Book Review: Hard Evidence

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Hard Evidence     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Barbara D'Amato
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Police Procedural
Series: Cat Marsala # 8
Scribner, May 1999, $22.00, 256 pp.

If you want to shop at the best food and drink emporium in Chicago, you must try Spenser and Anglotti's. The two owners proudly operate a store that they claim has everything anyone wants. Freelance reporter Cat Marsala has written a story about the duo. Riding an air of euphoria, Cat gives her guest, a friend's canine, a juicy bone from the emporium. She looks forward to an enjoyable evening with her lover Dr. Sam Dapper.

However, her romantic evening abruptly end when Sam recognizes that the bone comes from a human. The police concur. Cat wonders how a human remain can become part of the stock of the emporium's meat department. She goes undercover as part of Spenser and Anglotti's catering service. She mingles with customers and staff. Soon the identify of the victim surfaces, but it takes an Agatha Christie revelation for Cat to determine the identity of the perpetrator. That accomplished, the culprit tries to add Cat's remains to the meat department.

Barbara D'Amato writes another excellent who-done-it. However, readers need to be aware that HARD EVIDENCE needs two warnings. Anyone on a diet, needs to read this novel on a full stomach because the gourmet food waters the mouth. Additionally, anyone with a squeamish stomach needs to be aware that the discussion of preparing a body for burial becomes a bit graphic. That aside, the female protagonist is a delightful independent individual and her boyfriend perfectly complements her. With all that and a fast-paced story line, the evidence proves that this novel is a winner.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner