Something the Cat Dragged In
Something the Cat Dragged In by Charlotte MacLeod 1983 Avon Books Cozy mystery
This story begins with Betsy Lomax’s cat dragging tenant Herbert Ungley’s toupee in his mouth into her freshly scrubbed kitchen. When she realizes Ungley didn’t sleep in his room last night after attending Balaclava Junction Preservation of Heritage meeting, she searches for him an finds him dead behind the museum where the club meets.
This had all the expectations of being a cozy mystery with a cat, an amateur sleuth and the murder of an unpopular person, but then Lomax hands the investigation to Prof. Peter Shandy, who is the real mystery solver in the story. He pairs up with the not-so-bright Chief Fred Ottermole and another chemistry professor to solve the murder. At no time do they call in a “professional.”
They interview all the members of the exclusive club, and MacLeod shares the details of those interviews as if the reader will gleam an important clue from the long dialogues. Then Shandy reflects and considers motives after each interview. It seemed like a course in murder investigation 101.
A parallel story has two political rivals, one honest and one corrupt. Ruth Smuth, who raised money for the town college, is backing the corrupt politician and organizes a demonstration on the campus that turns out to be staged. She is found dead by college security.
Key to the mystery are four drawers of files Ungley kept at his apartment that were stolen. The bad guy doesn’t have the sense to get rid of them, and Shandy is able to read what is in them. Then instead of having the suspects report to the police station, he and his group round them up at their homes, a dangerous way to arrest anyone.
One of the things appealing about MacLeod’s paperback books are the covers. This is an important marketing feature for authors. The cover has a black cat, skull, and silver cap cane in the cartoon-like drawing for the cover. This makes you think the story will be fun, and MacLeod has a sense of humor that is sprinkled throughout the story. Choose a cover that conveys the story as well as the tone of the genre.
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