D. B. Borton

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S ONE FOR THE MONEY ABOUT?
Cat Caliban's a recent widow, who is ready for a change (since she is still waiting on the Change), and takes the bull by the horn and gets herself her change. She buys an apartment complex, moves herself and her cats into one of the apartments there, and pursues a new career—becoming a Private Investigator. Between the suspicious nature and investigative abilities raising three kids has gifted her with show more and the extensive research she's done into the P.I. lifestyle (read: reading plenty of P.I. Novels, from Nancy Drew to V. I. Warshawski).

Most of her kids, and most people from her old life, don't approve of this new stage of her life—and she could not care less. Instead, she assembles a new group of friends who are on board with this change—with one carryover from her old life. And the tenants of her apartments end up being a strong base for those friends.

Of course, there's a snag there—when showing a vacant apartment to a couple of potential renters, they discover a murdered woman. Almost immediately, Cat begins annoying the investigating officers by trying to look into the death herself. When it's discovered that the victim is a homeless woman, the priority that the police put on solving the murder drops, but Cat's drive to find justice for the woman increases.

Sure, she's still learning the basics of investigating, but she catches a couple of lucky breaks and makes good progress. She also connects with people—friends of the victim, people she worked with, an activist group she was involved with, and someone who probably saw the victim and the killer minutes before the murder—in a way that the police don't. People respond to this older woman who cares about the woman—not just her death, but the life she led.

One thing leads to another, and Cat's hot on the trail of both the killer and what could have prompted the killing in the first place.

I'M A SUCKER FOR THIS KIND OF THING
I am a sucker for fictional PI/PI-types who largely (or entirely) learn their way through detecting via PI novels like Lee Goldberg's Harvey Mapes (in The Man With The Iron-On Badge, now called Watch Me Die) or Jim Cliff's Jake Abraham (in The Shoulders of Giants)—Bobby Saxon, from The Blues Don't Care, took a similar approach with Bogart movies.

Maybe it's because this is the kind of detective I would be if I had the gumption to try. At the very least I can easily identify with these people, they've read the same things I've read. We think along the same lines. Watching them draw upon their fictional examples to try to decide how to deal with their cases is just fun.

Naturally, Cat (and Borton), get extra credit from me for the number of times they invoke Spenser. But it works no matter what character she's referencing.

THE SUPPORTING CAST
Cat's the focus—and she should be—but she wouldn't be anywhere without the other characters that she bumps up against (we'll ignore the principles/suspects in the investigation). The book might still be good with just Cat and the suspects, but what frequently makes a book worth reading are the secondary and tertiary characters—and Borton fills the novel with people worth reading about.

The people that fall into her life in this novel almost seem too convenient—wow, Cat makes a friend who happens to be able to help her learn to shoot. One of the first people she rents an apartment to happens to be a lawyer who can help her get through the city's legal system, what a crazy coincidence! But once you shrug that off (what novel isn't filled with that kind of thing)

There's an elderly screenwriter character who is a delight. She adds a crucial detail or two that Cat needs to put everything together, but more than anything else, she's just fun to read. Borton brings in a few characters like that—they're around for one or two conversations, but it feels like Borton spent as much time and energy into developing the character for those conversations as she did for the killer or one of the other prime suspects.

I want to talk about the witness to the crime—and his family—but I just don't think I can do them justice without ruining something. But Borton's choices in including him, and the way she did so, are a real strength of the novel.

Even the cats are well-written and likable (long-time readers of this site will recognize how odd that is for me to say)

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT ONE FOR THE MONEY?
Last year, I wrote about Luna Miller's The Lion's Tail (apparently now called Looking for Alice ), about a sexagenarian rookie P.I. Sure, Gunvor Strom is a little older than Cat, and the novel's darker—but it's along the same lines.* I really appreciated the way that neither of these women are allowing themselves to be held back by their age, their sex, their past—their utter lack of experience—they can make a difference, they have something to contribute, and they have the drive.

* I mostly bring it up in case readers are asking themselves, didn't he talk about this before? Also, because readers of one of these are really going to want to read the other.

Cat and the team she assembles do the one thing the police are unwilling/unable to do: they can focus on the victim and her life to the exclusion of all else. She can get people to talk to her who wouldn't talk to the police out of principle or intimidation. They open up to her, they tell her things they wouldn't tell others.

She's also smart enough and driven enough to keep going until the facts she uncovers fit together in a way that makes sense.

