The Cat Screams: A Hugh Rennert Mystery Novel - Perfect for Mystery Lovers & Book Club Discussions

The plot enfolds in a hot, close atmosphere of dread and suspense. The rains are delayed, so the air is menacingly humid. The houseboy at Madame Fournier's pension has a mysterious illness. The other servants are on edge because Madame's cat is in heat, and its nerve-wracking screams are a bad omen. The guests are on edge for their own reasons, and then two of them die in suspicious ways.Fortunately Hugh Rennert is on holiday in picturesque Taxco, and staying at the pension. An experienced investigator, Rennert doesn't see these deaths as innocent, especially after he too has a couple of close calls with death. Rennert is a U.S. customs official. His calm rational personality inspires confidence. Captain Perez of the police is happy to work with Rennert, even though he thinks Rennert is a bit of an alarmist. He will be as shocked as any of the guests when Rennert reveals the identity of the murderer.The oppressive atmosphere is not only physical but also psychological. Certain characters are under tremendous stress. Todd Downing gives a chilling description of the hours of despair, at three or four in the morning, when one wakes and feels the dark unknown closing in.Downing was an advocate of the fair-play mystery. So all the clues are laid out fairly for the reader. Good luck, though! I couldn't guess the murderer.Downing, part Choctaw and born in Indian Territory, is an important regionalist mystery writer of the Golden Age. He most often sets his books in Mexico, and in The Cat Screams he paints a fascinating picture of Indian superstitions and beliefs in black magic. Downing, like his investigator Hugh Rennert, spoke fluent Spanish, and the Spanish phrases cropping up throughout the dialog are as authentic as they feel.