The Dead Cat Bounce

I've read many Sarah Graves mysteries and this is one of my favorites. I never knew home repair could be so interesting. If you like intrigue and mystery with real people, read this book!

I love reading mystery stories when I'm ready for a light and easy read. I have read quite a few of them and I am thrilled to add Sarah Graves to my "must read" list. Many "light" fiction books feel like you have just eaten cotton candy -- nothing to show for it and still unsatisfied. This book was just the opposite! The characters were well developed, the plot was enjoyable and the writing was very good. I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series and sharing my find with other fans of the mystery genre. What a delightful book to read (either on the beach or in front of a warm fire with a cup of tea) when you just want to have some fun!

I read these over the summer, while vacationing near Boothbay Harbor---three engrossingly-interesting paperback mysteries set in Eastport, Maine, about as far Down East as a body can go...The Dead Cat Bounce, Triple Witch and Wicked Fix feature the indomitable Jacobia Tiptree, an escapee from the NYC financial scene (the first two titles derive from Wall Street slang for troublesome stock market situations), divorced from a high-maintenance neurosurgeon, who, having purchased an antique home in the easternmost city in the USA, spends all of her time and money fixing it up, raising her bright son, bonding with new friends, and solving the little problem of the bodies which keep turning up...in her mudroom, in the tidepools, in a boat's bait-box, hanging from the cemetery gate...I really like these books! Not condescending regarding the Maine born-and-bred characters, but not over-romanticizing them, either. Graves catches the nuances of this small town on the sea's edge: the unrelenting hard work, the poverty, the long-gone fabled wealthy glory days of Eastport, the incredible natural beauty, the Edward-Hopper-like landscapes and the wealth of historical homes and buildings. She also manages to capture the feeling of being "from away" in a closed, tight-knit society where everyone knows everyone else's business and family skeletons...Jacobia's voice is a friendly, funny one, easy to like, and the supporting characters are all well-drawn and distinctive. Nor does she pull any punches in regards to the yuck-factor of murder: some of the descriptions are not for the squeamish. These ain't no tea-and-crumpets, civilized little murder mysteries...I can't wait to read more.

An author I hadn't heard of before. I bought this based on a rec.arts.mystery recommendation, and I loved it. Lovely prose (reminds me of Margaret Maron's Knott mysteries in the lyricism of its description of Eastport), tight plot, and overall one of the most impressive authors I've discovered in the last few years. Highly recommended.

This is a mystery of the first order and one that Mainers or those who have spent considerable time there will really love. It has the Maine character perfectly described along with the weather, the fog, and their inimitable style of understement-while understanding the vaguaries of the human condition of independence-totally captured. It would have made a good script for the 1940's "I Love A Mystery" radio program.You won't be bored because the author is so good at sidetracking you with clues that do not pan out.A very good read.. I had to control myself and space out the time when I read it because I did not want to finish too fast, but wanted to reflect on the clues.