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Cassidy McCabe is a psychotherapist recently married to long time love, Zach Moran, who is an investigative reporter. While Zach is beginning a new undercover operation, Cassidy is involved in some intrigue of her own. She's made it her mission to get some feral cats that are being cared for by a neighbor to a no-kill shelter. The problem is becoming larger, as the cats continue to procreate. The neighbor, Olivia, is a young woman who is exceptionally anti-social. She rebuffs Cassidy's overtures at friendship at first, but eventually softens enough to let Cassidy help with the cats. Given Olivia's propensity for extreme privacy, Cassidy finds it strange to see her living room blinds completely up one evening and the figure of another person in the room with Olivia. She knows that Olivia befriended a gentleman who needed help and that Olivia is now experiencing regret at letting him in to her life. There seems to be an element of fear there. Cassidy decides that she can't let this strange behavior go unremarked, and goes to Olivia's home to see if she's in danger. Olivia insists that she is not. Shortly thereafter, when the lights are still on, Cassidy enters the home again, finding the man that Olivia befriended as well as the young woman's body. The police arrest Jake, and the case is closed. Cassidy is convinced that Jake is not the murderer, but the police do not believe her. She takes it upon herself to prove him innocent, thereby engaging in some implausibly stupid behavior that is inconsistent with the actions that an intelligent woman would take. At various times, she goes into dark houses late at night, confronts suspected murderers and puts herself and others recklessly into danger. At the end of the book, she acknowledges this may have been foolhardy but that didn't allay the fact that was how the action in the book was perpetrated. In the meantime, Zach is on an undercover investigation and investing himself far too much into the character, to the point that it is having a negative impact on his relationship with Cassidy. As part of the scam, he is paying a lot of attention to a young female drug addict. Cassidy struggles with feeling jealous that he is coming on to this woman, even if it is in the line of duty, as well as with the abrupt way that Zach is treating her. It just goes to show that a therapist doesn't necessarily have a perfect life, even if they have answers for others in need. I had several problems with this book in addition to the amateur sleuth on the loose, most having to do with the actual mechanics of the writing. Matthews has used a device wherein she italicizes all of Cassidy's thoughts. When she does this, it becomes a first person point of view (POV). Since the narrative is in third person, I found it jarring to jump back and forth from first to third to first to third. Kind of like playing POV pogo. Secondly, I found that the various plot elements were not woven smoothly together. It felt like the reader moved from one event to another without a smooth transition in between. You'd be deep in a certain situation, such as the puzzlement around why Olivia's blinds were up, and be abruptly thrown into a whole other plot thread, in this case, Zack's unacceptable behavior. I felt that perhaps Matthews was trying to make the plot too complex which ended up fragmenting the narrative and offering a veritable ocean of red herrings. I did like the way that the characters in this book were drawn, and Matthews showed a deft hand at creating dialog. Cassidy is a very realistic individual, with faults and flaws that affect her relationships. She definitely doesn't have all the answers. Another "character" is her pet cat, Starshine. Starshine is a real cat, cranky and demanding, not at all one of the cutesy-pootsie cats you often find in crime fiction. I didn't like the character of Zach at all but assume that if you have read other books in this series he may have some redeeming qualities that just weren't evident here. I can see the appeal that this book might have to some readers, but it was not my cup of bourbon. If characters and dialog are more important to you than plotting and flow, then perhaps this book might appeal to you.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, March 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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