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Cam Richter #1
The Cat Dancers
THRILL SEEKER
Dangling silently in front of a cave eighty feet down the cliff's edge, the man snaps a picture of the enraged mountain lion. The furious beast lunges...but the man is gone, back up the rope.
JUSTICE DEALER
When a judge releases two unrepentant killers on a legal technicality, North Carolina police Lieutenant Cam Richter knows facing the victims' grieving families is going to be tough. But when Killer #1 turns up on the Internet riding a homemade electric chair?followed a few days later by Killer #2?Cam thinks despair may have turned to vigilante justice.
MAN EATER
But it doesn't add up, especially when Cam becomes a target. It looks like these vigilantes may also be cops, and he's quickly running out of people to trust. The answers lie deep in the North Carolina wilderness, where Cam must track down this mysterious group of adrenaline-driven "Cat Dancers"--and risk losing everything he has left…
Dangling silently in front of a cave eighty feet down the cliff's edge, the man snaps a picture of the enraged mountain lion. The furious beast lunges...but the man is gone, back up the rope.
JUSTICE DEALER
When a judge releases two unrepentant killers on a legal technicality, North Carolina police Lieutenant Cam Richter knows facing the victims' grieving families is going to be tough. But when Killer #1 turns up on the Internet riding a homemade electric chair?followed a few days later by Killer #2?Cam thinks despair may have turned to vigilante justice.
MAN EATER
But it doesn't add up, especially when Cam becomes a target. It looks like these vigilantes may also be cops, and he's quickly running out of people to trust. The answers lie deep in the North Carolina wilderness, where Cam must track down this mysterious group of adrenaline-driven "Cat Dancers"--and risk losing everything he has left…
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 29, 2005
68 people are currently reading
376 people want to read
About the author
P.T. Deutermann
41 books300 followersP. T. Deutermann is a retired Navy captain and has served in the joint Chiefs of Staff as an arms control specialist. He is the author of eighteen novels, and lives in North Carolina. His World War II adventure novel Pacific Glory won the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, administered by the American Library Association; his other World War II novels are Ghosts of Bungo Suido and Sentinels of Fire. His most recent novel is Cold Frame, a contemporary thriller set in Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
April 29, 2012
The Cat Dancers by P.T. Deutermann
Sometimes book titles can convey a sense of what to expect in the book. In this case, the author’s name provides much more than the book title. I have come to expect complex, detailed thrillers form Mr. Deutermann and this book does not disappoint me. A straight arrow cop is confronted with circumstances that cast aspirations on the ethical behavior of some of his comrades in Blue. The ensuing conflict provides excellent entertainment as Cam, Frick and Frack face myriad dangers.
I have all four books in this series and will be enlightening my readers with my reactions, sweaty palms and all. Deutermann has the uncanny ability to place you solidly in the soggy frozen shoes of his main protagonist. In fact, I think I still get a whiff of wet dog as I write this recommendation.
Circumstances force Cam to evaluate his own definition of “justice” when faced with behavior he simply can’t condone. The love and trust imbued by Deutermann in the relationship between Cam, Frick and Frank is completely palatable. Cam is not some cardboard hero with no thoughts for personal safety and collateral damage. His character is as believable as it is enjoyable.
The book is populated by believable and colorful characters. I think one of Deutermann’s strengths is his ability to convince you of the reality of his thoughts.
I highly recommend it.
Sometimes book titles can convey a sense of what to expect in the book. In this case, the author’s name provides much more than the book title. I have come to expect complex, detailed thrillers form Mr. Deutermann and this book does not disappoint me. A straight arrow cop is confronted with circumstances that cast aspirations on the ethical behavior of some of his comrades in Blue. The ensuing conflict provides excellent entertainment as Cam, Frick and Frack face myriad dangers.
I have all four books in this series and will be enlightening my readers with my reactions, sweaty palms and all. Deutermann has the uncanny ability to place you solidly in the soggy frozen shoes of his main protagonist. In fact, I think I still get a whiff of wet dog as I write this recommendation.
Circumstances force Cam to evaluate his own definition of “justice” when faced with behavior he simply can’t condone. The love and trust imbued by Deutermann in the relationship between Cam, Frick and Frank is completely palatable. Cam is not some cardboard hero with no thoughts for personal safety and collateral damage. His character is as believable as it is enjoyable.
The book is populated by believable and colorful characters. I think one of Deutermann’s strengths is his ability to convince you of the reality of his thoughts.
I highly recommend it.
May 1, 2018
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I've finally decided to work my way through the 30 or so Dutch books that are still standing unread on my shelves. As I'm almost exclusively reading English for the last few years, these books had been forgotten a bit. Cat Dancers was the book longest on my shelf so that's why I decided to pick it up now.