And Borton delivers all this in an engaging, easy style that makes you want to keep turning the pages. It's a fun story, with a great group of characters that you can't help but root for, and you not only want to find out what happens but you want to know what happens next. I'll be back for the rest as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I'm glad I got to read this one and think you will be, too. show less

First, I loved it.
Second, Menopause is not equivalent to Medicare as MOST women go through it in their early to mid-forties!
Time of story is 1985 Cincinnati, book was originally published in 1996 and does have a lot of true historical information about people and attitudes in the US and elsewhere as well as facts about Cincinnati Art Pottery, specifically Rookwood. That being said, this book is hilarious because of the situational and especially the verbal humor. The cozy murder mystery is show more very well done as Cat brangles with friends and law enforcement over her way of sleuthing. Plenty of plot twists and red herrings, too. I loved it and plan to hunt up others with Cat Caliban!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Boomerang Books, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) via NetGalley. THANK YOU! show less

Now that retired cop Moses Fogg has his P.I. license, aspiring P.I. and senior sleuth Cat Caliban can now work towards accruing enough experience for a license of her own. Caliban and Fogg's first customer is a concerned grandma who wants the duo to investigate the suspicious death of her grandson Peter.

Soon, Cat and Moses discover strange connections between Peter's death and the cases of other missing children in Cincinnati. How do these cases, an evangelical ministry, and a chimpanzee show more named Evie fit together? You'll have to read this book to find out!

I've always loved how unique and well-written this series is. It features well-rounded and interesting characters. There are prominent characters of colours, LGBTQ characters, and neurodivergent characters. The mysteries are realistic and well-researched, yet engaging and suspenseful. The books explore social issues with reflective thoughtfulness. What else can a girl ask for in a mystery?

I especially appreciate how Borton balances different tones in this mystery. Some parts of the book are hilarious and laugh-out loud, but others are more serious and sometimes even heartbreaking. It's not a 'one-note' book by any means. The book does feature a bittersweet ending, but I found it to be very appropriate for the plot. It's a reminder of the human impacts of crime, and of how life's problems don't always resolve neatly.

And as a side note: it's 2021, and I still haven't read many cozy mysteries where computers - or even technology in general - play a role in the plot! I was pleasantly surprised when this novel, which is set in the 1980s, incorporated computers and the Internet into the mystery-solving process. It added an interesting, and sometimes hilarious, layer to the book. Let's just say that Cat is not exactly a computer-savvy lady...

If you're looking for a well-written mystery with engaging characters and unique plots, I'd absolutely recommend this book and the Cat Caliban series as a whole.

Readers should note that this book includes some violence and some foul language. Thank you to D.B. Borton for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

For more of my reviews, please visit:
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Cat Caliban is gunning for her P.I. license. More accurately, she's gunning for her friend and retired cop Moses Fogg to get his own P.I. license so that she can get enough experience working with him to one day get a license of her own. When Moses gets a strange message on his answering machine, Cat gets a chance to flex her sleuthing muscles.

The message was from someone he used to know when he was as a juvie officer: a woman by the name of Rocky Zacharias. Judging by the message, it also show more seems as if she's in trouble. Moses and Cat must work to find and help Rocky while also caring for her three kids.

This is the second book in the series that I've read and I highly enjoyed it. The Cat Caliban Mysteries series is soon becoming one of my favourite cozy mystery series and for good reason.

One of my favourite things about this series is how Borton incorporates social issues in the plot. This book focuses on the challenges that face incarcerated women in the US in a compassionate and respectful manner. These discussion don't feel tangential or preachy; rather, they're integral to the plot. I learnt something new about the real world after reading this book, something I can't often say about cozies.

I also love the characters, especially senior sleuths Cat and Moses. They're well-rounded, and entertaining to read about. I can feel Cat's exasperation through my pages when she's dealing with Rocky's rambunctious kids!

At the end, I was surprised by how the mystery was resolved, but in a good way! It wasn't that the clues were too hidden or that the mystery was too difficult to follow. Rather, Cat and Moses run into difficulties and red herrings along the way, just like they would in real life. These difficulties may make the process of solving the mystery frustrating for both the characters and the readers, but I think it only adds to the depth of the plot, making the mystery more realistic and adding to the suspense.

Readers should note that this book can be a bit dark and serious in tones at times. I personally liked it as it offered something different than many cozy mysteries, but it's something to be aware of if you prefer a lighter read. Readers should also be aware that there is some foul language, some discussion of drugs, and a brief mention of suicide in this book.

Thank you to D.B. Borton for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

For more of my reviews, please visit:
show less