What do you think?
Rate this book
Cat Caliban #1
One Deadly Take
Please note this is a revised edition of One for the Money
Cat Caliban is not your average grandmother . . . she has a surprisingly sharp tongue, a good supply of gin and loves to solve mysteries.
Welcome to Northside, Cincinnati — a working-class neighbourhood. It’s the new home of feisty fiftysomething Cat Caliban and her three mischievous cats.
Armed with nothing but a library card and a stack of well-thumbed mystery novels, Cat’s ready for her first case as a sleuth-in-training. . . she doesn’t have to wait long!
When the body of an elderly homeless woman is found in Cat’s apartment block, she sets out to investigate.
She soon discovers a surprising link to the Golden Age of Hollywood silent movies.
Can Cat find the murderer before the credits roll on the case?
Cat Caliban is not your average grandmother . . . she has a surprisingly sharp tongue, a good supply of gin and loves to solve mysteries.
Welcome to Northside, Cincinnati — a working-class neighbourhood. It’s the new home of feisty fiftysomething Cat Caliban and her three mischievous cats.
Armed with nothing but a library card and a stack of well-thumbed mystery novels, Cat’s ready for her first case as a sleuth-in-training. . . she doesn’t have to wait long!
When the body of an elderly homeless woman is found in Cat’s apartment block, she sets out to investigate.
She soon discovers a surprising link to the Golden Age of Hollywood silent movies.
Can Cat find the murderer before the credits roll on the case?
228 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 10, 2025
793 people are currently reading
1045 people want to read
About the author
D.B. Borton
16 books47 followersD. B. Borton is a Professor Emeritus of English at Ohio Wesleyan University and now a full-time writer. Specializing in humorous mysteries, she has published eleven mystery novels in two series, the Cat Caliban series (Berkley, Hilliard and Harris) and the Gilda Liberty series (Fawcett), as well as the mystery novel SMOKE (Boomerang) and the humorous science fiction novel SECOND COMING (Boomerang). Her latest mystery, BAYOU CITY BURNING (Boomerang), was published in June 2019.
A native of Houston, Texas, Borton became an ardent admirer of Nancy Drew at a young age. At the age of fourteen, she acquired her own blue roadster, trained on the freeways of Houston and the broad stretches of oil-endowed Texas highway, and began her travels.
She has lived in the Southwest and Midwest and on the West Coast, where she has collected three degrees in English without relinquishing her affection for the expressiveness of the everyday language that real people speak. Her research skills and her ear for language both serve her well in mysteries set in realistic places and featuring characters with authentic voices.
A native of Houston, Texas, Borton became an ardent admirer of Nancy Drew at a young age. At the age of fourteen, she acquired her own blue roadster, trained on the freeways of Houston and the broad stretches of oil-endowed Texas highway, and began her travels.
She has lived in the Southwest and Midwest and on the West Coast, where she has collected three degrees in English without relinquishing her affection for the expressiveness of the everyday language that real people speak. Her research skills and her ear for language both serve her well in mysteries set in realistic places and featuring characters with authentic voices.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
September 3, 2025
When almost sixty year old Cat Caliban moved to the Northside in Cincinnati, she purchased the four bedroom apartment block, preparing to live and work in one, and rent out the others. One was already rented and Kevin soon became a good friend. Another of the apartments she was taking two women to view, and the shock of a dead body in the middle of the floor started her first case as a private investigator. When Cat clashed with the police, she was determined to solve the case of the homeless lady's death, as she could tell they weren't interested - she was homeless after all, and no one would care. Cat dug deeply, using the skills of Kevin, as well as Mel & Al, to help her out. It turned out the homeless lady was someone special; now there was more reason to find her killer...
One Deadly Take is the 1st in the Cat Caliban series by D.B. Borton and while the plot was good, and Cat's cats were adorable, I had to look up the definition of a cosy mystery. Cozy mystery is a sub-genre of crime fiction, where sex, violence, and cursing are kept to a minimum, and often happen off stage. This author has filled this book with cursing, especially, and it jarred as of course, I expected a cosy mystery, the same as my usual fare. I won't be continuing the series.
One Deadly Take is the 1st in the Cat Caliban series by D.B. Borton and while the plot was good, and Cat's cats were adorable, I had to look up the definition of a cosy mystery. Cozy mystery is a sub-genre of crime fiction, where sex, violence, and cursing are kept to a minimum, and often happen off stage. This author has filled this book with cursing, especially, and it jarred as of course, I expected a cosy mystery, the same as my usual fare. I won't be continuing the series.
September 14, 2021
"This crime was carefully planned. I was willing to nominate the ice lady from the Welfare Office, but I didn’t think she’d know how to get her period without a requisition form, much less freelance as a murderer."
