Cat’s Claw by Dolores Hitchens

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Rachel Murdock is an apple-cheeked, white-haired little old lady who lives with her prim sister Jennifer in Los Angeles. You’d think these elderly ladies would be quiet and staid, and in Miss Jennifer’s case you’d be right.  Miss Rachel, however, has become quite the fan of crime solving, much to her sister’s mortification. 

 

When a man is hit by a car nearby and the incident is not reported, Miss Rachel contacts the police—namely, her friend Lt. Mayhew—to investigate.  The people living in the rented house next door have vanished, leaving behind few clues except for the painting of a mountain in California marked San Cayetano.

 

Miss Rachel, being Miss Rachel, decides that she’s going to take a little vacation. 

 

In San Cayetano.

 

This is not a series to everyone’s taste, but I love it.  The books were written in the 1940s and 50s (this title came out in 1943) and haven’t been edited to suit modern tastes. Miss Jennifer turns positively pink at the mention of “petticoats” or (gasp!) any other undergarments. Samantha, the black cat of the title, has to be let out at intervals because the invention of cat litter is still a few years in the future. And despite the elderly protagonist, the crimes aren’t genteel at all.

 

Miss Rachel is a movie fan and, for me, the books read like one of those old black and white detective tales.  I can see Lt. Mayhew in his broad shouldered coat and the pale blonde of a woman’s hair.  Some of the scenes are theatrical indeed, and again I can see those play out as if in a movie.  World War II is firmly in the background, though there are mentions of men enlisting or going to work in war-related industries, which again reflects the escapism of the time.

 

For some readers, Miss Rachel is just a nosey old woman who ought to mind her own business.  I see Miss Rachel as someone who is determined to live life while she can and who enjoys the excitement. She’s also very independent, and while she gets herself into some scrapes, she also gets herself out of them.

 

The series doesn’t need to be read in order, but the first book is The Cat Saw Murder. There were twelve titles in the series, originally written under the more masculine  name D.B. Olsen, but which are now being reprinted under the author’s real name.

Martin Clunes Islands of America DVD

Reviewed by Jeanne

I enjoy a number of British TV series including Doc Martin, about an irascible physician with an aversion to blood and a dreadful bedside manner. (And yes, the library owns the series on DVD!) I was intrigued to see that the actor who plays the titular doctor has done some travelogues so I put in a request for “Martin Clunes:  Islands of America.”  

There are four episodes in the series, starting with Hawaii’s islands and then moving on to Alaska, just to get in the extremes.  Clunes is an exuberant guide, determined to enjoy himself if at all possible.  He gets a bit more than he bargained for in Hawaii, as Kilauea was still erupting about that time. He also visits the islands off the coast of Washington state, California, New Jersey and the island of Puerto Rico, among others.

I confess I skipped ahead and started with the episode where he meets some Gullah people who live on the lowlands and islands of Georgia and South Carolina. Then it’s on to North Carolina to Roanoke Island and the long-running outdoor drama about the Lost Colony.  He talks with cast members and gives the audience some background about the mystery (the primary audience is British, after all).  Next he and the crew go to Virginia and to the annual pony swim at Chincoteague.  It’s obvious Clunes is a real animal lover, especially of horses.  His excitement and enthusiasm is palpable.

I had thought I might just watch the one episode, do a quick review, and call it quits.  But Clunes was having such a good time I ended up watching all four.  Other stops include the island of Manhattan where Clunes goes up in the Empire State Building despite his fear of heights.  I could identify.  But he gamely made his way around, white-knuckling the guard rail and trying to be pleased that he was outside in an area not usually open to tourists. He was perhaps most excited on a visit to Avery Island, Louisiana where the McIllhenny family has made their world famous tabasco sauce for over five generations.  Clunes is a fan of the sauce, and he was interested in every aspect of the production.

In short, I was happily entertained and even learned a few things.  One is not to taste the tabasco mash, but another is to look for other travelogues with Martin Clunes.

How to Tail a Cat by Rebecca Hale

Reviewed by Jeanne

When Uncle Oscar passes away unexpectedly, his niece inherits his antique shop. Soon she realizes that things are not all as they seem. Almost before she knows it, she’s drawn into an elaborate treasure hunt, complete with obscure clues, exotic poisons, disguises, secret compartments and all manner of old fashioned derring-do. There are also cats. And frogs. And, in this installment, an albino alligator.

This is one of those series that is hard to sum up in just a few words. It’s more convoluted than that. I’ll freely admit that I wasn’t sold on the first book in the series, but subsequent books have caused me to revise my opinion. Sometimes, it’s all in how you look at things and I was taking the series entirely too seriously. It’s meant to be a romp through California history with some rather peculiar companions, both human and non-human, with tongue planted firmly in cheek. It’s bigger than life.

I also think that Hale is a very visual writer. I tend to skim through books, without taking time to sit and picture a scene in my mind; otherwise I think I might have caught on to the humor sooner. The books are movie-like, long on visual descriptions and action. Some of the things that troubled me in the earlier books are related to this: like a movie director, Hale likes to clue the audience in before the characters sometimes. In previous books, the main character –who, like Bill Pronzini’s creation, has no given name--narrated all or part of the book, so she would describe things the reader knew to be important but for story purposes, the narrator couldn’t respond at the time. This had an unfortunate side effect of making the narrator look dense. The books have a sort of old-time charm to them, sort of like the early serials but updated a bit to suit modern sensibilities.

Hale has a good eye for detail matched with an imaginative way of describing things. For example, the way the albino alligator’s scales peak along its back are compared to the meringue on the top of a custard pie, certainly not something I would have thought about on my own. She also has a knack for making somewhat unlovable characters attractive. Like the frogs before him, Clive the alligator turned into quite the charmer as he realized how lucky he was to have a nice safe place to live in and a nice heated rock. He’s also rather fond of his turtles, even though his poor vision means he can’t really see them. Being a cat person, I’m especially fond of the way she uses Rupert and Isabelle, the narrator’s two cats. Rupert is chicken obsessed, especially the fried variety that Uncle Oscar provided, and mostly concerned with his own comforts. He’s very annoyed when his human inconveniences him in any way, such as moving him off a pile of papers. Isabelle, on the other hand, seems to be in on the Great Game and will sometimes prod her human in the right direction. She’s rather condescending toward “the human help,” but tries to be tolerant. The cats don’t talk directly, by the way: we’re told what’s going on in those fuzzy little heads.

The human characters are similarly off-beat, from Sam the “Frog Whisperer” to Montgomery Carmichael the Life Coach who can almost match Rupert for self-absorption.

Most of all, the books demonstrate a deep love for California and its history, especially the offbeat history. Much of the background in How to Tail a Cat revolves around the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences, which is a story in itself. A little poking around on the internet showed some wonderful photos of some of the things described at the Aquarium—and the information that they do indeed have an albino alligator named Claude. If you’re in the market for a book that’s a blend of history, humor, and high jinks with some fantasy thrown in for good measure, this may be just the book for you.