"Simon scores..."

"Simon scores with the spectral Mr. Grey and the likable Dulcie." – PW 3/15/10
Whee!

Happy anniversary, PW blogger Barbara Vey!

Wow, can it have been two years? Publishers Weekly "Behind Her Book" blogger Barbara Vey is celebrating two years of blogging about all sorts of fun books -- romance, mysteries, you name it. She's having QUITE the party on her blog today, with tons of prizes, book giveaways, and more. The party lasts all week, but today is devoted to mysteries, suspense, and thrillers. Come on by!

THANK YOU, PW!!

Publishers Weekly, Feb. 2, 2009

Probable Claws Clea Simon. Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (264p) ISBN 978-1-59058-564-1
Music journalist Theda Krakow once again proves a feisty and determined sleuth in Simon's lively fourth cat-themed mystery (after 2007's Cries and Whiskers). Theda alternates between the cat world, dominated by her pet, Musetta, and the Boston area music scene, about which she writes for local magazines and newspapers. When her retired policeman boyfriend, Bill, buys into a successful club that's a cop hangout, Theda can't help feeling a little jealous, though she admits she also has a problem with Bill's attitude—he's too patronizing. Meanwhile, contaminated cat kibble at the animal shelter run by her friend Violet may be the work of a poisoner. When Theda, guided by blood on Musetta's paw, discovers Rachel, a shelter vet, lying on the treatment-room floor with a fatal stab wound, she gets arrested for Rachel's murder. Well-drawn characters, a plot with many strings to unravel and plenty of appealing cats make this another winner for Simon. (Apr.)

You're dead to me!

Oh, lordy. My ARC (advance reading copies) of Probable Claws have arrived. The new mystery doesn't publish until April, but these are the advances that go out to Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Kirkus, and other long-lead reviewers. Because Poisoned Pen is also a smaller press, this is also the first time I've seen my book set in type! (Bigger publishers usually send out unbound pages - this is bound like a book, though without the fancy cover.) I'm supposed to read it through over the next few weeks for typos and minor changes. And I'm terrified! When I was writing this book, I loved it. The characters were real to me and I fretted over them as if they were my children.

Now I'm caught up in my new project, tentatively called Dogs Don't Lie, and I'm finding it horribly difficult to go back. What was once a living story is now entombed in pages. What if the story doesn't race along of its own accord? What if I no longer like the characters? What if my beloved fourth mystery, once so alive, is now dead to me?

Dexter loses his rock 'n' roll...

At least, that's more or less the premise of Jeff Lindsay's wonderful new Dexter in the Dark, which I reviewed in today's Boston Globe. Is it a departure from the previous Dexter books? Well, yes, but what would you expect in the third of a series?

There's been much talk about serial killers as super heroes, but I think that Lindsay's jovial protagonist strikes home (so to speak) because he's such an Everyman. I mean, at times, wouldn't we all like to be like Dexter?

And, while you're here, check out this profile of Hank Phillippi Ryan, whose second mystery, Face Time pubs tomorrow. We love Hank and her sweetie husband Jonathon here at Chez Musetta!

Finally, I am so happy! Thank you, Publishers Weekly.