Cat Caliban is in her fifties, recently widowed, a mother and a grandmother and she now wants a new career. Since "suspicion is second nature to any woman who's raised three kids" , what better career option than to become a private investigator! She sells her suburban house, buys an apartment building and begins her training and soon gets a chance to put her skills to use when she discovers a murdered body of a homeless woman in one of her apartments.
This was a fun read. The series is based in the 1980s and was initially published in the early 90s but it still felt fresh. Cat is witty, sharp, snarky, not shy about using cuss words and with the help of equally eccentric and interesting supporting characters she does a fine job of solving the murder mystery, much to the chagrin of the police.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Boomerang Books and the author D. B. Borton for the e-Arc of the book.
Cat Caliban is in her fifties, recently widowed, a mother and a grandmother and she now wants a new career. Since "suspicion is second nature to any woman who's raised three kids" , what better career option than to become a private investigator! She sells her suburban house, buys an apartment building and begins her training and soon gets a chance to put her skills to use when she discovers a murdered body of a homeless woman in one of her apartments.
This was a fun read. The series is based in the 1980s and was initially published in the early 90s but it still felt fresh. Cat is witty, sharp, snarky, not shy about using cuss words and with the help of equally eccentric and interesting supporting characters she does a fine job of solving the murder mystery, much to the chagrin of the police.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Boomerang Books and the author D. B. Borton for the e-Arc of the book.
July 21, 2021
A harmless whodunnit
Cat Caliban, a recent widow, decides to by an apartment building and get herself a PI license.
While showing a potential renter a vacant apartment she finds a dead body in it.
"I don't think your last tenant has vacated, Mrs. Caliban." Ha!
A brisk whodunnit without the internet or smartphones but it does have some feisty rambunctious cats
Cat Caliban, a recent widow, decides to by an apartment building and get herself a PI license.
While showing a potential renter a vacant apartment she finds a dead body in it.
"I don't think your last tenant has vacated, Mrs. Caliban." Ha!
A brisk whodunnit without the internet or smartphones but it does have some feisty rambunctious cats
December 18, 2020
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader, I also posted a Q&A with the author.
---
WHAT'S ONE FOR THE MONEY ABOUT?
Cat Caliban's a recent widow, who is ready for a change (since she is still waiting on the Change), and takes the bull by the horn and gets herself her change. She buys an apartment complex, moves herself and her cats into one of the apartments there, and pursues a new career—becoming a Private Investigator. Between the suspicious nature and investigative abilities raising three kids has gifted her with and the extensive research she's done into the P.I. lifestyle (read: reading plenty of P.I. Novels, from Nancy Drew to V. I. Warshawski).
Most of her kids, and most people from her old life, don't approve of this new stage of her life—and she could not care less. Instead, she assembles a new group of friends who are on board with this change—with one carryover from her old life. And the tenants of her apartments end up being a strong base for those friends.
Of course, there's a snag there—when showing a vacant apartment to a couple of potential renters, they discover a murdered woman. Almost immediately, Cat begins annoying the investigating officers by trying to look into the death herself. When it's discovered that the victim is a homeless woman, the priority that the police put on solving the murder drops, but Cat's drive to find justice for the woman increases.
Sure, she's still learning the basics of investigating, but she catches a couple of lucky breaks and makes good progress. She also connects with people—friends of the victim, people she worked with, an activist group she was involved with, and someone who probably saw the victim and the killer minutes before the murder—in a way that the police don't. People respond to this older woman who cares about the woman—not just her death, but the life she led.
One thing leads to another, and Cat's hot on the trail of both the killer and what could have prompted the killing in the first place.
I'M A SUCKER FOR THIS KIND OF THING
I am a sucker for fictional PI/PI-types who largely (or entirely) learn their way through detecting via PI novels like Lee Goldberg's Harvey Mapes (in The Man With The Iron-On Badge, now called Watch Me Die) or Jim Cliff's Jake Abraham (in The Shoulders of Giants)—Bobby Saxon, from The Blues Don't Care, took a similar approach with Bogart movies.
Maybe it's because this is the kind of detective I would be if I had the gumption to try. At the very least I can easily identify with these people, they've read the same things I've read. We think along the same lines. Watching them draw upon their fictional examples to try to decide how to deal with their cases is just fun.
Naturally, Cat (and Borton), get extra credit from me for the number of times they invoke Spenser. But it works no matter what character she's referencing.
THE SUPPORTING CAST
Cat's the focus—and she should be—but she wouldn't be anywhere without the other characters that she bumps up against (we'll ignore the principles/suspects in the investigation). The book might still be good with just Cat and the suspects, but what frequently makes a book worth reading are the secondary and tertiary characters—and Borton fills the novel with people worth reading about.