While some books, like wine, get better with age, this was not one of those. The story felt so incredibly dated and late-90s (part of me is to blame for leaving the book on my shelves for so long after buying it in a sale long ago). Especially the parts on internet and computers. It was a much more difficult book to focus on, because my thoughts kept wandering to basically anything else. For this kind of books, there was little real policing and everyone was constantly jumping to (the wrong) conclusions.
On a more positive note: The name will make sense after reading the book.
I've finally decided to work my way through the 30 or so Dutch books that are still standing unread on my shelves. As I'm almost exclusively reading English for the last few years, these books had been forgotten a bit. Cat Dancers was the book longest on my shelf so that's why I decided to pick it up now.
While some books, like wine, get better with age, this was not one of those. The story felt so incredibly dated and late-90s (part of me is to blame for leaving the book on my shelves for so long after buying it in a sale long ago). Especially the parts on internet and computers. It was a much more difficult book to focus on, because my thoughts kept wandering to basically anything else. For this kind of books, there was little real policing and everyone was constantly jumping to (the wrong) conclusions.
On a more positive note: The name will make sense after reading the book.
July 11, 2015
Cam is a character my husband understand better than I do. It is sexist to say that but his viewpoint is very masculine.
July 22, 2014
Career criminals Kyle "K-Dog" Simmonds and his partner "Flash" Butts go on trial for a gruesome crime. But unfortunatley for the D.A.'s
office Judge Annie Bellamy throws the case out of court on a technicality. Protagonist Lt. Cam Richter shortly thereafter receives an e-mail with K-Dog strapped into a makeshift electric chair. A vigilante has taken matters into their own hands. After K-Dog is executed on line the vigilante promises "Flash" will be next. Cam and his sidekick Kenny Cox are on the case trying find this vigilante. Sure enough "Flash" is then executed the same as K-Dog was. The police then figure the judge is in danger next. With an army of police guarding the judge and her house, she's still killed in a bomb blast. Cam begins to suspect this is an inside job. Rouge cops handing out their own justice. The story line goes from town to mountains and back to police headquarters. The book's characters are very well developed and to a point very lifelike. The dialog in spots is somewhat weak and spotty. The book does seem like it takes forever to come to a conclusion. I gave it 3 stars out of 5. It took me too long to read the book, and the second half just dragged. I'd recommend this yarn if you're in no hurry to quickly read a mystery/ thriller. The story was okay. The wow factor was not there. I had to really force myself to wrap up the novel. If the second half was as good as the first half- would have been a 5 star book.
office Judge Annie Bellamy throws the case out of court on a technicality. Protagonist Lt. Cam Richter shortly thereafter receives an e-mail with K-Dog strapped into a makeshift electric chair. A vigilante has taken matters into their own hands. After K-Dog is executed on line the vigilante promises "Flash" will be next. Cam and his sidekick Kenny Cox are on the case trying find this vigilante. Sure enough "Flash" is then executed the same as K-Dog was. The police then figure the judge is in danger next. With an army of police guarding the judge and her house, she's still killed in a bomb blast. Cam begins to suspect this is an inside job. Rouge cops handing out their own justice. The story line goes from town to mountains and back to police headquarters. The book's characters are very well developed and to a point very lifelike. The dialog in spots is somewhat weak and spotty. The book does seem like it takes forever to come to a conclusion. I gave it 3 stars out of 5. It took me too long to read the book, and the second half just dragged. I'd recommend this yarn if you're in no hurry to quickly read a mystery/ thriller. The story was okay. The wow factor was not there. I had to really force myself to wrap up the novel. If the second half was as good as the first half- would have been a 5 star book.
September 29, 2014
A cat dancer, as in the title of this novel, is a mountain climber who get as close as possible to take a snap shot of a mountain lion. It seemed that the author really wanted to write a novel that features these cat dancers, and built a story to incorporate it that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t work. Linking the plot to the cat dancers is a man who gets electrocuted in a homemade electric chair by vigilante killers. Lt. Cam Richter is investigating the case and winds up in the mountains of North Carolina in search of the vigilantes, where he has to put his mountain climbing skills to work.
There is a definite thrill component to the novel. Deuterman keeps the thrills and chills coming along. Unfortunately there are big plot holes and serious believability issues associated with the story. This makes the story an entertaining read, but not something that I would consider a real captivating novel.
Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
There is a definite thrill component to the novel. Deuterman keeps the thrills and chills coming along. Unfortunately there are big plot holes and serious believability issues associated with the story. This makes the story an entertaining read, but not something that I would consider a real captivating novel.
Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
November 13, 2015
The plot started out well, but midway through the book veered off into the ridiculous. It was one of those plots where the bad guy was always 2 steps ahead of the good guys and could thwart them at every turn.
I had a hard time accepting the tenets of the plot as they were just too, too fantastic and became more and more so with each page.
To me, the "Big Bad Guy" was quite obvious from the introduction of that character. Why in the world our hero, Cam Richter, couldn't see that, really dumbed him down.
Deutermann's first books as well as Pacific Glory and the Ghosts of Bungo were excellent. I'm sorry to see that his later books have deteriorated so.
I had a hard time accepting the tenets of the plot as they were just too, too fantastic and became more and more so with each page.
To me, the "Big Bad Guy" was quite obvious from the introduction of that character. Why in the world our hero, Cam Richter, couldn't see that, really dumbed him down.
Deutermann's first books as well as Pacific Glory and the Ghosts of Bungo were excellent. I'm sorry to see that his later books have deteriorated so.
December 24, 2014
I found this rather long and drawn out. And mostly figured it out and kept wondering how this amazing deputy kept missing all the obvious. So since I usually don't figure out the culprit very often I was not all that impressed.
March 22, 2024
An intriguing story by an excellent story teller. P. T. Deutermann is definitely that. Having read only 2 of his many novels, I am looking forward to reading many more.
THE CAT DANCERS refers to some mountain lions living in the mountains of North Carolina and some men who swing on ropes to catch glimpses of these wild cats. It is a strange story that starts with men on these ropes catching glimpses of the cats...and then, goes into some grisly murders of people being electrocuted in home made chairs.
Are these murderers local cops, perhaps even comrades of Cam Richter, a cop in other Deutermann novels. And so we are treated to another page-turner featuring Cam, and his two German Shepherd dogs, Frick and Frack. They have their hands and paws full in this who-done-it written in a style that is interesting and fun to read.
Not quite as good as THE MOONPOOL, as it jumps around from cops to town people to other cops from neighboring towns. Just who is behind the killings that take place...
It also involves the female judge who lets a couple of killers go free due to police error in not giving the killers their rights. This angers police, and leads to more killings, including that of the judge.
Wow! P. T. Deuterman keeps the reader turning the pages rapidly to find out how the many strange things that are going on in this mountainous area of No. Carolina.
Although intriguing, THE CAT DANCERS tends to be difficult to read in that the different types of folks making up this tale, mainly police and sheriffs, and 'cat dancers' make you wonder just what is happening. AND, the ending leaves me wondering still.
THE CAT DANCERS refers to some mountain lions living in the mountains of North Carolina and some men who swing on ropes to catch glimpses of these wild cats. It is a strange story that starts with men on these ropes catching glimpses of the cats...and then, goes into some grisly murders of people being electrocuted in home made chairs.
Are these murderers local cops, perhaps even comrades of Cam Richter, a cop in other Deutermann novels. And so we are treated to another page-turner featuring Cam, and his two German Shepherd dogs, Frick and Frack. They have their hands and paws full in this who-done-it written in a style that is interesting and fun to read.
Not quite as good as THE MOONPOOL, as it jumps around from cops to town people to other cops from neighboring towns. Just who is behind the killings that take place...
It also involves the female judge who lets a couple of killers go free due to police error in not giving the killers their rights. This angers police, and leads to more killings, including that of the judge.
Wow! P. T. Deuterman keeps the reader turning the pages rapidly to find out how the many strange things that are going on in this mountainous area of No. Carolina.
Although intriguing, THE CAT DANCERS tends to be difficult to read in that the different types of folks making up this tale, mainly police and sheriffs, and 'cat dancers' make you wonder just what is happening. AND, the ending leaves me wondering still.
February 3, 2025
The author provides one of the most arresting openings to a book I’ve read in a long time. He draws you into a scene in which a man is rappelling down a cliff with a camera in his right hand. For days, he has stalked a female mountain lion and her cubs. His goal in rappelling down the cliff is to get as close to her cave as possible, take shots, and rappel back up the cliff and out of her reach. You won’t suffer from mind-wandering disease if you read that opener.
A few days later, three local criminals go free on a legal technicality. Cam Richter, the cop who is the main character in the book, is sleeping with the judge who released the men who participated in a convenience store robbery that turned to murder. They had once been married and were rekindling old but apparently not extinguished flames.
The local sheriff gets an email with a link attached. It is a video of someone murdering by home-made electric chair one of the men from the convenience store holdup. Vigilantism is alive and well in eastern North Carolina.
