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Cat Caliban #6
Six Feet Under
After a career fighting crime, six little words still have the power to strike fear in the heart of a retired cop: the sleep-over is at your house.
Once the jump-rope queen of Cincinnati, Rocky Zacharias is now an ex-convict with kids of her own and a dangerous secret. And she’s disappeared, leaving behind a cryptic call for help. With Rocky and her kids in the path of a killer, detective-in-training Cat Caliban and retired juvenile officer Moses Fogg decide that the clue to Rocky’s danger may be locked up behind the razor wire of the Women’s Correctional Institution, so Cat goes inside to learn the truth before someone puts Rocky six feet under — and before Cat and Moses send Rocky’s kids into Time Out and throw away the key.
Once the jump-rope queen of Cincinnati, Rocky Zacharias is now an ex-convict with kids of her own and a dangerous secret. And she’s disappeared, leaving behind a cryptic call for help. With Rocky and her kids in the path of a killer, detective-in-training Cat Caliban and retired juvenile officer Moses Fogg decide that the clue to Rocky’s danger may be locked up behind the razor wire of the Women’s Correctional Institution, so Cat goes inside to learn the truth before someone puts Rocky six feet under — and before Cat and Moses send Rocky’s kids into Time Out and throw away the key.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 1997
26 people are currently reading
462 people want to read
About the author
D.B. Borton
17 books48 followersD. B. Borton is a Professor Emeritus of English at Ohio Wesleyan University and now a full-time writer. Specializing in humorous mysteries, she has published eleven mystery novels in two series, the Cat Caliban series (Berkley, Hilliard and Harris) and the Gilda Liberty series (Fawcett), as well as the mystery novel SMOKE (Boomerang) and the humorous science fiction novel SECOND COMING (Boomerang). Her latest mystery, BAYOU CITY BURNING (Boomerang), was published in June 2019.
A native of Houston, Texas, Borton became an ardent admirer of Nancy Drew at a young age. At the age of fourteen, she acquired her own blue roadster, trained on the freeways of Houston and the broad stretches of oil-endowed Texas highway, and began her travels.
She has lived in the Southwest and Midwest and on the West Coast, where she has collected three degrees in English without relinquishing her affection for the expressiveness of the everyday language that real people speak. Her research skills and her ear for language both serve her well in mysteries set in realistic places and featuring characters with authentic voices.
A native of Houston, Texas, Borton became an ardent admirer of Nancy Drew at a young age. At the age of fourteen, she acquired her own blue roadster, trained on the freeways of Houston and the broad stretches of oil-endowed Texas highway, and began her travels.
She has lived in the Southwest and Midwest and on the West Coast, where she has collected three degrees in English without relinquishing her affection for the expressiveness of the everyday language that real people speak. Her research skills and her ear for language both serve her well in mysteries set in realistic places and featuring characters with authentic voices.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 25, 2021
I would like to thank the author for an advance copy of Six Feet Under, the sixth novel to feature amateur sleuth Cat Caliban set in Cincinnati in 1986. The novel was originally published in 1997.
Cat’s neighbour, retired juvenile officer, Moses Fogg gets a message from a former charge, Rocky Zacharias, asking for help. The problem is she doesn’t leave any way of contacting her and a series of events lead Cat and Moses to believe that she and her kids are in danger.
I thoroughly enjoyed Six Feet Under which is an amusing tale of murder and mayhem in Cincinnati, with a well thought out plot and a surprising resolution. It is told from Cat’s point of view and much of the humour derives from her rather caustic take on life, be it the joys of grandparenthood or menopause or just life in general. I can empathise on all points and find it not just funny but pithy and true.
The novel is also full of situational comedy with the antics of Rocky’s children playing a prominent part. This had me in stitches but I’m not going reveal details for fear of spoiling the full glory of it all. It’s imaginative but has a ring of authenticity that suggests a certain amount of lived experience.
The plot had me baffled. Why all the killing and who was behind it? The author has a good line in misdirection with Cat and Moses following a false trail for much of the novel. The solution is both simple and complex.
The author likes to cover a social issue in her novels. In this one it is the criminal justice system. I found the facts eye opening and distressing and I would like to say prescient in its focus given last year’s focus on it, but sadly it shows how long these inequities have been going on.