The people that fall into her life in this novel almost seem too convenient—wow, Cat makes a friend who happens to be able to help her learn to shoot. One of the first people she rents an apartment to happens to be a lawyer who can help her get through the city's legal system, what a crazy coincidence! But once you shrug that off (what novel isn't filled with that kind of thing)
There's an elderly screenwriter character who is a delight. She adds a crucial detail or two that Cat needs to put everything together, but more than anything else, she's just fun to read. Borton brings in a few characters like that—they're around for one or two conversations, but it feels like Borton spent as much time and energy into developing the character for those conversations as she did for the killer or one of the other prime suspects.
I want to talk about the witness to the crime—and his family—but I just don't think I can do them justice without ruining something. But Borton's choices in including him, and the way she did so, are a real strength of the novel.
Even the cats are well-written and likable (long-time readers of this site will recognize how odd that is for me to say)
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT ONE FOR THE MONEY?
Last year, I wrote about Luna Miller's The Lion's Tail (apparently now called Looking for Alice ), about a sexagenarian rookie P.I. Sure, Gunvor Strom is a little older than Cat, and the novel's darker—but it's along the same lines.* I really appreciated the way that neither of these women are allowing themselves to be held back by their age, their sex, their past—their utter lack of experience—they can make a difference, they have something to contribute, and they have the drive.
* I mostly bring it up in case readers are asking themselves, didn't he talk about this before? Also, because readers of one of these are really going to want to read the other.
Cat and the team she assembles do the one thing the police are unwilling/unable to do: they can focus on the victim and her life to the exclusion of all else. She can get people to talk to her who wouldn't talk to the police out of principle or intimidation. They open up to her, they tell her things they wouldn't tell others.
She's also smart enough and driven enough to keep going until the facts she uncovers fit together in a way that makes sense.
And Borton delivers all this in an engaging, easy style that makes you want to keep turning the pages. It's a fun story, with a great group of characters that you can't help but root for, and you not only want to find out what happens but you want to know what happens next. I'll be back for the rest as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I'm glad I got to read this one and think you will be, too.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion and this post.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader, I also posted a Q&A with the author.
---
WHAT'S ONE FOR THE MONEY ABOUT?
Cat Caliban's a recent widow, who is ready for a change (since she is still waiting on the Change), and takes the bull by the horn and gets herself her change. She buys an apartment complex, moves herself and her cats into one of the apartments there, and pursues a new career—becoming a Private Investigator. Between the suspicious nature and investigative abilities raising three kids has gifted her with and the extensive research she's done into the P.I. lifestyle (read: reading plenty of P.I. Novels, from Nancy Drew to V. I. Warshawski).
Most of her kids, and most people from her old life, don't approve of this new stage of her life—and she could not care less. Instead, she assembles a new group of friends who are on board with this change—with one carryover from her old life. And the tenants of her apartments end up being a strong base for those friends.
Of course, there's a snag there—when showing a vacant apartment to a couple of potential renters, they discover a murdered woman. Almost immediately, Cat begins annoying the investigating officers by trying to look into the death herself. When it's discovered that the victim is a homeless woman, the priority that the police put on solving the murder drops, but Cat's drive to find justice for the woman increases.
Sure, she's still learning the basics of investigating, but she catches a couple of lucky breaks and makes good progress. She also connects with people—friends of the victim, people she worked with, an activist group she was involved with, and someone who probably saw the victim and the killer minutes before the murder—in a way that the police don't. People respond to this older woman who cares about the woman—not just her death, but the life she led.
One thing leads to another, and Cat's hot on the trail of both the killer and what could have prompted the killing in the first place.
I'M A SUCKER FOR THIS KIND OF THING
I am a sucker for fictional PI/PI-types who largely (or entirely) learn their way through detecting via PI novels like Lee Goldberg's Harvey Mapes (in The Man With The Iron-On Badge, now called Watch Me Die) or Jim Cliff's Jake Abraham (in The Shoulders of Giants)—Bobby Saxon, from The Blues Don't Care, took a similar approach with Bogart movies.
Maybe it's because this is the kind of detective I would be if I had the gumption to try. At the very least I can easily identify with these people, they've read the same things I've read. We think along the same lines. Watching them draw upon their fictional examples to try to decide how to deal with their cases is just fun.
Naturally, Cat (and Borton), get extra credit from me for the number of times they invoke Spenser. But it works no matter what character she's referencing.
THE SUPPORTING CAST
Cat's the focus—and she should be—but she wouldn't be anywhere without the other characters that she bumps up against (we'll ignore the principles/suspects in the investigation). The book might still be good with just Cat and the suspects, but what frequently makes a book worth reading are the secondary and tertiary characters—and Borton fills the novel with people worth reading about.