Cam Richter works to figure out who is taking upon himself the decision to kill the robbers and get vengeance for those lives lost. Before the book ends, the judge who freed the men dies in a nasty explosion that scatters pieces of her Mercedes and her everywhere. Naturally, that raises the stakes.
I fear I’ve crafted this such that it sounds like a madcap mystery with short, snappy scenes that feel more like a fast-action screenplay. It’s not that at all, and the author dishes up plenty of tension and suspense in which you’ll eagerly immerse yourself if you read this.
A few days later, three local criminals go free on a legal technicality. Cam Richter, the cop who is the main character in the book, is sleeping with the judge who released the men who participated in a convenience store robbery that turned to murder. They had once been married and were rekindling old but apparently not extinguished flames.
The local sheriff gets an email with a link attached. It is a video of someone murdering by home-made electric chair one of the men from the convenience store holdup. Vigilantism is alive and well in eastern North Carolina.
Cam Richter works to figure out who is taking upon himself the decision to kill the robbers and get vengeance for those lives lost. Before the book ends, the judge who freed the men dies in a nasty explosion that scatters pieces of her Mercedes and her everywhere. Naturally, that raises the stakes.
I fear I’ve crafted this such that it sounds like a madcap mystery with short, snappy scenes that feel more like a fast-action screenplay. It’s not that at all, and the author dishes up plenty of tension and suspense in which you’ll eagerly immerse yourself if you read this.
January 13, 2021
I first read the moon pool by this author a while ago and I really enjoyed it. I haven’t found any other audio books but I kept looking for more. I finally found them on audible and was excited to try especially with the high ratings.
I was puzzled by the first chapter. I was a palled by the constant barrage of offensive ideas and language used in the next few chapters. I repeatedly wondered if it was worth listening to the entire book. Every character does not have to make a comment against someone’s characteristics. Just before I a and in the book altogether I read some of the ratings again.
I had reached a turning point and ended up really enjoying the rest of the story
I was puzzled by the first chapter. I was a palled by the constant barrage of offensive ideas and language used in the next few chapters. I repeatedly wondered if it was worth listening to the entire book. Every character does not have to make a comment against someone’s characteristics. Just before I a and in the book altogether I read some of the ratings again.
I had reached a turning point and ended up really enjoying the rest of the story
November 19, 2022
I think for me, this book would be a 3-3.5 star book. Its very entertaining and high stakes, but for me it was about 100 pages longer than it needed to be. It desperately needed some cleaning up. Both in some of the "lulls" in the story and in the fact that there were a LOT of very obvious typos in this book. The publisher should have provided proofreaders and they should have caught the mistakes, but they didn't and there were a lot of them. Overall it was a very enjoyable read, but could have been a bit better. I think I will ahead and read the second book in the series and see if it gets a little bit more polished for me.
October 23, 2025
An interesting and action-packed police procedural set in my neck of the woods. But, the Kindle edition I read is edited sloppily, which detracts from the experience, time and time again. This annoys me, a veteran journalist. I'm not likely to read more by this author. It also makes all Kindle offerings suspect. Take a little more time. Hire a professional editor. And, get it right -- please!
Bottom line: Good story. But, the delivery is wanting.
Bottom line: Good story. But, the delivery is wanting.
November 13, 2025
My first try of this series. It's supposed to be a vigilante series. But I dnf'd it. I really liked Deutermann's other books but I didn't like this one. It had too many POVs, rambled on too much, took too long in setting up the story and had too many characters. He did a great job with his other books where he concentrated on 1-2 characters, built them up and took them from beginning to end. I might try book 2 if I run out of good authors to read.
July 6, 2017
Upon seeing the title of this book, I was a little hesitant to start reading. Now I have read it and happy that I did. This an oustandjng Mystery novel and is extremely well written.
September 14, 2017
This book has it all! Action, suspense, romance, complex characters...I could not put it down.
November 24, 2018
Good storyline with lots of twists and turns. Been a long time since I touched the Cam Richter series, and I think it's time to run back through them.
September 6, 2019
Vigilante cops killing criminals who beat the justice system in NC.
September 24, 2019
I'm sure you've never heard of this; I hadn't either. Try it. I personally thought it was a fast paced story; my wife did not. See what you think...
April 24, 2020
Really enjoyed this book not familiar with the authors work but this was a good one.
October 10, 2020
Full disclosure...I did not finish. This is an author I like, but not this book. Felt dated in a bad way, unbelievable and boring.
December 8, 2020
This is one of my favorite series, in my top five, so I am reading it again. I wish there were more books in the series. Maybe one day. Until then, I will settle for reading it again.
