Karen Kijewski: Copy Kat (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
She's a hard-boiled Sacramento PI. 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.

COPY KAT
It's hard to tell where the truth ends and the lies begin when Kat is hired to look into the death of a young woman in a historic California gold-country resort town. The police have closed the books on Deidre Durkin's murder: it was a tragic robbery-homicide But could a clever murderer have created the ikusion of a parking-lot theft gone bad? Was Deidre's loving husband as perfect as he seemed? The more Kat finds out about the victim, the less she's convinced that Deidre was the woman she appeared to be. But then Kat, in her undercover role as a bartender, isn't the person she pretends to be, either. And as Kat discovers, in this little town, even life and death are an illusion.

"This is Kijewski's breakout book, lifting her... to the front ranks... A strong contender for mystery of the year -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Kijewski tells a swift, unadorned story, propelled by sharp dialogue and marked by strong action. -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
"A mystery that is as gripping as it is moving" -- San Francisco Chronicle

Karen Kijewski: Copy Kat. A Kat Colorado Mystery. Bantam Books, ISBN: 0553298836 (December, 1993), 377 p., $4.99.

Karen Kijewski: Copy Kat (UK 1993)

From the Publisher:
'This is Kijewski's breakout book. Hitting her to the front ranks, right up there with that other smartmouthed Private-eye specialise, Sue Grafton' -- Kirkus Reviews

It's hard to tell where truth ends and the lies begin when Kat Colorado is hired to look into the death of a young woman in an old Californian mining town. The police have closed the case on Deidre Durkin: it was a tragic robbery/homicide. But could a clever killer have created the illusion of a car-park theft gone wrong?

The more Kat finds out about the victim, the less she is convinced that Deidre was the woman she appeared to be. But then Kat, in her undercover role as a bartender, isn't the person she pretends to be, either. Battling against a mounting list of suspects, Kat reveals characteristic strengths, and weaknesses, as she unravels the tangled family secrets that surround the life and death of Deidre Durkin.

'A tantalizing, rewarding tale' -- Publishers Weekly

Award-winning Karen Kijewski's previous Kat Colorado mysteries have been widely praised:
'A seamless syncopation of sleuth and setting that will have mystery buffs recalling Grafton and Paretsky' -- Booklist
'Lively and entertaining throughout' -- Times Literary Supplement

Karen Kijewski: Copy Kat. In the bestselling tradition of Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky. Headline, ISBN: 0747241775 (September, 1993), 377 p., £4.99.

Karen Kijewski: Copy Kat (USA 1992)

From the Publisher:
You can't outrun sorrow -- -the old saying follows private eye Kat Colorado when she takes an undercover assignment to flee the nightmares stemming from a homicide she committed in self-defense.

P.I. Kat becomes bartender Kate as she explores the mystery surrounding the death of Deidre Durkin, the bar owner's wife. Charmed by her boss's sexy, lopsided smile and touched by his palpable grief, Kat learns that many people in town wonder if Matt Durkin killed Deidre, although the cops closed the case as a robbery/murder.

Nothing's what it seems in this picturesque place. Was the dead woman a chameleon, shedding personalities with an eerie ease? Just how grief-stricken is her husband? Is Deidre's sister a loving wife or a woman twisted with bitterness and loss? And the man at the bar -- what was on his mind? Just another drink? Or something more deadly?

When she confronts a clever killer, Kat must face the darker side of the human heart -- not only in the murderer, but in herself.

Karen Kijewski is a former president of the Northern California Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America-and a former bartender-who lives and works in the Sacramento area. She is the author of Katapult, Copy Kat, and Kat's Cradle, and is at work on her fifth Kat Colorado novel. Her first book in the series, Katwalk, won the Shamus, Anthony, and Best First Private Eye awards.

Karen Kijewski: Copy Kat. A Kat Colorado Mystery. Doubleday - A Perfect Crime Book, ISBN: 038542096X (December, 1992), 261 p., $18.50.