Review by Booklist Review
In this ambitious if problematic first mystery, Chicago journalist Catherine ("Cat") Marsala is close to getting an exclusive interview with Louise Sugarman, the very public voice of a lobbying group battling for the legalization of drugs. But when an electronic device activates an explosive inside a cigarette packet at a public meeting, Sugarman is killed instantly, leaving Cat without an interview but with a murder to solve. Unfortunately, D'Amato, the author of several paperback originals, chooses to devote close to 200 unexciting, Agatha Christie-like pages introducing suspects who fall into one of two "closed sets": either jealous co-workers in Sugarman's group or members of a rival faction opposed to legalized crack. Offsetting this ill-advised attempt to ape the English "cozy" mystery, D'Amato has created a likably abrasive detective, somewhat in the mold of Sara Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski. Even readers somewhat disappointed with this series debut will be glad that when Cat is pitched into Lake Michigan, she's wearing a loose pair of concrete shoes. After all, next time she may find herself in a much better book. --Peter ~Robertson
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This informative, at times lengthily polemical mystery by the author of Hands of Healing Murders airs the question of drug legalization and introduces a gutsy, fast-thinking heroine. Catherine Marsala (Cat), a Chicago freelance journalist, is caught in a bomb explosion while interviewing grandmotherly Louise Sugarman at a party. The bomb kills Louise, who headed Common Sense, a group advocating legalization as a means of de-glamorizing drugs and getting rid of the pushers, profit and violence. Recovering from a concussion, Cat turns sleuth. She investigates the party guests and seeks the detonating item--cigarette, pen or necklace. Her allies include boyfriend John; brother Ted, in jail for possession; black police officer McCoo, who warns that drug killers ``play hardball''; and literary parrot Long John Silver. Among the novel's many virtues is the sense of terror and claustrophobia D'Amato adeptly creates when Cat falls in the hands of masked assailants. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Free-lance Chicago journalist Catherine ``Cat'' Marsala narrowly escapes death in the bomb blast that kills drug law repeal activist Louise Sugarman, whom she was going to interview. Cat grimly works to establish the identity of the murderer. Suspects include a handsome former mob man, a loquacious college professor, a policeman, and Cat's own uncle. The plot breezes tidily along the Chicago lakefront, pushing uncomplicated characters before it, and leaving no unexplained dust in the corners. A fairly tame production, but interesting. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
D'Amato's less-than-stellar hard-cover debut--in which an interview between freelance Chicago journalist Catherine ""Cat"" Marsala and ""legalize drugs"" activist Louise Sugarman, a grandmotherly type, is interrupted by a remote control ""device"" that kills Louise and was detonated by either DEA higher-up Glen Barton; Leota Parks; strongly opposed to Sugarman's stance; Cameron Lloyd, jargon-spouting psychiatrist (pro drug-repeal act); Cat's Uncle Ben, pro tough laws; Louise's husband Max, an ineffectual embarrassment to her cause; or, possibly, policeman Stan Gotcha (!) for reasons not specified, but he, too, was in the room at the time. At first fooled by romance, then blinded by family loyalty, and throughout ignoring police advice, Cat presses on until she finds a mob connection to some of the tough drug-law advocates--and spends many pages reviewing her memories of who stood where when Louise was killed. Two attempts on her life later (a swim in cement overshoes; a push off a balcony), Cat concludes the case and tackles really important mattes--such as which of two suitors to fall for (one devilish and self-centered, the other caring and dull). Silly clues (among them is a peculiarly squashed cigarette butt) and a relentlessly jaunty tone are no help here. More serious are the cardboard characterizations. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