Six Feet Under is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
Cat’s neighbour, retired juvenile officer, Moses Fogg gets a message from a former charge, Rocky Zacharias, asking for help. The problem is she doesn’t leave any way of contacting her and a series of events lead Cat and Moses to believe that she and her kids are in danger.
I thoroughly enjoyed Six Feet Under which is an amusing tale of murder and mayhem in Cincinnati, with a well thought out plot and a surprising resolution. It is told from Cat’s point of view and much of the humour derives from her rather caustic take on life, be it the joys of grandparenthood or menopause or just life in general. I can empathise on all points and find it not just funny but pithy and true.
The novel is also full of situational comedy with the antics of Rocky’s children playing a prominent part. This had me in stitches but I’m not going reveal details for fear of spoiling the full glory of it all. It’s imaginative but has a ring of authenticity that suggests a certain amount of lived experience.
The plot had me baffled. Why all the killing and who was behind it? The author has a good line in misdirection with Cat and Moses following a false trail for much of the novel. The solution is both simple and complex.
The author likes to cover a social issue in her novels. In this one it is the criminal justice system. I found the facts eye opening and distressing and I would like to say prescient in its focus given last year’s focus on it, but sadly it shows how long these inequities have been going on.
Six Feet Under is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
May 5, 2018
This was a good mystery set in Ohio and featuring detective Cat Caliban as she tries to find out why a former inmate and mother of three is missing and why people associated with her are being systematically murdered. This is a good story that, though it is fiction, also draws attention to some of the things that are very wrong with our women's prison system.
August 17, 2021
Cat Caliban is gunning for her P.I. license. More accurately, she's gunning for her friend and retired cop Moses Fogg to get his own P.I. license so that she can get enough experience working with him to one day get a license of her own. When Moses gets a strange message on his answering machine, Cat gets a chance to flex her sleuthing muscles.
The message was from someone he used to know when he was as a juvie officer: a woman by the name of Rocky Zacharias. Judging by the message, it also seems as if she's in trouble. Moses and Cat must work to find and help Rocky while also caring for her three kids.
This is the second book in the series that I've read and I highly enjoyed it. The Cat Caliban Mysteries series is soon becoming one of my favourite cozy mystery series and for good reason.
One of my favourite things about this series is how Borton incorporates social issues in the plot. This book focuses on the challenges that face incarcerated women in the US in a compassionate and respectful manner. These discussion don't feel tangential or preachy; rather, they're integral to the plot. I learnt something new about the real world after reading this book, something I can't often say about cozies.
I also love the characters, especially senior sleuths Cat and Moses. They're well-rounded, and entertaining to read about. I can feel Cat's exasperation through my pages when she's dealing with Rocky's rambunctious kids!
At the end, I was surprised by how the mystery was resolved, but in a good way! It wasn't that the clues were too hidden or that the mystery was too difficult to follow. Rather, Cat and Moses run into difficulties and red herrings along the way, just like they would in real life. These difficulties may make the process of solving the mystery frustrating for both the characters and the readers, but I think it only adds to the depth of the plot, making the mystery more realistic and adding to the suspense.
Readers should note that this book can be a bit dark and serious in tones at times. I personally liked it as it offered something different than many cozy mysteries, but it's something to be aware of if you prefer a lighter read. Readers should also be aware that there is some foul language, some discussion of drugs, and a brief mention of suicide in this book.
Thank you to D.B. Borton for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
The message was from someone he used to know when he was as a juvie officer: a woman by the name of Rocky Zacharias. Judging by the message, it also seems as if she's in trouble. Moses and Cat must work to find and help Rocky while also caring for her three kids.
This is the second book in the series that I've read and I highly enjoyed it. The Cat Caliban Mysteries series is soon becoming one of my favourite cozy mystery series and for good reason.
One of my favourite things about this series is how Borton incorporates social issues in the plot. This book focuses on the challenges that face incarcerated women in the US in a compassionate and respectful manner. These discussion don't feel tangential or preachy; rather, they're integral to the plot. I learnt something new about the real world after reading this book, something I can't often say about cozies.
I also love the characters, especially senior sleuths Cat and Moses. They're well-rounded, and entertaining to read about. I can feel Cat's exasperation through my pages when she's dealing with Rocky's rambunctious kids!
At the end, I was surprised by how the mystery was resolved, but in a good way! It wasn't that the clues were too hidden or that the mystery was too difficult to follow. Rather, Cat and Moses run into difficulties and red herrings along the way, just like they would in real life. These difficulties may make the process of solving the mystery frustrating for both the characters and the readers, but I think it only adds to the depth of the plot, making the mystery more realistic and adding to the suspense.
Readers should note that this book can be a bit dark and serious in tones at times. I personally liked it as it offered something different than many cozy mysteries, but it's something to be aware of if you prefer a lighter read. Readers should also be aware that there is some foul language, some discussion of drugs, and a brief mention of suicide in this book.
Thank you to D.B. Borton for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
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August 27, 2021It's the day before Thanksgiving and Moses Fogg and Catherine (Cat) Caliban are listening to a message left several days prior by Rocky Zacharias, a woman he knew from his days as a police officer. Her message indicates she is in trouble but she doesn't leave any way for him to contact her. Cat, a retired widow, is worried but Moses is unconcerned. The crew at the Cataonia Arms Apartments are all going to their families for Thanksgiving but plan to eat together the next night for leftovers from the various dinners. During the dinner, they are all discussing the day when Al, tells them that her partner, Peter Abrams, at the Legal Aid office was killed by a hit and run driver the previous evening. Cat asks if Moses has heard from Rocky again and he says no one has seen her since she was released from prison. Al tells them that she was in to see Peter several days before but there's nothing found either in the office or on Peter's body regarding the visit. The death has not been ruled either as an accident nor murder. This sends Moses and Cat hunting for Rocky. Is she really in trouble and is her visit to see Peter responsible for his death?
I am voluntarily reviewing this book after receiving it free from the author.
I am voluntarily reviewing this book after receiving it free from the author.
September 18, 2023
Cat Caliban and her good friend, retired cop Moses Fogg are looking for a young woman newly out of prison for a number of reasons. Among other things, this middle aged pair wind up housing and caring for the missing woman's young children! Along the way they have to contend with cops, a killer, a nasty man trying to gain custody of those children, and a few dead bodies, and childhood hijinks. Excellent read!
I never worked in prisons, only as nurse in jails, but much of the inherent problems with the systems ring decidedly true.
This is a great series and I am trying to read a few good things from my TBR pile!
I never worked in prisons, only as nurse in jails, but much of the inherent problems with the systems ring decidedly true.
This is a great series and I am trying to read a few good things from my TBR pile!
January 14, 2022
Really liked this book! Cat, Moses and their cohorts are sharp and interesting; the plot moves fast; there's good dialogue; the insight in incarcerated women's plight was thought provoking. A nice, easy read that makes me want to read more in this series.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
January 14, 2022
Searching for someone who doesn't want to be found is difficult
...but add in murder, three kids and a Santa Clause who drives a Buick, then it's near impossible. I love the characters in this book...they are witty and bold and relatable. Great murder mystery with a lot of heart! ❤️
...but add in murder, three kids and a Santa Clause who drives a Buick, then it's near impossible. I love the characters in this book...they are witty and bold and relatable. Great murder mystery with a lot of heart! ❤️
February 28, 2022
Good plot and interesting, we’ll-developed characters. I enjoyed the eighties setting and found the glances of the women’s prison more realistic than many I’ve seen in fiction. I really enjoyed it. I won the book in book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
September 18, 2024
Good read
August 9, 2021
Cat Caliban has talked her good friend, retired cop Moses Fogg into mentoring her as she pursues a PI license for a second act to her arguably successful job of motherhood. And if it takes her mind off the ravages of menopause, that's even better. Moses gets a mysterious message on his answering machine from Rocky Zacharius, a former juvie client who is just out on parole and trying to stay alive while her cohorts seem to be dropping like flies. But Moses and Cat have no idea where Rocky is and no way to reach her. Her Aunt Barbara is overwhelmed taking care of Rocky's three kids in addition to her own brood but she's still not forthcoming as to her whereabouts, so Cat and Moses are left with scant clues to find her. Only Rocky doesn't want to be found. Because if Cat and Moses can find her, so can the killer.
