Book 83, 2021

[chez_jae]

Mew Is for Murder by Clea Simon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I just finished reading Mew is for Murder by Clea Simon. It's the first installment in the "Theda Krakow" cozy mystery series. Story is related in first person pov by the main character, freelance writer Theda.

Theda's life has been spiraling out of control. She broke up with her boyfriend, and her beloved cat died. She's also gone from being a copy editor to a freelance journalist, which does not guarantee a steady stream of income. Theda thinks she's on to a great personal interest story when she meets a woman in her neighborhood who seems to be a crazy cat lady. When she returns to interview Lillian, however, Theda finds the woman dead in her cluttered home. The police chalk it up to an accident, but Lillian's young friend, punk-rocker/barista Violet, is convinced she was murdered. Theda is intrigued enough to launch her own investigation, much to the consternation of police officer Bill Sherman. Violet is also convinced that Lillian left a will that stipulates the care of the cats, and if it's not located, those who aren't adopted within a week will be euthanized. As a result, Violet has been using Lillian's spare, hidden key to let herself into the house in her spare time to search for the will, but it seems that she's not the only one searching the house. There have long been rumors that Lillian was hiding a treasure in her home, and it may be what someone was willing to kill for.

I could not get into this story. I loved the cat angle, and I liked that Theda had a unique job (as far as cozy mysteries go), but she was heavily into the club/bar/party scene, and that is so not me. As a result, I didn't feel a connection to her at all. It was a short book, but it took me over 2 weeks to slog through it. Guh. The story was well-written, it simply didn't resonate with me.

Favorite lines:
- I've always spoken to cats. Who knows how much they understand?
- "Oh, they won't hurt me. Not if I stay on my feet and keep moving."
This is my strategy when wading through my own herd of outside cats. I often joke if I fell down among them, it would be all over. Hah!
- Boston traffic is miserable. The city streets, legend has it, were laid out by a snake and paved by a cow.
- "Too many people don't understand. They say, 'Oh, it's just a cat.' I hate that. I mean, we love them like our family and they love us, right? Love is love, right?"

I'm giving this three stars. It was well-written, but I didn't care for it much.