Blood on the Cat

by Nancy Rutledge, Otto Penzler (introduction)

When a small town tycoon meets his end, everyone’s a suspect—but it takes a clever cat to reveal the essential clue.

Bennet Farr was the richest, most corrupt, and most hated man in Cognac, a small town just outside of Chicago. He ruled the village with his money and crossed nearly all of the villagers in the process. So when he is found dead one November morning with a bread knife in his back, the chief of police faces a long line of suspects. Was it the new librarian, angered by Farr’s threat to close the library? Was it the schoolteacher, whose pupil he threatened? Or perhaps his son, who he disinherited just before his death?

Reporter Killian McBean is also among the list, since Farr was planning to foreclose on the Cognac Courier and put him out of a job. But, as the cops are befuddled by too many motives, Killian’s journalistic acumen cuts through the noise in search of the real story—even if, in the end, it’s his cat Smoky that discovers the essential clue that leads to its solution.

Never before issued in paperback in unabridged form, Blood on the Cat is a lost classic worthy of rediscovery, with memorable characters, fair-play clues, and a cat that’s as clever as it is charming. Cozy in subject matter, it’s sure to please any fan of Golden Age detective fiction.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1945

About the author

Nancy Rutledge (1901-1976) was the author of several works of crime fiction between 1944 and 1960 under her own name, two of them published only in England. She also had one mystery novel published as by Leigh Bryson, a Handi-Book paperback original in 1947.

Rutledge was popular enough in the 1950s and 60s to have eight mystery novels serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, and one that appeared complete in one 1960 issue of Redbook.

Seriealized works:
* Alibi for Murder, (sl) The Saturday Evening Post Aug 27, Sep 3, Sep 10, Sep 17, Sep 24, Oct 1 1960
* Cry Murder!, (sl) The Saturday Evening Post Nov 14, Nov 21, Nov 28, Dec 5, Dec 12, Dec 19, Dec 26 1953
* Death Stalks the Bride, (sl) The Saturday Evening Post Mar 29, Apr 5, Apr 12, Apr 19 1958
* Easy to Murder, (sl) The Saturday Evening Post Jan 6, Jan 13, Jan 20, Jan 27, Feb 3, Feb 10 1951
* Escape Into Danger, (sl) The Saturday Evening Post Dec 20, Dec 27 1958, Jan 3, Jan 10, Jan 17, Jan 24 1959
* Forgotten World, (n.) Redbook May 1960
* Murder for Millions, (sl) The Saturday Evening Post Nov 20, Nov 27, Dec 4, Dec 11, Dec 18, Dec 25 1948, Jan 1, Jan 8 1949
* Murder in Disguise, (sl) The Saturday Evening Post Feb 18, Feb 25, Mar 3, Mar 10, Mar 17, Mar 24 1956
* Soldier’s Dog, (ss) The Saturday Evening Post Nov 29 1952
* Tropic Holiday, (sl) The Saturday Evening Post Dec 19, Dec 26 1959, Jan 2, Jan 9 1960

Reviews

[tortoise dreams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood on the Cat began slow, with too many characters and too little context, but built strongly as the story came together and I was soon addicted, eager for an ending that arrived with classical precision. A compelling and enjoyable mystery featuring small-town editor Killian McBean trying to solve a murder and save his newspaper at the same time. There's a goodly layer of romantic intrigue beneath the main plot, which includes the richest man in town, a professional knife thrower, and both a cat and a dog in featured roles (for animal lovers). Published in 1945, references to the effect of the War on everyday life are subtly strewn like nuts and raisins in a fruitcake. I'd never heard of Nancy Rutledge (1915-95) before reading this and would certainly like to read more from her. There are some overly cardboard characters: the repetitive use of "Gnats!" or "Trash!" as a favorite expletive doesn't make a flesh and blood personality. Also some typos -- McBean being called McBride by the narrator at one point. Beyond those nits, the small-town atmosphere was genuine and the mystery captivating. I hope more of Rutledge's books are resuscitated. [4★]

