Kat's Cradle (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Crimeline
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 line of business curiosity can be mre than an  occupational hazard -- it can be  murder.
She said her name was Paige Morrell and she  came to Kat Colorado hoping to untangle the twisted  mystery of her past. She was a  twenty-one-year-old "orphan," a poor little rich girl on  the verge of inheriting a weathy old river estate --  and some very nasty surprises. But when Kat set  out to solve the case, she found herself following  a thread of lies, greed and deceit that led  straight to the corpse of a key source to Paige's past.  Now the Sacramento private eye was about to learn  that in the California Delta some family secrets  were better left buried . . .because uncovering  them could be murder.
Stray Kat Waltz (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Berkley
"No. Oh God, no!" In the opening pages of Stray Kat Waltz, readers discover that Kat Colorado has suffered a devastating personal loss, and Kat fans are in for a tragic treat as Karen Kijewski takes her tough-talking heroine to a deeper level.
Sara Bernard, a battered wife who fears for her life, pleads with Kat to take her case. Kat refuses at first, fleeing to Tahoe for a reprieve from her pain. Gradually, however, Kat cannot resist Sara's determination to escape from her policeman-husband, Jed. She tutors Sara in the subtleties of disguise and evasion. But, when Kat meets Jed, the story becomes even more complicated. Jed insists that he has never harmed his wife, and all of his colleagues on the police force back him up.
Kijewski unfolds a shifting tale that directs and misdirects the reader, and early uncertainties in character are thoroughly resolved by the carefully twisted plot. All the while, Kijewski explores the web of deception that inevitably surrounds the hot-button topic of spousal abuse. The acerbic dialogue of the earlier Kat adventures is still here, as well as a few steamy dream sequences that punctuate the early grimness. New readers will also want to read Kat Scratch Fever to ground themselves in Ms. Colorado and her relationships. Other books in the series available in paperback include Alley Kat Blues, Copy Kat, Honky Tonk Kat, Kat's Cradle, Katapult, Katwalk, and Wild Kat. --Patrick O'Kelley
Private eye Kat Colorado has always taken pride in being hard-boiled as they come. Suddenly, after the unsolved murder of a cop hits close to home, she's pretty vulnerable. Struggling to survive a mind-numbing personal loss, Kat resists taking on a new client: the battered wife of another cop, who's sure he's out to kill her. But Sara Bernard won't let her off the hook, and reluctantly Kat goes back to work. It's not long before things get ugly. Kat is nearly killed by a stranger trying to scare her off the Bernard case. Then Sara
herself survives a murder attempt that ends a friend's life. Next, she commences a series of mystifying disappearing acts, apparently on the run from her husband. Everybody who knows Sacramento cop Jed Bernard claims he's the greatest guy in town, a real straight-shooter. It's clear that somebody's not on the level--but who? Before she solves the puzzle, Kat goes undercover at a stylish rehab clinic--where getting better is the furthest thing from anyone's mind. Wry and affecting, pulsating with suspense and tantalizing mystery, Karen Kijewski's Stray Kat Waltz is superb work from one of detective fiction's stellar talents.
Honky Tonk Kat (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Berkley
Private eye Kat Colorado hits the road with childhood friend turned country superstar Dakota Jones. Kat recalls that Dakota always did have rotten taste in men, but would any of them be bad enough to bomb the theater where Dakota is playing in Memphis, drop a stage light on her in Atlanta and shoot a singer who looks just like her in Nashville? As the two renew their friendship on the road and endure the scary adoration of desperate fans, Kat slogs through a trail of no-account men and boozy dives, hoping to find the perpetrator before Dakota sings her last song.
Katwalk (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Avon
Kat Colorado
A thirty-something California bartender-turned-P.I.--a curious lady with nine lives, nerves of iron. . .and a passion for justice.
Katwalk
A murderer has struck home--and Kat Colorado is taking it personally. Her cousin Johnny has been found stabbed to death in he parking lot of the Homestead Cafe. And now Kat's on the prowl--trailing a killer through a dangerous world of shady real estate shenanigans and teenage hookers. And she's about to uncover a closetful of sordid family secrets almost certain to get an overly inquisitive Kat skinned.
When Sam, the estranged, deadbeat husband of nationally known advice columnist Charity Collins, ran off to Vegas with $200,000 of their money, Charity turned to Kat Colortado for help. Now Sam's twisted trail of glitz and grime is leading the inquisitively lady P.I. through dangerous territory--and into a rats' nest of sleazy deals, heavy-hitting mobsters and contract killings. But Kat's got a job to do and she's not about to walkaway--even though prowling the low liife has put her at the top of a syndicate hit list.Alley Kat Blues (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Crimeline
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.
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 Courtney 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.
Katapult (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Avon
KAT COLORADO
A thirty-something California bartender-turned-P.I.--a curious lady with nine lives, nerves of iron. . .and a passion for justice.
KATAPULT
A murderer has struck home--and Kat Colorado is taking it personally. Her cousin Johnny has been found stabbed to death in he parking lot of the Homestead Cafe. And now Kat's on the prowl--trailing a killer through a dangerous world of shady real estate shenanigans and teenage hookers. And she's about to uncover a closetful of sordid family secrets almost certain to get an overly inquisitive Kat skinned.
KAT COLORADOA thirty-something California bartender-turned-P.I.--a curious lady with nine lives, nerves of iron. . .and a passion for justice.
KATAPULT
A murderer has struck home--and Kat Colorado is taking it personally. Her cousin Johnny has been found stabbed to death in he parking lot of the Homestead Cafe. And now Kat's on the prowl--trailing a killer through a dangerous world of shady real estate shenanigans and teenage hookers. And she's about to uncover a closetful of sordid family secrets almost certain to get an overly inquisitive Kat skinned.
Kat Scratch Fever (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Berkley
The pompous lawyer Kat Colorado works for orders her into his office immediately. "Yo, Carter," she says to him on the phone. "Yesterday I found a body, dealt with a hysterical woman, searched a house, got little more than three hours of sleep on an uncomfortable couch, and you're telling me to be in your office minutes from now?" Faced with this burst of logic and attitude, the lawyer backs down. (Wouldn't you?) Karen Kijewski's latest book about the former Sacramento, California, bartender turned tough, compassionate private eye is built from these same materials--a mysterious death logically probed and eventually solved, and an attitude toward life, love, and murder that manages to be acerbic, sensible, and totally sympathetic. Other books in this pungent series available in paperback include: Alley Kat Blues, Copy Kat, Honky Tonk Kat, Kat's Cradle, Katapult, Katwalk, and Wild Kat.
A Sacramento attorney commits suicide--and Kat finds a video suggesting he'd been blackmailed. But as Kat investigates, she discovers that the extortionist has a charitable streak, ordering victims to make their payments to an organization that helps handicapped kids. Kijewski fans will love this thrilling new entry in the series that features tough-talking Kat Colorado.
* A popular mystery series with excellent reviews from The New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, and major papers across the country
* Kijewski's newest hardcover, Stray Kat Waltz, will be on sale from G.P. Putnam's Sons on June 1, 1998
Copy Kat (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Crimeline
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. Â
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 illusion 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.
Wild Kat (Kat Colorado Mysteries)
by Karen Kijewski
from Bantam
We met P.I. Kat Colorado in 1989's Best First Private Eye Novel of the Year; she's gone on to garner a Shamus, an Anthony, and a sheaf of rave reviews.  Here, she's back to bodyguard a crusading whistle-blower with a few nasty secrets of her own.
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