The people that fall into her life in this novel almost seem too convenient—wow, Cat makes a friend who happens to be able to help her learn to shoot. One of the first people she rents an apartment to happens to be a lawyer who can help her get through the city's legal system, what a crazy coincidence! But once you shrug that off (what novel isn't filled with that kind of thing)
There's an elderly screenwriter character who is a delight. She adds a crucial detail or two that Cat needs to put everything together, but more than anything else, she's just fun to read. Borton brings in a few characters like that—they're around for one or two conversations, but it feels like Borton spent as much time and energy into developing the character for those conversations as she did for the killer or one of the other prime suspects.
I want to talk about the witness to the crime—and his family—but I just don't think I can do them justice without ruining something. But Borton's choices in including him, and the way she did so, are a real strength of the novel.
Even the cats are well-written and likable (long-time readers of this site will recognize how odd that is for me to say)
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT ONE FOR THE MONEY?
Last year, I wrote about Luna Miller's The Lion's Tail (apparently now called Looking for Alice ), about a sexagenarian rookie P.I. Sure, Gunvor Strom is a little older than Cat, and the novel's darker—but it's along the same lines.* I really appreciated the way that neither of these women are allowing themselves to be held back by their age, their sex, their past—their utter lack of experience—they can make a difference, they have something to contribute, and they have the drive.
* I mostly bring it up in case readers are asking themselves, didn't he talk about this before? Also, because readers of one of these are really going to want to read the other.
Cat and the team she assembles do the one thing the police are unwilling/unable to do: they can focus on the victim and her life to the exclusion of all else. She can get people to talk to her who wouldn't talk to the police out of principle or intimidation. They open up to her, they tell her things they wouldn't tell others.
She's also smart enough and driven enough to keep going until the facts she uncovers fit together in a way that makes sense.
And Borton delivers all this in an engaging, easy style that makes you want to keep turning the pages. It's a fun story, with a great group of characters that you can't help but root for, and you not only want to find out what happens but you want to know what happens next. I'll be back for the rest as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I'm glad I got to read this one and think you will be, too.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion and this post.
December 1, 2020
What this book isn’t. In its original release, D.B. Barton’s One For The Money came out about six months before the Janet Evanovich blockbuster of the same title, although both star tough women just starting new careers in male-dominated fields (private investigator and bounty hunter). Both are set in pre-cellphone days, and neither woman is the least bit interested in baking cupcakes or knitting.
What this book is, though, is a frequently funny, fast-paced coming-of-age detective story where the one growing up is a woman in her fifties who has been what everyone else expected and is finally ready to be herself. Catherine—Cat to her friends and really…everyone except her husband and his friends—Caliban has finally figured out what she wants to be when she grows up. A detective.
Her grandson Ben objects that detectives don’t have white hair. Her two older children are appalled (although her youngest does offer to exchange the monogrammed hankies she had been intending as a birthday present for a secondhand semi-automatic). Her husband Fred says nothing at all because he’s dead, and because he stopped paying attention to her about twenty years earlier, which Cat verified by taking up swearing. "One day I got the impression that Fred hadn’t been listening to me for a while. Say, twenty years. So I thought I’d try a little verbal variety to see if he’d notice."
Without much further notice, Fred quietly drops dead, freeing Cat to finally get a life. From there, she purchases an apartment building in a working-class neighborhood as income hedge against the vicissitudes of the detective biz, buys a copy of The Landlord’s Handbook, and looks for tenants. This is complicated when she shows her first applicants the upstairs apartment which is unfurnished except for the dead body.
“Melanie spoke for the first time, her voice deep and husky. ‘I don’t think your last tenant has vacated, Mrs. Caliban.’
There was nothing in the goddamn Landlord’s Handbook about this.”
Cat decides she’s personally insulted by the murder. Not only did it occur in her building, but she’s appalled by the lack of interest among police or press. Despite the fact that she hasn’t yet taken karate or shooting lessons, let alone gotten a gun, Cat decides to investigate. After all, she’s read a lot of Nancy Drew. She’s bought a wardrobe of dark pantsuits like V.I. Warshawski. And most importantly—she’s a mother.
"Hell, I’d investigated things all my adult life. Who left the freezer door open so all the ice cream melted. Who left their new purple T-shirt in the washer so that everybody’s underwear turned lavender. Who drew stripes on the cat with Marks-a-Lot. Why couldn’t Fred ever think of anything to give me for my birthday.”
Along with plenty of snark, granny jokes, and a fair sprinkling of f-bombs, the mystery unfolds in standard Murder-She-Wrote formula. After a longish initial bit of tell that might have been better worked into the action later in the book, Cat discovers the murder and begins investigating.
The police, naturally, tell her to back off and leave the investigation to professionals. Equally naturally, Cat ignores them as she gathers her posse of tenants and friends, uncovers another murder, and slowly unravels a web of lies and star-crossed love that includes a Hollywood star, an arab sheik, a retired sewer engineer, a missing fabled emerald necklace, and a sizeable portion of 1980’s Cincinnati street population.
