young woman and her black cat seek to eke out a living by, as the girl puts it, “I find things. Do the needful. Locate that which is lost.  Right the wrongs, the ones I can.” It’s the mantra of her mentor, an old man who disappeared some time ago.  This time, the girl Care and the cat Blackie are approached by a man who is looking for his companion, who may have been pressed into a dangerous service, and by a woman who seeks a token left for her by Care’s mentor.  She claims he was her brother, though Care never recalled him mentioning a sister.

Blackie, our narrator, views the situation with unease. He’s a cat, but has vague memories of once being a man. Now he experiences the world through a cat’s heightened senses but that advantage is muted because of the things he’s lost: he can no longer read the papers Care pores over, for example, nor can he communicate his concerns. As far as Care knows, Blackie is an ordinary cat. He can’t tell her that he feels there’s something wrong in these new cases that she has taken on, and that he and his beloved Care may be falling into a trap.

This is the third in the Blackie and Care Feline Mystery series and presents a bit of a problem. As a reader, I found the book to be especially significant as there are some intriguing revelations about Blackie’s past; as a reviewer, I am leery of giving away anything that would lessen another reader’s enjoyment.  I think this book could be read and appreciated by someone who hadn’t read any other books in the series but those who have read the first two will find this entry to be very gratifying indeed.

There is a slight shift in tone for me. Care has been pretty much isolated from close and lasting human relationships in the previous books except for the boy she calls Tick whom she considers a younger brother and struggles to protect. There are a few other acquaintances who show up but there are no strong connections.  This time there are more points of contact, more possible friends and allies, which gave the story a more hopeful feel. Blackie is less sure that these people are to be trusted, but Care seems willing to take a leap of faith.

Also, Care has gone from being a small, insignificant waif – one street urchin of many—to a resourceful young woman whose investigations are bringing her into conflict with the larger social machine, one with a vested interest in keeping the population hooked on the addictive drug scat and willing to do anything to earn coin. Care isn’t out to bring down this remote, dark authority, but she is determined to save those she can from being trampled to death.

While each book has its own mysteries from start to finish, it’s obvious in this entry that Simon has a larger story arc going on, one more epic in scope. It’s possible that there is a specific ending in mind already, but let us hope that is far in the future.