CRIES AND WHISKERS

Freelance rock music critic Theda Krakow covers the club scene in Cambridge and Boston. She's also a cat person, sharing her life with Musetta, a black-and-white pampered pet. When an animal rights activist is killed in a hit-and-run, Theda helps with her project of saving feral cats from an abandoned bottling plant. Tavia Gilbert gives an energetic reading. Her voice is spunky as Theda investigates an up-and-coming rock group, frantic when Musetta disappears, concerned when boyfriend Bill considers a career change, and determined when facing danger. Gilbert is less successful voicing secondary characters, pushing too hard, sacrificing believability for stereotype. Clea Simon's third mystery takes on the current music scene, designer drugs, unscrupulous real estate developers, and the plight of animal shelters. With cats. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]