Police Chief Sheila Dawson believes the death of Pecan Spring's computer guru, Larry Kirk, to be a suicide, perhaps triggered by his painful divorce. Further investigation reveals that Kirk's death wasn't self-inflicted. And the truth is reinforced by her friend China Bayles' news-Larry recently asked her for legal advice in regards to a stalker.

As a police chief in a male-dominated force, Sheila meets many challenges, especially when her theories rock the boat in high profile cases like that of George Timms. He was caught breaking into Larry's computer shop to steal his own computer back because of dangerous personal information it contained. Now that Larry is dead, she's sure it's connected to the burglary. And she's also sure she'll get plenty of resistance on her assessment...

Timms's time to turn himself in to the police comes and goes, and he's nowhere to be found. In her investigation, Sheila uncovers secrets, terrible secrets that would drive anyone to kill. So who then? It's up to Sheila to prove she's got what it takes to hunt down the predator that's loose on the streets of Pecan Springs...

Review

Larry Kirk, a mild-mannered computer expert, is found dead in his home, an apparent suicide. However, the more Police Chief Sheila Dawson and her friend China Bayles investigate, the more Larry’s death looks like murder. Further complicating the case, Larry’s death may have links to a high-profile embezzlement case involving one of the most powerful residents of Pecan Springs, Texas. Although Larry was an average guy with many friends, there are plenty of suspects and both China and Sheila intend to find out the truth before someone gets away with murder.

This book is the latest in the long-running China Bayles series, but is very accessible to new readers. A prologue taking place during a quilting circle gives a quick glimpse at the town and the major players in the mystery. Other information about the main characters of the series is shared at the beginning of the book, which slows the story down a bit, but will help catch up readers unfamiliar with China’s friends and family.

While China runs an herb shop and other herb-related ventures, she used to be an attorney and can’t help getting mixed up in murder cases. Most of the earlier books in this series are told entirely from China’s point of view. Cat’s Claw alternates between China and Sheila as the narrator. The chapters narrated by China are told in a chatty style, one friend telling a story to another, and are as enjoyable as ever. They begin with information about plants and herbs as expected. As the book goes along, the tie-in between the plants discussed in these introductory sections of China’s chapters and the plot of the story becomes more obvious.

The chapters narrated by Sheila read like an excellent police procedural. China and her best friend Ruby Wilcox have always been friends with Sheila, who they have nicknamed, “Smart Cookie”, but I really got the chance to get to know Sheila in this book through the chapters she narrates. Seeing things from her point of view makes her more real and easier to relate to than in prior books. I grew to admire her intelligence, kindness, and refusal to give into department politics. Reading about the investigation from Sheila’s point of view gives readers a look at what it’s like for female police officers in a job that is still predominately male. When Sheila is talking to others or thinking to herself, the observations about issues experienced by female officers are informative, but still naturally flow with the narrative of the story. On the other hand, in one of the other chapters, China is talking to Ruby about some of these issues, and it reads more like a lecture than a well-integrated part of the story and it detracted from the book.

Part of the murder investigation uncovers an insurance scheme that is interesting to read about and adds to the story. Although the focus of this book is the murder investigation, we still get to catch up on what’s going on with China’s family and to some extent Ruby, although she is only in a few scenes. There also seems to be a loose end that comes up early in the book in a conversation between China and Ruby, but never mentioned again, although this could be an intentional set-up for something in a future book. As much as I enjoy the character of China Bayles, Sheila Dawson definitely steals the show in this one and her chapters are the ones that make this an interesting and entertaining look at the life of a female police office and the extra challenges they go through in an already dangerous job.

Reviewed by Christine

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