Karen Kijewski: Alley Kat Blues (USA 1996)

From the Publisher:
She's a hard-boiled Sacramento P.I. with a soft spot for the unlucky, the unloved, and one special cop named Hank. Her name is Kat Colorado, and in her business curiosity can be more than an occupational hazard -- it can be murder.

ALLEY KAT BLUES
Kat Colorado knows the dangers of letting a case get too big a piece of your soul. But some cases don't give you a choice, like the death of twenty-two-year-old Cotrtney Dillard. Kat found her battered body on a dark Sacramento freeway, an apparent hit-and-run victim. Courtney's mother is convinced her death was no accident, and hires Kat to find the truth. As sweet and good-hearted as she was, Courtney had no shortage of enemies, Kat learns. And they make no secret of their belief in blood vengeance.

Kat's also looking for the truth about her relationship with Hank, who's wrestling with his own soul-eating case. A serial killer is stalking the Vegas Strip, and Hank's investigation is taking him over the line. His obsession could cost him both Kat and his career -- while Kat's could cost her her life.

"FANS OF KAT COLORADO WON'T WANT TO MISS (ALLEY KAT BLUES." -- Romantic Times
"KAT COLORADO IS A SMART, FUNNY, SHARP PRIVATE EYE." -- Mostly Murder

Karen Kijewski: Alley Kat Blues. A Kat Colorado Novel. Bantam Books, ISBN: 0553573152 (May, 1996), 370 p., $5.99.

Karen Kijewski: Alley Kat Blues (UK 1995)

From the Publisher:
Tough-talking, soft-centred PI Kat Colorado's latest case is really getting to her. It was Kat who stopped her car to rescue the mangled body of a young woman in the middle of the road, apparently the victim of a terrible hit-and-run disaster. But the victim's mother turns up in Kat's office, convinced that her daughter's death was no accident.

And with that investigation not only plaguing her waking hours but invading her dreams too, Kat is in no shape to cope with her policeman boyfriend Hank's apparent infidelity as well... It looks like this time Kat's bitten off more than she can chew, what with feelings of insecurity and frustration, not to mention a complete lack of clues for the case, Kat could be near breaking point...

Don't miss award-winning Karen Kijewski's previous Kat Colorado mysteries, KATWALK, KATAPULT, KAT'S CRADLE, COPY KAT and WILD KAT.

"An intriguing mystery... an engaging heroine" -- The Sunday Times
"She's chic, she's sassy, she's a private eye who talks tough and thinks on her feet... hugely enjoyable" -- Daily Telegraph
"A seamless syncopation of sleuth and setting that will have mystery buffs recalling Grafton and Paretsky" -- Booklist

Karen Kijewski: Alley Kat Blues. A Kat Colorado Mystery. In the bestselling tradition of Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky. Headline, ISBN: 0747248389 (October, 1995), 439 p., £5.99.

Karen Kijewski: Alley Kat Blues (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
"One of the top women authors today, in company with Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, and Linda Barnes." -- KATE'S MYSTERY NEWSLETTER

Kat Colorado's current case is really getting to her. It was she who found the mangled body of a young woman on the road, apparently the victim of a hit-and-run accident. But then the victim's mother turns up in her office asking for help -- convinced that her daughter's death was no accident.

The more Kat finds out about Courtney (née Daisy) Dillard, the more disturbed she becomes. It seems that Courtney had deserted her Mormon faith, and depending on whom you speak to, she was either the devil-incarnate or an ordinary girl trying to find her way in the world. Suspects abound -- from Courtney's fiancé, a smart young stockbroker who may be too affable to be true, to her high school boyfriend, a strict believer now risen to power in the Church. In fact, all the men in Courtney's life seemed to see her as no more than an object for them to control.

And with Courtney not only plaguing her waking hours but invading her dreams, Kat is in no shape to cope with her boyfriend Hank's apparent infidelity. Hank has his own problems as a Las Vegas cop trying to find the Strip Stalker who is murdering young women, but in Kat's eyes that's no excuse for finding a naked young woman in his bed.

Alley Kat Blues is both an intricately plotted mystery and an exploration of the complexity of human relationships on many levels. It's about how our own blind spots may cause us to view other people's actions in terms of black and white, when in fact reality can be seen only in shades of gray. And it confirms Karen Kijewski's place among those writers whose thoughtfulness sets their work beyond genre classification.

KAREN KIJIEWSKI is the winner of the Shamus and Anthony awards, as well as the prized Best First Private Eye Novel of the Year Award. She is a past president of the northern California chapter of the Mystery Writers of America -- and a former bartender. Ms. Kijewski lives and writes in the Sacramento area. Alley Kat Blues is the sixth in her popular and critically acclaimed Kat Colorado mystery series.

Karen Kijewski: Alley Kat Blues. A Kat Colorado Novel. Doubleday, ISBN: 0385468520 (June, 1995), 342 p., $22.95.