Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Gumshoe Review "enthralled" by STAGES OF GREY

"This is one of those books where the reader gets so caught up in the narrative that you try to help the main character. You have to keep on reading because you continue to hope against hope that Dulcie will make the right decisions, or at least have a lot of luck if she makes the wrong ones. The writing draws in the reader and keeps them enthralled...."

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Gumshoe Review

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Richmond Times-Dispatch loves "Stages of Grey"!

"With a keen eye for the hothouse world of academia and a touch of the supernatural, she creates another entertaining story..." Thank you, Richmond Times-Dispatch!


Book review (fiction): Stages of Grey
BY JAY STRAFFORD Special correspondent | Posted: Wednesday, October 1, 2014


Actors and hackers and sleuths, oh my!

All are among the featured players in “Stages of Grey” (217 pages, Severn House, $28.95), the eighth novel in Clea Simon’s mystery series featuring Harvard doctoral candidate Dulcie Schwartz, her pals and a few felines.

The fun begins with a local theater group, which is staging “Change: A Metamorphosis Musical,” a disco (yes, disco) version of Ovid’s play. But the fun ends when one of the actresses, Amy Ralkov, is found dead, her throat sliced.

Dulcie, who’s still working on her dissertation, puts herself in peril by engaging in some amateur detection. Aided by Gus, a Russian Blue cat who has been adopted by the theater group, she learns the truth.

Simon, a former journalist and the author of two other mystery series, uses her fertile imagination in all her work, and “Stages of Grey” is no exception. With a keen eye for the hothouse world of academia and a touch of the supernatural, she creates another entertaining story, one that combines a clever whodunit with an update on the lives of cherished characters.

Jay Strafford is a retired writer and editor for The Times-Dispatch. Contact him at jstrafford@timesdispatch.com.