A Cat in a Glass House

Alice Nestleton Mystery #7

by Lydia Adamson

In the latest Alice Nestleton mystery, the aspiring actress and sometimes sleuth teams up with a Mandarin-speaking city cop to find a missing tabby and solve the murder of a waitress. Original.

Genres: Mystery, Cats, Animals, Cozy Mystery

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

Lydia Adamson is the pen name for Franklin B. King who is an author, free-lance writer and copywriter. In addition to the Alice Nestleton series, he is the author of the Deirdre Quinn Nightingale and Lucy Wayles series. He lives in New York City and also wrote under the name 'Frank King'.

Reviews

[Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read most of this novel while snuggling with my own super-furry Maine coon cat, which set the right mood, for sure. This is a cute murder mystery, in which Alice, a beautiful blonde actress who likes solving crimes, happens to be in a Chinese restaurant when it is shot up by odd Chinese gangsters who spray paint the Chinese character for 'soup' on the wall and shoot one of the waitresses. Alice tries not to become any more involved than she already is, but she is worried about the orange cat she saw in the restaurant just before the shooting. No one seems to know or care what happened to the cat, so Alice starts investigating, mostly just to be sure the cat is ok.

I had issues with the young half-Chinese investigator, Sonny, who Alice gets involved with- he seems so psychotically unbalanced that I had a hard time imagining Alice could like him, let alone want to sleep with him. However, I loved the plotting Alice does that just happens to provide a cushy home for a bedraggled shelter cat. The problems I had with Sonny dropped my rating for this book, because he is such a dominant character that his unprofessionalism and domineering manner towards Alice made a lot of scenes hard to believe.

[Hahalaughsalot · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters were flat and the plot watery so I can only assume the main raison d'etre for the book, and seemingly, the series, is to make cat ladies feel validated. I'm ok with that, but it was total fluff reading. (tee hee).

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onvan : A Cat in a Glass House (Alice Nestleton Mystery, 7) - Nevisande : Lydia Adamson - ISBN : 451177061 - ISBN13 : 9780451177063 - Dar 208 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 1993

[Chazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Nestleton, cat sitter and off and way off, Broadway theater actress, has received word from her agent of an interview at a top hat Tribeca Chinese restaurant with a Hollywood movie producer. Maybe this is Hollywood beckoning and her acting career really taking off, finally.

Before any serious discussion takes place, or any serious food is ordered, mayhem strikes. Alice spots a beautiful red tabby sitting up high on a shelf, and the three thugs that have entered the restaurant with weapons and spray cans, ready to wreak havoc. So much for career advancement. Instead, Alice finds herself on the hunt for the red tabby that has disappeared, and involved with a young, handsome, Mandarin speaking NYPD cop who is out to solve the mystery of the mayhem and the murderer of the waitress who was killed during it.

A plot that runs at a good pace, a cast of characters coming from the Chinese culture, the theater of Alice's past and present, and some clues that just don't want to come together all make for an enjoyable and fun read.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and simple meandering mystery, however the Orientalism and stereotyping was just too much for me by the end. No thank you.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Groovy cat lady/actress solves mysteries with more insight than the police.

[Harrynetta Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Nestleton goes on the hunt for a murderer but more importantly the hunt for whomever took the kitchen cat. Couldn't put it down because I needed to know what happened the cat in all honesty.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this cozy series although I hadn’t read one in a while. It was interesting to read a book written before everyone had cell phones and the different ways the characters figured out the mystery with no internet help. Slightly dated but still enjoyable.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series provide quick, entertaining, easy reads. The protagonist is Alice Nestleton, a New York City actress of great skill, but who never gets the starmaking break so moves along the fringes of the drama world and knows EVERYONE. Her day job keeps her going--she's a cat sitter, and therein lies the tale--and many tales-- of the murders in which she continually finds herself involved. She investigates using her associates and her niece to interview and research the mysteries. Part of the attraction of these is that she's almost always mostly wrong in her conclusions, but they help her extract truth and get to the right solutions in the end. However, Alice shares the morals and mores of stereotypical New York drama personnel. The books almost always include sensual scenes as she shares her bed with some continuing and some characters exclusive to each novel.

[Kathei · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like cats and you enjoy mysteries this is a good series.