Cat's Claw
Written by Susan Wittig Albert
Narrated by Morgan Hallett and Julia Gibson
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Susan Wittig Albert
Susan Wittig Albert is the New York Times bestselling author of over one hundred books. Her work includes four mystery series: China Bayles, the Darling Dahlias, the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, and the Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries. She has also published three award-winning historical novels as well as YA fiction, memoirs, and nonfiction. She and her husband live in Texas Hill Country, where she writes, gardens, and raises an assortment of barnyard creatures.
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A Dilly of a Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mistletoe Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Indigo Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bloodroot Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bleeding Hearts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Man's Bones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mourning Gloria Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nightshade Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish Dagger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holly Blues Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wormwood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Widow's Tears Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cat's Claw Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Chance Olive Ranch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death Come Quickly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bittersweet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood Orange Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Cat's Claw
84 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5China Bayles delivers a rounded murder mystery with a little herbs and spices dropped into the mix. A nice computer shop owner seems to be a suicide, but why would Larry kill himself when life is good. Susan Wittig Albert presents many red herrings in the race to determine the rest of the story. Albert peppers the story with small tidbits of the spice/herb du jour. This novel pounces on cat’s claw an interesting antidote. The men take a step back and allow the ladies to rule the roost, which sometimes creates havoc. Albert does well with her characters and the setting but throws a little too much dialogue to live up to the work of Elizabeth George.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book starts out well, and I enjoyed the 'cat's claw' theme in the notes about different plants with names referencing cat claws. However, the middle 100 pages or so just seem to stall, losing what momentum the book had started building, so once things start happening again near the end, everything happens all at once, making a very abrupt resolution. I like plot twists well enough, but the middle was so dull that the excitement at the end felt disconnected from the rest of the story. The fact that I don't really like China Bayles doesn't help either, but I've read another book from this series that had much better pacing, enough that I didn't mind the characters so much. In this one the middle of the book gives one plenty of time to mull over the characters.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another winner by SWA and I noticed I'm a couple behind so off to read the others!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not as good as some of the other books. Intense at times and slow at others and kind of week at the end so seemed a bit inconsistent.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of my favorite mystery series. Love this one because we got to see "Smart Cookie" at her best.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I love the China Bayles series. i would have to say when pressed that it's one of my favourite mystery series. And now Ms. Albert is highlighting different Pecan Springs characters in some of her books. This is the 20 book in this series. Yes, we still have China, and a little bit of Ruby, but the main character in this book is Sharp Cookie, Sheia Dawson, Pecan Springs' Police Chief. It is refreshing to have a different viewpoint and a different narrator. And I've always like Sheila in this series, but i did miss Ruby. I know though that she will be back in future books. Ms. Albert is a master character creator, and her small-town Texas setting is just perfect. That along with the herb and food tidbits that come out in the book, make this series a winner for me. In this book, Sheila finds herself investigating a suicide which doesn't appear to be a suicide and as she and her force investigate they find out all kinds of terrible secrets that could throw the whole town into an uproar if they were found out. I did know who the killer was before the end of the book, but that did not spoil the book for me. Keep China coming Ms. Albert. I can't wait for the next one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another great entry in the China Bayles mystery series. I treasure every chance to enter China's rich world, and have started to take my time reading these slowly, to make them last longer. Some favorite characters are off stage again for this one, but it was nice getting Smart Cookie's perspective on things too. One open end - what WAS Ruby trying to get China to consider in terms of their business before the holidays? China got snappy, and I don't think Ruby ever brought it up again. Inquiring minds want to know! BTW, there is a great newsletter that goes with these books, including contest announcements. I won my copy of this book (signed by the author!) through one of those contests. Highly recommended to tide you over between books.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really liked this book written from the point of view of Sheila Dawson, Chief of Police for Peacan Springs. Too many times China has ended up being almost killed in figuring out the murderer, so it was refreshing to see this story which relied on good police training to find the answers to why the man was murdered and who had done it. Nice recipes at the end of the book, too.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This series is just easy fun! As a bit of a departure this book is not narrated solely from China's POV but from Smart Cookies as well. Fun to catch up with the people from Pecan Springs and to read about the usage of various herbs as well as the recipes.