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Angie Boyter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic smalltown mystery
Newspaperman Killian McBean is glad that curiosity didn’t kill his cat Smoky, but Smoky’s curiosity has clued Killian into another killing, the murder of Old Glots Farr, the richest, most corrupt, and most hated man in the small town of, Cognac, Illinois, population 1441. Killian is interested from several perspectives: as the town newspaper reporter, as a curious smalltown citizen, and as a likely suspect himself!
I recommend that you not read Otto Penzler’s Introduction before you read the book. Although it gave me a big smile in the first paragraph, Penzler does too thorough a job of introducing the characters and in the process spoils the literary effect of the author’s introductions within the book itself.
It was fun to follow the competition between Killian and the official investigatory team of police chief and state’s attorney (both of whom may have had their own motives to commit the crime), and the resolution was done well. Blood on the Cat was written in 1942, and I enjoyed reading about the era, such as leaving your car at the garage to get its battery recharged or making a long-distance call. The small-town vibe was nice, too. However, some of the plot treatment seemed a bit heavy-handed and not very likely, like the bloody auto accident that leaves a woman apparently amnesiac and the rather clichéd treatment of romances and women in general.
I am a big fan of the Golden Age of mysteries and was pleased to be exposed to an author from the period that I had not read. For fans like me this was a nice discovery. If you are not already well read in the era, however, I would recommend you explore some of the classic names like John Dickson Carr, Erle Stanley Gardner, Mary Roberts Rinehart, or Ellery Queen first.
I received an advance review copy of this book from Edelweiss and the publisher.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a recent release in the excellent American Mystery Classics series. I was leery about this one. Most cat-based mysteries are too cozy for my mystery taste.

It was a good sign that the book starts out with the cat tracking blood across the floor

Killian McBean is the owner and editor of the Cognac Courier, a classic small-town newspaper. Bennett Farr, the richest and meanest man in town, is killed with a knife in his back in a hotel room in town.

The town is full of suspects. Killian starts to investigate. He digs up secrets about Farr's son, the local schoolteacher, the local librarian, and his own typesetter, among others. There is a woman injured in a car accident that same night who seem tied up into things somehow.

Rutledge does an excellent job slowly unwinding the mysteries. The characters are sharpy drawn and easy to keep track off. I was disappointed in her using amnesia as a plot device. When used in a mystery story, that always feels like cheating to me.

The book was published in 1945. The war is in the background. Every man under the age of fifty was either in the service or has an explanation for why he wasn't. At one point Kilian feeds some meat to a dog. A character is surprised that he is wasting "all those points" on a dog. Rationing was still in force.

I had one issue with the book. Killian's typesetter has a sixteen-year-old daughter, Jean. Rutledge has great fun with her teenage slang. Jean says things like, "Well chop me up and call me suey" or "you're really hep with helium" or a cute girl is "neatly stacked whistle bait". None of it rang true to me. A quick look on Google failed to come up with any record of anyone using those phrases. I think Rutledge made up what she thought was the kind of things the kids would say. It is not very convincing.

The story is clever. The solution is a bit convoluted, although I was pretty sure of the murderer early on and I was disappointed when I was right.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the small town of Cognac a wealthy man has his greedy hands in everyone’s business and uses them all to either destroy people or make then bend to his whims. There should be no surprise he that he ends up getting killed.

But the story doesn’t open there. It opens with a cat allowed to enter the premises of the local paper and she tracks blood into the office. There appears to be a great deal of blood on the porch, but no body. This is the start of a variety of tragedies in the present, revealing tragedies of the past.

Killian McBean and Ethan (his typesetter) run the local newspaper. And it is Killian who is doing the real detecting in this story, the The Police chief and the District Attorney seem to both be in the pocket of Farr (the rich guy) and neither seem to want to actually investigate much.

The story take a while to get going for me, and it took until halfway until there was more action happening. Killian was digging up info but it felt like he didn’t always follow up on it as much. However, as other events happened, things started to hop. There is an interesting angle in trying to discover the identity of the murderer and it revealed in the last chapter.

You can tell that this style of storytelling was influenced by films at the time. It feels part cozy and part pot-boiler. I know that Rutledge wrote other books it would interesting to read another.

[Anna’s Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small-town reporter, Killian McBean, who investigates the murder of a wealthy and hated tyrant, while his cat, Smoky, discovers the crucial clue that solves the crime. A wealthy, corrupt man is found murdered in his small town, and the police are left with many suspects, including the town librarian, a schoolteacher, his disinherited son, and the reporter himself, whose newspaper is threatened by the victim.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first who-dun-it that I finished. I often get overwhelmed by the amount of characters, but this town and suspect list felt approachable. I love that we open with a scene from a cat. Smoky the cat is by far the best character in the book and I could have used a whole lot more of him. The book states that smoky finds the pivotal clue--which is very arguable. Overall, three stars because I wanted more cat.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read. once again it kept me guessing until the last chapter.

[Ron Kastner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many coincidences. The dog and cat were the most interesting characters.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. The characters were varied with lots of secrets, and there were enough red herrings to make it interesting. I particularly liked the disappearance of the corpse and its reappearance. It was interesting reading about putting together a small town newspaper in the 1940s and selling news to larger newspapers. Good mystery with a detailed investigation.
Cheers to Smoky.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun read! Quick paced, engaging characters, and a very special feline.

[Laura L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book!! Agatha Christie in small town America.