Stages of Grey

Dulcie Schwartz #8

by Clea Simon

Dulcie never considered herself a player. But when her friends drag her to a new local theatre company that is updating Ovid with a disco version of The Metamorphosis the grad student finds herself in the front row of a murder.
This could be the end of the struggling company, which is also plagued by money woes and romantic rivalries. But was jealousy the reason the performer was stabbed? Or are there darker secrets behind the scenes? And what role does Gus, the troupe s feline mascot, play? As the classics get mangled, Dulcie must untangle the truth before she also gets caught up in deadly illusion.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cats

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Boston Globe-bestselling author Clea Simon is the author of The Butterfly Trap, a sinister slow-build "he said/she said" that will definitely surprise you.

This follows Bad Boy Beat a fast-paced amateur sleuth mystery featuring a novice crime reporter with a nose for news who is convinced a series of street-level killings are connected.

In a different mood, Clea's most recent cozy is The Cat's Eye Charm, the fifth in her "Witch Cats of Cambridge" series.

She is also the author of the psychological suspense novels, Hold Me Down and World Enough, both named "Must Reads" by the Massachusetts Book Awards, as well as the dystopian Blackie and Care black cat series (The Ninth Life), the Dulcie Schwartz feline/academic mysteries (Shades of Grey), the Pru Marlowe pet noir mysteries (Dogs Don't Lie), and the Theda Krakow cats & crime & rock & roll mysteries (Mew is for Murder), as well as three nonfiction books: Mad House: Growing Up in the Shadow of Mentally Ill Siblings; Fatherless Women: How We Change After We Lose Our Dads; and The Feline Mystique: On the Mysterious Connection Between Women and Cats.

The recipient of multiple honors, including the Cat Writers Associations Presidents Award, she lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, with her husband, Jon Garelick, and their cat, Thisbe. Find her at Clea Simon.com

Reviews

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was super excited to read a book from this series being a mad cat lover as well as a lover of crime and mystery, I figured putting the two things together was going to have me LOVING this book. How wrong I was. It was not to be.

What is the book about?

Graduate student Dulcie Schwartz finds herself in the front row of a murder in the latest instalment of the Dulcie Schwartz feline mystery series.

When Dulcie's friends drag her to see a disco version of Ovid's Metamorphosis, the grad student finds herself in the front row of a murder. Was jealousy the reason for the death? Money? Or darker secrets? And what role does Gus, the troupe’s feline mascot, play? Dulcie must untangle the truth before she also gets caught up in deadly illusion.

My Review:

The opening of this novel has Dulcie questioning if her boyfriend is a werewolf and talking to her long gone dead cat. I was fine with the talking to the dead cat thing, perfectly normal, but the whole "boyfriend might be a werewolf" thing did not seem to fit this book at all, it's also never really explained. Just an strange element added to the book that seemed to serve no real purpose.

I struggled to engage with any of the characters or connect, including Dulcie, her character just seemed very one dimensional to me, I wanted to really love her but it just never quite got there. There is a fair bit of focus around her dissertation she is trying to finish and academic aspects of her life.

There is a murder after a theatrical performance that touches on illusion and deception (the performance). One of the performers is murdered and Dulcie gets involved in trying to find out why and also trying to look for the lost Russian Blue cat that belongs to the theatre, missing since she last saw him at the scene of the murder.

But essentially I just don't think it all worked together, and the werewolf boyfriend things is just hanging out there, no idea what that is about, it's not even like he has excessive body hair or long teeth.

I thought at least this book might be fun, a bit of a frolic, but it just fell flat with the plot and characters and was just an okay read for me. Some reviews state it's not one of the better ones in this series but I am not inspired to read anymore based on this one regardless.

I received a copy of this novel thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at a booksale and didn't realize it was part of a series until I started reading it, so if my criticism of something was explained in a later or previous book that's why.

I was really intrigued and excited when I first started reading it! Dulcie seemed like a fun character, I was interested in learning more about Mr. Grey and uncovering the mystery. The further I got in the book the less excited I was though, there isn't any particular reason for this, I just felt like the story kind of hit a lull close to the final act, maybe it was just me. I also started to like Dulcie's character a little less, she just really didn't seem to listen to anyone, or take any of their advice. I get that characters need flaws, and if they don't have them it's not good writing, it just got on my nerves a little bit.

