Stray Kat Waltz

Kat Colorado #9

by Karen Kijewski

Private detective Kat Colorado reluctantly takes the case of a battered wife convinced that her cop husband is out to kill her, and goes undercover at a trendy rehab clinic. By the author of Kat Scratch Fever. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Detective, Thriller

341 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Karen J. Kijewski was born in Berkeley, California. Her father taught at the University of California, and she later attended the school, earning a BA and a Masters degree. Karen is a past president of the northern California chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. She has two daughters, and is currently living in Sacramento, California with her husband.

Reviews

[Cynnamon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The PI Kat Colorado suffering from a recent personal loss grudgingly allows herself to be hired to protect a woman who wants to leave her husband, but feels extremely threatened by him.
Very soon the situation develops much more convoluted than expected at at about half in the book I had a pretty clear idea where this was leading to. In the last third I learned, though, that I was completely wrong and we went down a lane I'd never had guessed.

This is volume 9 in the Kat Colorado series and I didn't read any other book from the series before. This might also be the reason wy I didn't particularly care for Kat, because I simply didn't know enough about her.

In the first two thirds of the book I did not particularly enjoy the story, but the last part developed quite gripping, so that I'll end up with a rating of 3 stars.

Most likely a good read for fans of the series.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, I've kind of jumped around with this series; Stray Kat Waltz by Karen Kijewski is the last book in the Kat Colorado mystery series. I've not been following in any particular order and there is an ongoing story line that probably should have been followed in order. Having provided that qualifier, it didn't take too much to know what that story line was and how it affected Kat's present life.

Without getting into specifics, Kat is dealing with a personal tragedy and has basically withdrawn from life and her PI business. A lawyer friend, Jenny, tries to get her involved in a stalking case but Kat has no motivation to do so. The woman, Sara shows up at Kat's office, and begs her to help her. Her estranged husband, Jed, a police officer, is harassing and threatening her. Kat doesn't want to get involved, feeling it's a job for the police (Sara doesn't trust them) and basically she doesn't really like Sara.

Kat is attacked in her back lane and Sara is almost drowned (blaming Jed) and a friend is killed in the same incident. Kat is dragged into the situation. She begins following Jed, tracking his movements, stopping him from following Sara, etc. There is a lot of friction between Sara and Kat; Sara won't listen to Kat, refuses to take her advice / suggestions. None of Jed's friends believe he is capable of being a stalker or of hurting a woman; he's involved in charities, is a church goer, is a WONDERFUL guy and he's great in bed (well, that's Sara's thoughts)

It's a fascinating story, probably the best in the series so far for me. It's told from a first person perspective; but not just from Kat's, also from Sara's and Jed's. This an be somewhat confusing at times but it does really help you to get to know the characters. It's also great, during the course of the story, seeing Kat reclaiming her life, her emotional stability, her ability to act promptly and decisively. Her pal, Charity, plays a nice little role, an shoulder to cry on, a source of strength and companionship. The story takes a neat little jump to the left as you get into it and takes an unexpected path to resolution. Kijewski writes easily and the story moves along very nicely and comes to a very satisfying resolution. This is the last book in the series it seems. That's too bad, but at least I have some of the earlier ones still to enjoy. (4 stars)

[Sunni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very impressive. As an ex-resident of the Sacramento area I was very impressed by just how well the author had her geography down. Her characters are real and personable, and the suspense was at the perfect level. I can't wait to read the others in the series.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, darker, darkest. That's how it's supposed to go, right?

Not this time. Darkest is the starting point as the 9th and last in the Kat Colorado series opens. However, the impact of the death of Kat's boyfriend isn't too powerful if you haven't read the previous 8 books. The books are carefully constructed to be almost stand alone, but I think if you read this series, it's better to read them in order.

In this book, Kat's personal loss knocks her off of her feet for a few weeks, but an interesting case is forced on her by a good friend, lawyer Jill Gilbert. Gilbert has a client, Sara Bernard, who is being stalked by her husband, Jeb. The husband is a police officer, which makes things really terrible. He has all of the cards needed to successfully find and follow Sara wherever she goes. She desperately needs help. However, Sara is so frightened that she will not file a Restraining Order, and she is understandably reluctantly to upend her life by moving to an unknown location and quitting her job as a computer specialist. Reluctantly, she follows the advice about hiding, but she does not contact the legal system or the police. Time proves Sara is right about the police force supporting Jeb over her, so it's a good thing she has Kat providing what service she can - research, harassing Jeb - but Kat cannot be with Sara all of the time, particularly since, strangely, Sara hides from Kat, too. This makes little sense, especially after Sara's claim that Jeb pushed her and her best friend Lorraine into a fast-moving river to drown.

Something is not right with Sara, or her story. Kat is having a 'what's wrong with this picture' moment. Following her client to lectures at community centers and finally to a psychiatric facility called the Sunflower Health Spa and Clinic, she realizes much more is going on with her client than a stalker. Not only does her client seem to be two people, one scared and mousy and the other strong and efficiently giving lectures to women on escaping abusive relationships, but Kat realizes Jeb's story of a wife acting as if she were trying to hurt Jeb by claiming spousal abuse seems more plausible by the day. Kat is going to get to the bottom of this mystery whether her client wants it or not. Sara is visiting the Sunflower Health Spa and Clinic for a reason, and that reason may be what's behind Sara's peculiar behavior. Kat wants to save a life. But whose? Sara? Or Jeb? If that means getting admitted to the Sunflower Clinic as a psychiatric patient, then that's what Kat is going to do.

It's surprisingly easy for Kat to pretend to be mentally ill, and she is admitted. However, leaving is hard. Real hard. Maybe impossible. Oh oh.

"When the fat lady sings, is it a happy song?"

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like this series, skip this book; it's disappointingly out of character.
I enjoyed this series, really enjoyed it. I liked the smart mouthed bartender/sleuth, I liked the dog and it was also fun that I lived in the area during the time she was writing the series. The books were, and probably still are, great bedtime reads -- thoroughly enjoyable -- until this one.
What happened? It's like she decided to end the series after she lost the desire to write it. It was like a rough draft that went to print. The plot was truly depressing, there was no humor and sometimes it was difficult to determined who was telling the story; the writing style was just so different from the other books. And the ending made zero sense. Zero. Sense.
I read this years ago and while I couldn't tell you the plot of any of the first eight books, I can assure you that I did enjoy reading them and each left me eager for the next. However, I remember a great deal about the ninth, and final, book in the series, because it left me wondering: wtf?
Did the author have a horrible traumatic experience? Did a loved one die? Was she drunk? Had she used up all her words? Does anyone know?

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave the last Kat book a five because it made me mad. Mad that the author killed off Hank; mad that the series ended; mad that I don't get a resolution of Kat and her menagerie of friends and family; and finally mad that the "fat lady sang" at the end.
So with this strong of a reaction, I decided it was a five.
A lot of the things that people hadn't liked about the series, was why I loved it. The digressions, the snippy fore shadowings, the flights of fancy, I deemed all of them, the way life is. I'm not single track minded. I hope you're not either.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all nine of this series, this was by far the best one. This story was so well written. It was focused entirely on the plot, with no meandering into dialogue with other characters outside of the main story. I would recommend reading the entire series though - each book was better than the one before.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series but didn't enjoy this book as much. It was well worth the read though!

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished the last of the Kat Colorado series and I am sad. I wish there were more. Kat Colorado is a great P.I. and Karen Kijewski is a great writer.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about a mildly amusing female private investigator - who is far more functional that the client who hired her.

[pearl_seeker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like #8, it was WAY TOO LONG. Kijewski could have used a better editor!

[Camisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed because I figured out what was happening way too early in the story.