In their search Cat interviews some of Rocky's prison 'family' by gaining access to the women's prison in the Cincinnati area which turns into an eye-opening experience. But it also turns up new information that helps unravel the mystery surrounding Rocky's reluctance to be found. In the interim, somehow Cat and Moses wind up temporarily housing Rocky's three kids. And chaos reigns. But the Catatonia Arms 'family' all come together to sub as babysitters while Cat and Moses try to find Rocky before it's too late.
"Six Feet Under" is set in the mid-1980s and answering machines seem foreign to our ears now that cell phones with voice mail have made them obsolete. Nonetheless, that blinking red light and the waiting messages were Rocky's only way of touching base with Cat and Moses.
This sixth book in the Cat Caliban series is somewhat of a departure from the first five in that it has a more serious tone, gritty even. But it is in keeping with the up close and personal look at the realities of prison life. What it's like to be a woman on parole, with no home, a limited education, no money and no job and no real prospects for a job because you're on parole and have little to no education. The moral aspects of the issues arising from the prison system have defied any real solutions despite the money that's been thrown at them. Shining a light on it is a bit different from author D.B. Borton's more humorous works. That's not to say this is all serious. Cat is still Cat after all and she is one of a kind.
Borton does a masterful job with regional dialects and descriptive phrasing. She's an astute observer as evidenced by this single sample of her artistry: "....a stocky man with blond hair cut close as grass on a putting green." That is prose that sings. Five gold stars.
In their search Cat interviews some of Rocky's prison 'family' by gaining access to the women's prison in the Cincinnati area which turns into an eye-opening experience. But it also turns up new information that helps unravel the mystery surrounding Rocky's reluctance to be found. In the interim, somehow Cat and Moses wind up temporarily housing Rocky's three kids. And chaos reigns. But the Catatonia Arms 'family' all come together to sub as babysitters while Cat and Moses try to find Rocky before it's too late.
"Six Feet Under" is set in the mid-1980s and answering machines seem foreign to our ears now that cell phones with voice mail have made them obsolete. Nonetheless, that blinking red light and the waiting messages were Rocky's only way of touching base with Cat and Moses.
This sixth book in the Cat Caliban series is somewhat of a departure from the first five in that it has a more serious tone, gritty even. But it is in keeping with the up close and personal look at the realities of prison life. What it's like to be a woman on parole, with no home, a limited education, no money and no job and no real prospects for a job because you're on parole and have little to no education. The moral aspects of the issues arising from the prison system have defied any real solutions despite the money that's been thrown at them. Shining a light on it is a bit different from author D.B. Borton's more humorous works. That's not to say this is all serious. Cat is still Cat after all and she is one of a kind.
Borton does a masterful job with regional dialects and descriptive phrasing. She's an astute observer as evidenced by this single sample of her artistry: "....a stocky man with blond hair cut close as grass on a putting green." That is prose that sings. Five gold stars.
July 14, 2014
Retired cop Moses gets a call from Rocky, a juvenile offender he knew when he was on the force. During the call she sounds desperate and yet when he tries to find her, all he finds are corpses and violence.
The title says a lot. The whole book is littered with bodies as Moses and Cat work to find Rocky before she it's too late.
The book deals with some tough topics, mainly abuses of women within the prison system, sexual abuse, and the horrors of poverty in general especially for children.
I do like Cat and the other characters in the series, but this one was grittier than some of the earlier ones.
The title says a lot. The whole book is littered with bodies as Moses and Cat work to find Rocky before she it's too late.
The book deals with some tough topics, mainly abuses of women within the prison system, sexual abuse, and the horrors of poverty in general especially for children.
I do like Cat and the other characters in the series, but this one was grittier than some of the earlier ones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2019
It's a good series. Kids on the streets, crime and violence. Questions around discipline and compassion. It's difficult to know what to say through the raw vulnerably of a subculture including mysteries never solved through the U.S. At least the author was gracious to the reader in this adventure
March 31, 2011
excellent series piece
August 19, 2014
I do like the characters in this series. It's just a shame that the last two are so hard to get.
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December 2, 2012fair
October 9, 2021
Murder, corruption and Santa Claus!!! What more could you want??? I enjoyed the story and recommend the book.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews