1980s, Cincinnati, snarky, situational-humor, verbal-humor, prison, prisoners, stalker, friendship, friends, frustration, family-drama, family-dynamics, local-law-enforcement, secrets, series, childcare-issues, childhood-trauma, child-custody, murder-investigation, multigenerational, multicultural, private-investigators, widow, siblings*****

Cat Caliban and her good friend, retired cop Moses Fogg are looking for a young woman newly out of prison for a number of reasons. Among other things, this middle aged pair wind up housing and caring for the missing woman's young children! Along the way they have to contend with cops, a killer, a nasty man trying to gain custody of those children, and a few dead bodies, and childhood hijinks. Excellent read!
I never worked in prisons, only as nurse in jails, but much of the inherent problems with the systems ring decidedly true.
This is a great series and I am trying to read a few good things from my TBR pile! ( )

Cat Caliban is gunning for her P.I. license. More accurately, she's gunning for her friend and retired cop Moses Fogg to get his own P.I. license so that she can get enough experience working with him to one day get a license of her own. When Moses gets a strange message on his answering machine, Cat gets a chance to flex her sleuthing muscles.

The message was from someone he used to know when he was as a juvie officer: a woman by the name of Rocky Zacharias. Judging by the message, it also seems as if she's in trouble. Moses and Cat must work to find and help Rocky while also caring for her three kids.

This is the second book in the series that I've read and I highly enjoyed it. The Cat Caliban Mysteries series is soon becoming one of my favourite cozy mystery series and for good reason.

One of my favourite things about this series is how Borton incorporates social issues in the plot. This book focuses on the challenges that face incarcerated women in the US in a compassionate and respectful manner. These discussion don't feel tangential or preachy; rather, they're integral to the plot. I learnt something new about the real world after reading this book, something I can't often say about cozies.

I also love the characters, especially senior sleuths Cat and Moses. They're well-rounded, and entertaining to read about. I can feel Cat's exasperation through my pages when she's dealing with Rocky's rambunctious kids!

At the end, I was surprised by how the mystery was resolved, but in a good way! It wasn't that the clues were too hidden or that the mystery was too difficult to follow. Rather, Cat and Moses run into difficulties and red herrings along the way, just like they would in real life. These difficulties may make the process of solving the mystery frustrating for both the characters and the readers, but I think it only adds to the depth of the plot, making the mystery more realistic and adding to the suspense.

Readers should note that this book can be a bit dark and serious in tones at times. I personally liked it as it offered something different than many cozy mysteries, but it's something to be aware of if you prefer a lighter read. Readers should also be aware that there is some foul language, some discussion of drugs, and a brief mention of suicide in this book.

Thank you to D.B. Borton for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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