Caught in the ACT

I utterly adore 1940s movies that center on quirky romance between two people - generally who might have missed each other if it weren't for chance - that tosses them into bizarre but riotous situations. You always feel good at the end of one. The End flashes across the screen and there is a smile on your face. Zebra is giving some fresh voices a chance to rediscover this style of madcap farce romance. One is the very talented Flo Fitzgerald. Another is Pam McCutcheon. When I read The End, closing that last page, there was a smile on my face. Scott Richmond leave a charity gala. He is bored with his society life. This simple act changes everything. He catches a teenage cat burglar trying to steal his family's jewels. He has a very elaborate security system, which works to keep thieves out. Failing that, it keeps them inside until the cops come to collect them. Being this runt of a thief got in, Scott's curiosity tweaks his to know why she is trying to rob him. He listens to her tail of woe, how her father was the valet to Scott's father and was dismissed with a merger pension and died penniless. She spins a tale how she just wants to get enough money so she can go to Julliard and figures the money the gems would bring would compensate for the shabby treatment her father got from his after years of service. Her tale wins Scott over and he lets her go - with the jewels. A short time later, Scott catches another female breaking into his home. This time a bit more shapely. Nicole the big sister of Chrissie the cat burglar, has discovered what her little sister did and she hopes to return the jewels to Scott, before the real `cat' is out of the bag - the jewels are fakes. With Nicole's assistants, Scott sets off to learn what happened to the real jewels. In their detective work, they are forced to play at being engaged. Soon, both are secretly wishing their engagement was the real thing. I really enjoyed the comedic romance, with strong characters that make you care. I missed McCutcheon's My Favorite Husband. So I am off to snag that one based on how much I enjoyed this story.

I thought this was a good book. It was funny, and had its own mini mystery. I couldnt fighure out who did what, or why and the mystery did not darken the story either. It had enough mystery to keep you guessing, but light enough that it flowed with the story. I liked Scott, and I liked Nicole. I liked this book. I gave it four stars because at a few points in the story it slowed down quite a bit, but overall, its a great book that I recomend.

Scott Richmond left the charity ball that bored him early only to confront a cheeky teenage female cat burglar taking his mother's jewels from the family safe. She cannot escape because his security measures keep thieves in as well as keeping them out. Instead of calling the cops, he asks the feline felon why him? She says his family owes hers; just before his father died, he fired her father as a cost reduction measure. Since there was no call for valets and he had no pension, Dreyfuss, who just died, left his family impoverished. She needs money to pay for tuition at Juilliard. He lets her leave with the loot knowing she has no fence. Not long afterward Scott catches an older female trying to sneak into his home. Nicole realizes what Chrissie was doing and has come to stop her before she gets into trouble. Scott soon learns that the jewelry he gave to Chrissy are not originals. With Nicole's help, Scott begins making inquiries to learn what happened to the originals. As they work together, they fake an engagement that both wish was real as they have fallen in love, but neither has admitted the truth to the other. CAUGHT IN THE ACT is a zany surprisingly sophisticated screwball comedy reminiscent of the 1930s Hepburn movies. Scott is a terrific foible who plays the clown because that is what is expected by his peers and family from him. Only those who get inside like Nicole realize a fool could never have saved the family as he did. Pam McCutheon provides an amusing with serious undercoating romantic romp starring two likeable protagonists and a solid support cast. Harriet Klausner