Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews

Page Two of Two

Catch as Cat Can by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown
Bantam, March, 2002
Hardcover, 320 pages
ISBN: 0553107445
Ordering information:
Amazon.com

Catch as Cat Can
by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown

In this tenth outing, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and her very smart animals, gray tiger cat Mrs. Murphy, hefty gray cat Peweter and Tucker the Welsh Corgi, must face a crime wave in the tiny Virginia hamlet of Crozet, where Harry serves as postmistress. When a dead woodpecker shows up on Harry's front porch, Mrs. Murphy senses that there is trouble ahead. She's right: first Mrs. Hogendobber's hubcaps are missing, and things escalate from there with three mysterious deaths. Harry also has a very interesting new beau on the horizon, although there may be more to him than it appears at first glance.

If you can suspend disbelief long enough to accept the concept of intelligent, talking animals, Rita Mae Brown is sure to hook you within the first chapter of this witty and entertaining cozy. The little town of Crozet is peopled with some very interesting characters indeed (human and animal) and Rita Mae Brown's sense of humor adds a sharp flavor to this ultimate cozy tale.

The English Assassin by Daniel Silva
Putnam, March, 2002
Hardcover, 400 pages
ISBN: 0399148515
Ordering information:
Amazon.com

The English Assassin
by Daniel Silva

Gabriel Allon is a well-known art restorer who specializes in the restoration of Old Masters. But art restoration is only one of his many talents; he is also a part-time intelligence agent for the Israeli government. His latest assignment sends him to Zurich to restore a painting for a wealthy banker. When Gabriel arrives at the home, he is given the access codes to the security system and told to go inside. He discovers the body of the murdered banker under the Old Master, and immediately realizes that he is being framed for the killing. As he sets out to find the real killer, Gabriel discovers a number of people who will do anything to stop his investigation. His enquiries lead him to a multitude of shameful secrets about the Swiss people's cooperation with the Nazis in World War II. As events spin out of control, Gabriel realizes that he has another enemy: a brilliant assassin that he actually helped train, known only as The Englishman.

Daniel Silva is one of the most promising authors in the spy genre to come along since Le Carre. He takes a familiar subject, the rape of Europe's art treasures by the Nazis and the Swiss cooperation in the crime, and gives it new life. Gabriel himself is a mass of contradictions: he is an expert assassin who is trained to take life, yet he is an incredibly skilled artisan who restores some of the world's most valuable treasures. Silva's prose is crisp and clean, and his pacing is excellent, as are his characterizations. Highly recommended.

--Claire E. White

Mystery Book Reviews
Page One | Page Two

Click Here to Return to the Book Reviews Index

Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews

Catch as Cat Can by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown

The English Assassin by Daniel Silva