[Fredell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended by an avid 'Kat Colorado' fan. I was not wowed by this novel. It was okay, just not my cup of tea.

[MaryAlice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stray Kat Waltz, published in 1998, is the last novel Karen Kijewski wrote. A web search does not bring up any info as to why Ms. Kijewski stopped writing.

I enjoyed the Kat Colorado mystery series. Kat is a private investigator who, of course, stumbles upon murders, solving mysteries while working on behalf of a client.

I like Kat, down-to-earth, quirky, sense of humor. Kiljewski starts chapters with different things, such as, a lyric from a Christmas song, when action takes place in December. Kat's best friend is Charity, an advice columnist. Sometimes Charity's letters start the chapters. Great fun, although the realistic made-up letters can be sad too.

Kijewski is either very knowledgeable or did a lot of research for her writing ~ domestic violence, women & self-esteem, for instance.

I was a little disappointed in Stray Kat Waltz because characters prevalent in the rest of the series did not show up in the story. No dinners with Alma, Kat's adopted grandmother, or Lindy, a street-kid she rescued, that Kat considers to be her niece. Yet it was still a good read.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#9 in the Kat Colorado series.

Kat Colorado series - 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'.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Kat Colorado investigating the case of a woman who says her husband is going to kill her. This is standard fare right. Not in this book. The case expands in surprising ways. This is a better written mystery than many of the current crop I have read. Get ready for twists and turns and a bit of humor. If you haven't read one of Ms. Kijewski's books do yourself a big favor and try one of them.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of the Kat Colorado mysteries I've read. These days I'm often suspicious of women mystery writers because of the plethora of cat-included stories. This Kat, however, is human with a character her own, dealing with two great difficulties: the death of her fiance' and an uncooperative client she is attempting to protect from her abusive cop husband. It was a fine read. I won't turn up my nose if the bookmobile brings me more of these Kat stories.

[Agatha Donkar Lund · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really hated this book, and that made me sad -- I thoroughly enjoyed all the other Kat Colorado mysteries, I found her an engaging heroine and I loved the recurring and supporting characters, and I thought this last book was a mess of a novel, completely emotionally flat and oddly unbalanced, and that makes me sad, sad, sad. Kat deserved a better finish than this one, for sure.

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

I've been saving this one up for a treat; that probably accounts for why I was a little disappointed in it. Good beginning and a fair ending but a bit lacking in the way of juicy filling in the middle. It was too easy to figure out the plot and if it hadn't have been that I adore Kat I'd have chucked it out. Not as many stars as I wanted to give it.

[Colette · Rating 2 out of 5]

REALLY slow start to get "into" this book but the story line was interesting and made it a decent read. It wouldn't be among my first choices for reading but it was an entertaining book with a twist in the end that made it worth the read.

[Eliana]

The principle character in this series is Kat Colorado, a private detective in Sacramento, California.
Kat Colorado is a wise-cracking, thirty-something California bartender-turned-P.I., a curious cat with nine lives.

[Dogsandbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad interesting twisty story good heroine. Actually written in 1988 but less of period piece than latest Sue Grafting supposedly set in same year. Characters with some depth. Domestic abuse story twisting into corporate greed. Not bad would read this author again.

[Marcia Bergeron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was boring. 341 pages of snail's pace action. The characters seemed contrived and it took me a month to get thru the last of the Kat Colorado books. Luckily this was the last book in the series. Book 3 was fairly interesting, but the rest were hohum. I would not recommend this author.

[Debdanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like her mysteries- set in san fran- i wish she'd write more.

[Brett]

Mystery

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like all the books by Karen Kijewski. They are about the exploits of a female detective named Kat Colorado.

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Good; Continuing character: Kat Colorado; PI tries to determine whether a woman is being stalked by her husband, or whether she's the culprit.

[Delafieldlib]

FIC KIJEWSKI

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ending - slow start - I'll read some of her other books.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

depressing