Read
December 21, 2020Didn’t catch my interest after the first few pages. Didn’t read.
November 10, 2021
I've listened to Dick Hill narrate other books and I didn't care for him, but he did a FANTASTIC job on this book. Bravo!
May 22, 2022
P.T. Deutermann's first book with Cam Richter is full of action and surprising twists. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a new twist evolves.
December 11, 2022
Set in the hills of North Carolina, Lt. Richter searches for some adrenaline junkies about some murders. Original and intense.
January 25, 2023
KINDLE #1
June 22, 2025
Such a page turner! I love his writing and characters. This was the first of a series and I will read the rest
August 8, 2023
A good police mystery that holds up well after 20 years.
September 6, 2021
"The Cat Dancer" is something of a slow burn - by the time the opening chapter begins to make sense you're at the halfway point in the book. There's plenty happening but there is a disconnect between the two parts of the story until they are shoehorned together.
It may be that P. R. Deutermann was trying to lift the book above the norm, or it could be that he wanted the added drama - it is not clear to me.
When a robbery goes very badly wrong three people are murdered. The guilty parties are tried and they get away on a technicality ... but not for long as a vigilante hunts them down.
However, it soon becomes clear that the murders are not the work of one person and that a mysterious group, perhaps in the police department, is also involved.
North Carolina Police Lieutenant Cam Richter is central to the investigation as the murders and threats escalate. Soon it becomes very personal.
There's probably too many strands floating about for the book to work properly - the introduction of the computer expert, who is also a relative of one of those murdered, is particularly odd and seems there only to provide a deus ex machina solution.
On the plus side I enjoyed Richter's journey into the backwoods and mountains, there is a great feeling of the vastness of the wildlands. Also his relationship with his dogs, Frick and Frack.
Overall "The Cat Dancers" is a solid not very memorable read. If the plot were tightened up and it was 100 pages shorter it could well have been a great read.
It may be that P. R. Deutermann was trying to lift the book above the norm, or it could be that he wanted the added drama - it is not clear to me.
When a robbery goes very badly wrong three people are murdered. The guilty parties are tried and they get away on a technicality ... but not for long as a vigilante hunts them down.
However, it soon becomes clear that the murders are not the work of one person and that a mysterious group, perhaps in the police department, is also involved.
North Carolina Police Lieutenant Cam Richter is central to the investigation as the murders and threats escalate. Soon it becomes very personal.
There's probably too many strands floating about for the book to work properly - the introduction of the computer expert, who is also a relative of one of those murdered, is particularly odd and seems there only to provide a deus ex machina solution.
On the plus side I enjoyed Richter's journey into the backwoods and mountains, there is a great feeling of the vastness of the wildlands. Also his relationship with his dogs, Frick and Frack.
Overall "The Cat Dancers" is a solid not very memorable read. If the plot were tightened up and it was 100 pages shorter it could well have been a great read.
December 1, 2015
I'm still listening/reading so maybe my rating will go up but so far, this is super unbelievable.
Spoilers - They probably should have done some more investigating before deciding one person was the likely suspect (2 relatives plus others, the DA, and a couple of the cops were all possibilities). And I'm sorry but their computer expert is a huge conflict of interest and should have been a potential suspect so would not have been involved in potentially covering up her own crime. WTF?! Especially when there were more email problems after she was given access to their servers. And her description of what the firewalls blocked wasn't what was implied (she was talking attachments of streaming videos, not links to websites that could be anything).
And they really need to tie the first scene into the rest of the book sometime soon.
Dec 1 - can I give this a zero?
So, the cat dancers part makes sense now but I'm super pissed that I was right about the bad guy. Richter is the shittiest detective ever and the FBI cannot be that incompetent.The only thing that made this at all redeemable is Dick Hill narrating but then I thought of how Reacher would deal with this mess and got angry again
Spoilers - They probably should have done some more investigating before deciding one person was the likely suspect (2 relatives plus others, the DA, and a couple of the cops were all possibilities). And I'm sorry but their computer expert is a huge conflict of interest and should have been a potential suspect so would not have been involved in potentially covering up her own crime. WTF?! Especially when there were more email problems after she was given access to their servers. And her description of what the firewalls blocked wasn't what was implied (she was talking attachments of streaming videos, not links to websites that could be anything).
And they really need to tie the first scene into the rest of the book sometime soon.
Dec 1 - can I give this a zero?
So, the cat dancers part makes sense now but I'm super pissed that I was right about the bad guy. Richter is the shittiest detective ever and the FBI cannot be that incompetent.The only thing that made this at all redeemable is Dick Hill narrating but then I thought of how Reacher would deal with this mess and got angry again
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews