THE CAT'S PAW MURDERS

Gertcher’s super sleuths are recruited by a French intelligence agency to direct their considerable investigatory skills toward espionage.

It is November 1929, and high-spirited Caroline Case Jones and her unflappable husband, Hannibal, are luxuriating in their rented Parisian town house, shopping the designer showrooms, exploring fine-art collections, and working with Capitaine Inspecteur Soucet from the Sections de recherche de la Gendarmerie Nationale (an investigation unit) to solve a murder or two. But the political waters are churning in postwar Europe. Mussolini is in power in Italy; Hitler, although still a minor player, has begun amassing an increasingly dangerous following and has scored a total of 107 seats (up from 12) for his Nazi Party in the Weimar Parliament. The worried French want to place secret agents in Germany. Caroline and Hannibal begin an intensive course in espionage training; their cover story will be that they are rich American art collectors. On their first day of instruction, they investigate the death of a recent recruit whose body has just been discovered on the grounds of the training facility. But solving this mystery is tame compared to the dangers that lie ahead as Caroline and Hannibal navigate the subsequent four years, first in Germany and later in Italy. In this fourth volume of Caroline’s diaries, the world grows ever darker. In Berlin, the duo precariously socialize with higher-ups in the Nazi Party, gleaning ominous tidbits from conversations and rubbing elbows with Josef Goebbels and Herman Göring. Although Caroline maintains her usual frothy banter describing her daily fashion ensembles, food choices, and luxe accommodations, her diary naturally has a more somber tone than previous volumes. Gertcher, a meticulous writer who provides rich historical details, this time animates the rising political machinations and violence roiling the Continent in the first half of the 1930s. And his steady supply of dramatic action scenes and intriguing subplots propels the narrative to its final surprise.

A satisfying, engaging sequel helmed by an increasingly formidable female lead.