The book felt overcrowded to me, you have the main mystery of what happened to Amy, and the Email system, then there's the "is Chris a werewolf or is he cheating?" mystery, then there's everything going on with Gus and Mr. Grey, and then there's the mystery of who wrote the book Dulcie is writing about. Maybe they're all plot threads from the previous books, but it just felt like too much was happening at once. Also when we're introduced to Dulcie's friends in this book there's one couple who barely get a line, and they don't really have much to do with the story other than knowing Amy. They probably had more to do in other books, but it just felt strange.

There were some things I really liked, I thoroughly enjoyed all the scenes with the cats, and most of the characters were fun to read about. I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I had read the previous ones, but that's my own fault. Overall it was fine, I wasn't insulted by anything, and the writing for the most part was entertaining.

[Damaskcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dulcie is studying for a doctorate and combining it with teaching a few students as well as poking her nose into mysteries which don't concern her aided by her affinity with felines. Worrying about whether her boyfriend, Chris, is really a Werewolf and why her friend, Trista, seems to have changed, Dulicie thinks she has seen a very handsome man dragged off the street one night by wolves. In attempting to run after him to try and rescue him she falls and hits her head. Everyone thinks she imagined it but Dulice knows what she saw.

This experience leads to her attending a modern production of Ovid's Metamorphoses which leaves her even more puzzled and disturbed than before. Then there's her conversations with a dead cat - Mr Grey - which make her wonder what she's missing and whom she can trust. I wanted to shake Dulcie and try and make her get on with the work she should have been doing. In fact I completely shared her supervisor's exasperation!

I'm sure others will enjoy this mystery but Dulice was too much of a flaky heroine for me. I could accept her conversations with cats but considering how well educated she was she seemed not to have very much common sense - or if she did she certainly didn't use it. It was an average read and I didn't actually get bored with it which is why I have given it three stars. It is the latest in a series so maybe if you've read all the others it becomes more enjoyable - unfortunately I didn't enjoy it sufficiently to want to read the rest of the series. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.

[Nora-adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this up a few days ago but with my oldest son being in the hospital for almost a month I just couldn't get my mind on it.

I'll post something ASAP

[Amy Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theater mayhem and murder, Dulcie stumbles into another body. A repertory theater has established itself near campus and to promote their new play - an interpretation of Ovid done as a musical - they stage parts of it in the streets. Dulcie witnesses a man running for his life from wolves and hits her head on ice. Offered free tickets as compensation, she and her friends go to see the show. On the way home, in the same alley, screams and murder - and an escaped theater cat.

This one felt a little less solid than the others. Dulcie seemed to be less grounded than in previous novels, coming to conclusions haphazardly.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really hoping that Gus the Russian Blue cat wouldve ended up with Dulcie. This was another good book in the series.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Stages of Grey, a girl is found murdered outside a small theater a nod of course, there is a mysterious grey cat on the scene. Dulcie is visited at times by her former cat's ghost who offers wise, if vague, comments. Dulcie is struggling writing her thesis for her degree, worried her boyfriend is actually a werewolf, worried about the theater cat getting left out in the cold (obsessed would be a better word), feeling separated from friends, and having dreams about the subject of her thesis. That is an awful lot to try to tackle in one cozy mystery. I really wasn't able to connect with the story. The plot line about her boyfriend being a werewolf just popped up now and then and was never resolved. The mystery of who murdered the girl was rather overshadowed by all the other concerns and the whole story didn't gel for me. I have read and enjoyed several books by Clea Simon, but found this one disappointing.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realized I've missed a few in this series and will have to go back. Not a lot has changed in Dulcie Schwartz's life -- she's still working on her doctoral thesis and occasionally being visited by the spirit of Mr. Grey, her deceased cat. Great Cambridge (Mass.) atmosphere, and I really enjoy the snippets of the fragmentary Gothic novel that forms the basis for Dulcie's thesis. When a member of a local theatre company is murdered, Dulcie can't resist trying to carry on her own investigation, to the displeasure of the town and University police. A good story.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dulcie is just SO ditzy, and she's perhaps the most inept "sleuth" in the cozy mystery world. She overreacts, is naïve and too trusting, jumps to conclusions, and somehow stumbles into the denouement. Her behavior and the her role as a doctoral candidate just don't hang together - there's too much of a disconnect. Dulcie's character and the cluttered plot made this a relatively weak addition to the series for me. I wanted to like it more than I did.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dulcie is still working on her thesis and missing Mr. Grey but still living and happy with Chris and Esme. This story has Dulcie involved with the local theater and of course, murder. This is the 8th installment in the Dulcie Schwartz series and is one of the weaker one. Hope the next will be back to the murder solving and not the thesis drama and stray cat line.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: A Dulcie Schwartz Feline Mystery