Tracking clues takes her through much of Cincinnati’s neighborhoods. But it’s her experience as a mother that lets Cat figure out who the murderer must be and what happened to the missing treasure.
In One For The Money, author D. B. Borton takes just enough liberties with the standard detective formula to have me rooting for Cat and her unlikely assistants. I particularly enjoyed her confidence in herself, her ‘because-I’m-the-mother-and-I-say-so’ approach to crime solving, and her conviction that a lifetime of reading Nancy Drew, decades of motherhood, and The Landlord’s Handbook are the perfect preparation for her life as a detective.
What this book is, though, is a frequently funny, fast-paced coming-of-age detective story where the one growing up is a woman in her fifties who has been what everyone else expected and is finally ready to be herself. Catherine—Cat to her friends and really…everyone except her husband and his friends—Caliban has finally figured out what she wants to be when she grows up. A detective.
Her grandson Ben objects that detectives don’t have white hair. Her two older children are appalled (although her youngest does offer to exchange the monogrammed hankies she had been intending as a birthday present for a secondhand semi-automatic). Her husband Fred says nothing at all because he’s dead, and because he stopped paying attention to her about twenty years earlier, which Cat verified by taking up swearing. "One day I got the impression that Fred hadn’t been listening to me for a while. Say, twenty years. So I thought I’d try a little verbal variety to see if he’d notice."
Without much further notice, Fred quietly drops dead, freeing Cat to finally get a life. From there, she purchases an apartment building in a working-class neighborhood as income hedge against the vicissitudes of the detective biz, buys a copy of The Landlord’s Handbook, and looks for tenants. This is complicated when she shows her first applicants the upstairs apartment which is unfurnished except for the dead body.
“Melanie spoke for the first time, her voice deep and husky. ‘I don’t think your last tenant has vacated, Mrs. Caliban.’
There was nothing in the goddamn Landlord’s Handbook about this.”
Cat decides she’s personally insulted by the murder. Not only did it occur in her building, but she’s appalled by the lack of interest among police or press. Despite the fact that she hasn’t yet taken karate or shooting lessons, let alone gotten a gun, Cat decides to investigate. After all, she’s read a lot of Nancy Drew. She’s bought a wardrobe of dark pantsuits like V.I. Warshawski. And most importantly—she’s a mother.
"Hell, I’d investigated things all my adult life. Who left the freezer door open so all the ice cream melted. Who left their new purple T-shirt in the washer so that everybody’s underwear turned lavender. Who drew stripes on the cat with Marks-a-Lot. Why couldn’t Fred ever think of anything to give me for my birthday.”
Along with plenty of snark, granny jokes, and a fair sprinkling of f-bombs, the mystery unfolds in standard Murder-She-Wrote formula. After a longish initial bit of tell that might have been better worked into the action later in the book, Cat discovers the murder and begins investigating.
The police, naturally, tell her to back off and leave the investigation to professionals. Equally naturally, Cat ignores them as she gathers her posse of tenants and friends, uncovers another murder, and slowly unravels a web of lies and star-crossed love that includes a Hollywood star, an arab sheik, a retired sewer engineer, a missing fabled emerald necklace, and a sizeable portion of 1980’s Cincinnati street population.
Tracking clues takes her through much of Cincinnati’s neighborhoods. But it’s her experience as a mother that lets Cat figure out who the murderer must be and what happened to the missing treasure.
In One For The Money, author D. B. Borton takes just enough liberties with the standard detective formula to have me rooting for Cat and her unlikely assistants. I particularly enjoyed her confidence in herself, her ‘because-I’m-the-mother-and-I-say-so’ approach to crime solving, and her conviction that a lifetime of reading Nancy Drew, decades of motherhood, and The Landlord’s Handbook are the perfect preparation for her life as a detective.
September 9, 2020
Thank you, Net Galley and Boomerang Books for the opportunity to read and offer my review.
One for the Money is a tasty recipe for an old-fashioned mystery. Toss in a little Jessica Fletcher (Murder She Wrote) and a sprinkling of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and you have a wonderfully entertaining read.
Cat Calaban is a more “mature”, unlicensed as yet, sleuth. I say sleuth, she says private detective - some of this/some of that. Really not much difference when she inserts herself into a murder investigation. One the police likely wouldn’t have even investigated, since it was the death of an apparent homeless and destitute person found in Cat’s own apartment building. As you can imagine, this could go wrong in so many ways and it does from time to time, especially when she crosses Detective Fricke (assigned to the case) and a lengthy list of suspects.
However, Cat has skills! Some learned by raising three kids. Anyone who has children knows you have to have an inquiring mind and she certainly has that in abundance. In fact, at some points in the case her inquiring mind seems on the verge of tipping over into fantasy, but she stops at the precipice, hones in and solves the case.
