In Simon's energetic third Theda Krakow mystery (after 2006's Cattery Row
), freelance music journalist Theda delves into the seamy underside of the club scene and the radical side of animal rights. When Animals Now activist Gail Womynfriend is killed in a hit-and-run, Theda and her pet-sheltering punk rocker friend, Violet, take over Gail's efforts to save feral cats from the brutal Boston winter. The more they investigate the accident, the more they learn about tensions among Animals Now's members, and Theda becomes uncomfortably suspicious of a friend. She's also hunting a dangerous new designer drug making the rounds of music venues and wondering about its connection to an elusive group of musicians who want Theda's attention, but only on their own terms. When her beloved cat, Musetta, goes missing, Theda risks everything to get her back and solve all these mysteries once and for all. Readers will thrill to Theda's engaging adventures in amateur sleuthing. (Dec.)
