Cheat the Devil

Cat Austen #3

by Jane Rubino

Fully recovered from the gunshot wound that landed Cat Austen in the hospital in "Death of a DJ", and over the shock of stumbling upon the corpse of Santa Clause in "Fruitcake", Cat has reluctantly agreed to take off with Lt. Victor Cardenas for a four-day weekend in San Juan. But fate steps in when Victor is called to a murder scene in what looks to be number three in a serial murder case.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Jane Rubino is a graduate of New York University with a BA in Dramatic Literature, Theatre History, and Cinema. She has been a stringer, feature writer, and film columnist and is author of a contemporary mystery series set at the New Jersey shore and featuring entertainment reporter Cat Fortunati Austen and Sherlock Holmes-quoting cop Lt. Victor Cardenas. Jane and her husband live in New Jersey, 'down the shore'. She is a mother of three, a fan of silent and classic films, and a serious reader of Jane Austen and the Sherlock Holmes canon.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the midpoint book of my favorite mystery series. Jane Rubino's Cat Austen/Victor Cardenas novels, feature reporter/widow/mom/amateur sleuth Cat, homicide detective love interest Victor, Cat's large Italian family of brothers (policemen, and one priest), a fab Jersey Shore setting, and nifty convoluted plotlines with lots of delightful twists. Too bad the series never took off - it stopped after 6 books, the last (Raise the Dead) offering great closure for the series but damn, I wish there were more anyway. These are dying by attrition - only 2 of the series are still in DP. Interested people may borrow my set, acquired via Better World Books.