Was this great literature? Maybe not, but it certainly was fun! I understand there are three more books in the series. I’m looking forward to having a gin and tonic with Cat and her neighbors. #NetGalley, #ONEFORTHEMONEY
One for the Money is a tasty recipe for an old-fashioned mystery. Toss in a little Jessica Fletcher (Murder She Wrote) and a sprinkling of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and you have a wonderfully entertaining read.
Cat Calaban is a more “mature”, unlicensed as yet, sleuth. I say sleuth, she says private detective - some of this/some of that. Really not much difference when she inserts herself into a murder investigation. One the police likely wouldn’t have even investigated, since it was the death of an apparent homeless and destitute person found in Cat’s own apartment building. As you can imagine, this could go wrong in so many ways and it does from time to time, especially when she crosses Detective Fricke (assigned to the case) and a lengthy list of suspects.
However, Cat has skills! Some learned by raising three kids. Anyone who has children knows you have to have an inquiring mind and she certainly has that in abundance. In fact, at some points in the case her inquiring mind seems on the verge of tipping over into fantasy, but she stops at the precipice, hones in and solves the case.
Was this great literature? Maybe not, but it certainly was fun! I understand there are three more books in the series. I’m looking forward to having a gin and tonic with Cat and her neighbors. #NetGalley, #ONEFORTHEMONEY
December 12, 2020
This is the first book in the The Cat Caliban Mysteries Series and I received this book as a free gift for signing up for the author's mailing list. This is a new author for me and I was pleasantly surprised. This book had a lot of humor to it and was a cute read. Cat is a widower who decides to change her lifestyle now that she is has an empty nest. She sells her home, purchases a small apartment building on the outskirts of town. She's is pursuing her P.I. license and gets some real life training when she discovers a body in one of her apartments. Her quest to find the killer is hilarious at times. The book was well written and the characters are interesting.
October 13, 2021
Set in Cincinnati in the mid-1980s, this tells the story of recently widowed Cat Caliban who has decided that, since she has raised her children, it is time for a new career. She feels that years of motherhood have made her uniquely qualified to be a private investigator. She sells her suburban house and buys an apartment building in a transitional neighborhood.
Her first case comes when she discovers a body in one of her apartments. Street person Betty Bags has been stabbed to death with her own knife. Cat is unhappy about the police response to Betty's death and decides to look into the case for herself. She is aided by her other first floor tenant Kevin who is a gay bartender and her new second floor tenants Mel and Al who are apparently a lesbian couple with Al working for Legal Aid.
As Cat begins to ask questions, she learns that Betty was once a star in silent movies and was known as Leda Marrs. When her good friend and fellow street person is also murdered and searched, Cat becomes certain that Betty had secrets. Did she really have a hidden fortune that she wanted to leave to the daughter she gave up for adoption?
Cat is a great character. She smart and funny and has a potty mouth. She is building herself quire a crew of interesting side characters that I hope to revisit in later books in this series. .
The story is also filled with references to classic detectives and detectives current to the 1980s who were Cat's role models. References to Columbo and Kinsey and V.I. bring back that time period for me. There were also references to other characters who have gained in fame in the years since the 1980s too.
This was a fun beginning to a cozy series.
Her first case comes when she discovers a body in one of her apartments. Street person Betty Bags has been stabbed to death with her own knife. Cat is unhappy about the police response to Betty's death and decides to look into the case for herself. She is aided by her other first floor tenant Kevin who is a gay bartender and her new second floor tenants Mel and Al who are apparently a lesbian couple with Al working for Legal Aid.
As Cat begins to ask questions, she learns that Betty was once a star in silent movies and was known as Leda Marrs. When her good friend and fellow street person is also murdered and searched, Cat becomes certain that Betty had secrets. Did she really have a hidden fortune that she wanted to leave to the daughter she gave up for adoption?
Cat is a great character. She smart and funny and has a potty mouth. She is building herself quire a crew of interesting side characters that I hope to revisit in later books in this series. .
The story is also filled with references to classic detectives and detectives current to the 1980s who were Cat's role models. References to Columbo and Kinsey and V.I. bring back that time period for me. There were also references to other characters who have gained in fame in the years since the 1980s too.
This was a fun beginning to a cozy series.
November 21, 2025
What do you get when you mix a Nancy Drew devotee with motherhood and a new lease on life? One of the original silver-haired sleuths of modern fiction. I read under the original title, One for the Money (signed by the author when I met her nearly 30 years ago). I loved Cat then and renewed my admiration when I recently reread the book. The tour through Cincinnati is a love letter, and Cat's "because I'm the mom and I said so" approach speak to me on many levels.
An aside: I recently corresponded with DB who wrote, "Of course I remember that book fair. It was my youngest audience, ever." We booked her for my daughter's school fundraiser. I am very eager to dig back in to the series.
An aside: I recently corresponded with DB who wrote, "Of course I remember that book fair. It was my youngest audience, ever." We booked her for my daughter's school fundraiser. I am very eager to dig back in to the series.
January 12, 2024
Better than most cozies. The main character has a brain and sense of humor. It was pretty good for a first in a series.
July 11, 2010
This is the first in the Cat Calibran series. A widow after 38 years of marriage, Cat decides to become a detective. She might look like a granny, but she's Spenser at heart, or at least that's what she thinks.
When a bag lady is killed in her apartment building and the police don't seem to care, she takes the investigation to be her first. When the woman's best friend is also murdered, Cat knows there's an obvious connection. She does the research and discovers many things that the police miss.
She's a saucy old gal and I really enjoyed the clever narrative and dialogue. The book has several interesting characters other than Cat, and I'm looking forward to finding and reading the other books in the series.
When a bag lady is killed in her apartment building and the police don't seem to care, she takes the investigation to be her first. When the woman's best friend is also murdered, Cat knows there's an obvious connection. She does the research and discovers many things that the police miss.
She's a saucy old gal and I really enjoyed the clever narrative and dialogue. The book has several interesting characters other than Cat, and I'm looking forward to finding and reading the other books in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2014
A fun mystery with a slightly different heroine - Cat Caliban, recently widowed after 38 years, who decides to become a privte investigator in her not-so-old age. Light hearted, with some potentially interesting characters and a handful of cats.
January 24, 2021
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
One for the Money is the first Cat Caliban cozy mystery by D. B. Borton. Originally published in 1993, this reformat and re-release from Boomerang Books is 226 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. This, the first book in the series, is also currently available at reduced cost (or free in some places).
This is a well written, genuinely funny murder cozy set in Cincinnati with a feisty protagonist who's survived raising a family and isn't inclined to put up with anyone's crap. She's salty, down-to-earth, and kind and loyal to her friends. The mystery itself, the plotting, and the pacing are very well done. The author definitely has a solid handle on her craft. I found myself engaged in the story and never felt it dragged or raced. The dialogue is superlative. It flows naturally and believably. It has a delightful retro vibe being set in the 1980s and the author's references to cultural icons of the time ("Cagney & Lacey" for example) will make those of us who remember the 1980s smile, or maybe wince. Writing humor is challenging. This one actually surprised a bark of laughter out of me a couple times. That happens very very rarely. There are also positive (admittedly stereotypical) depictions of people who are LGBTQIA+ in the book, as well as a warm fuzzy theme of "found family". Slight warning for rough language (sort of Bea Arthur Golden Girls level snark here).
I was previously unfamiliar with the author and have added her to my "update regularly" list. Looking forward to more.
Five stars. Tone perfect, very entertaining.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
One for the Money is the first Cat Caliban cozy mystery by D. B. Borton. Originally published in 1993, this reformat and re-release from Boomerang Books is 226 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. This, the first book in the series, is also currently available at reduced cost (or free in some places).
This is a well written, genuinely funny murder cozy set in Cincinnati with a feisty protagonist who's survived raising a family and isn't inclined to put up with anyone's crap. She's salty, down-to-earth, and kind and loyal to her friends. The mystery itself, the plotting, and the pacing are very well done. The author definitely has a solid handle on her craft. I found myself engaged in the story and never felt it dragged or raced. The dialogue is superlative. It flows naturally and believably. It has a delightful retro vibe being set in the 1980s and the author's references to cultural icons of the time ("Cagney & Lacey" for example) will make those of us who remember the 1980s smile, or maybe wince. Writing humor is challenging. This one actually surprised a bark of laughter out of me a couple times. That happens very very rarely. There are also positive (admittedly stereotypical) depictions of people who are LGBTQIA+ in the book, as well as a warm fuzzy theme of "found family". Slight warning for rough language (sort of Bea Arthur Golden Girls level snark here).
I was previously unfamiliar with the author and have added her to my "update regularly" list. Looking forward to more.
Five stars. Tone perfect, very entertaining.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
November 30, 2020
I chose to read One For The Money as a proud member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team and I received a copy from the author. This does not alter my review in anyway.
Cat Caliban is looking for a change after her husband dies. She is a mother to three and a granny, and that’s one of the things I liked about this book. An older main character. How refreshing. Anyway, after her 38 years of marriage to Fred comes to an end Cat wants a new career and she decides on becoming a private investigator. She sells up her home in Wyoming and buys an apartment complex in Northside, Cincinnati, a rougher neighbourhood than her grown up kids would like her to be in. This story is also set in the 1980’s, that glorious time before mobile phones became a thing and you could walk out of your front door and no one would know where you were.
Cat, who also has cats, already has one tenant in her apartments, Kevin, as he came with the property. Another couple soon come to move in, Melanie and Alice, but when Cat shows them the apartment they find the body of a woman lying in it. The woman turns out to be a bag lady, well known on the streets as Betty Bags. Soon after this death there is another, that of Betty’s best friend. And so the investigating begins.
I thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery, watching Cat get to know her neighbourhood and the people in it, as well as learning her craft. I also liked seeing her clashes with the police and the way her tenants soon joined in to help out as if forming a posse in her crime fighting.
This is a strong start to a series. One thing to note is that the language is often colourful. It doesn’t bother me but if you don’t want profanity in your reading don’t get this book. Other than that I think those that enjoy murder mystery’s will like this, and no doubt the rest of the series.
Cat Caliban is looking for a change after her husband dies. She is a mother to three and a granny, and that’s one of the things I liked about this book. An older main character. How refreshing. Anyway, after her 38 years of marriage to Fred comes to an end Cat wants a new career and she decides on becoming a private investigator. She sells up her home in Wyoming and buys an apartment complex in Northside, Cincinnati, a rougher neighbourhood than her grown up kids would like her to be in. This story is also set in the 1980’s, that glorious time before mobile phones became a thing and you could walk out of your front door and no one would know where you were.
Cat, who also has cats, already has one tenant in her apartments, Kevin, as he came with the property. Another couple soon come to move in, Melanie and Alice, but when Cat shows them the apartment they find the body of a woman lying in it. The woman turns out to be a bag lady, well known on the streets as Betty Bags. Soon after this death there is another, that of Betty’s best friend. And so the investigating begins.
I thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery, watching Cat get to know her neighbourhood and the people in it, as well as learning her craft. I also liked seeing her clashes with the police and the way her tenants soon joined in to help out as if forming a posse in her crime fighting.
This is a strong start to a series. One thing to note is that the language is often colourful. It doesn’t bother me but if you don’t want profanity in your reading don’t get this book. Other than that I think those that enjoy murder mystery’s will like this, and no doubt the rest of the series.
July 20, 2022
Catherine Caliban is growing older; it is time for a change of pace. To add to her career as widow, mother and grandmother, she will take it easy as the owner of an apartment building - oh, and maybe work as a PI, too. Cat's first case is immediately thrust upon her when she finds a dead body in one of her new apartments. The police aren't making progress causing Cat to throw her hat in the ring.
I am amazed that I didn't find this series in its first run. And, quite frankly, I'm glad I didn't, too - I wouldn't have appreciated it. Fortunately, we've come together at just the right time. The book was delightful.
The main character, Cat, is clearly not for everyone. She's independent nearly to the point of being aggressive. Her self-expression is littered with words not used in polite company. She is, in fact, a gusty old broad from the 80s. One of the most refreshing things about Cat (as if the above wasn't enough) is her honesty; she shares thoughts that don't paint her in the best light and yet regrets them simultaneously. She surrounds herself with an array of characters who are colourful without being COLOURFUL. I'd happily be best friends with any one of her entourage - or all of them if I'm allowed to be greedy.
I have to admit to not being as engrossed with the mystery element of the story. All the right notes were there, but the introduction of so many suspects led to my confusion. I adored the lessons on old Hollywood and Cincinnati; those were worth the price of admission. Ultimately, I was happy with the solution if not entirely pleased with the route taken.
To sum up, the characters are fabulous, the plot is gripping, and I absolutely recommend One for the Money with the caveat that profanity is scattered throughout the book.
I am amazed that I didn't find this series in its first run. And, quite frankly, I'm glad I didn't, too - I wouldn't have appreciated it. Fortunately, we've come together at just the right time. The book was delightful.
The main character, Cat, is clearly not for everyone. She's independent nearly to the point of being aggressive. Her self-expression is littered with words not used in polite company. She is, in fact, a gusty old broad from the 80s. One of the most refreshing things about Cat (as if the above wasn't enough) is her honesty; she shares thoughts that don't paint her in the best light and yet regrets them simultaneously. She surrounds herself with an array of characters who are colourful without being COLOURFUL. I'd happily be best friends with any one of her entourage - or all of them if I'm allowed to be greedy.
I have to admit to not being as engrossed with the mystery element of the story. All the right notes were there, but the introduction of so many suspects led to my confusion. I adored the lessons on old Hollywood and Cincinnati; those were worth the price of admission. Ultimately, I was happy with the solution if not entirely pleased with the route taken.
To sum up, the characters are fabulous, the plot is gripping, and I absolutely recommend One for the Money with the caveat that profanity is scattered throughout the book.
August 6, 2022
Her role models are Mrs. Pollifax and Colombo.
Cat Caliban has decided to change her life. At 59 she is a widow with grown children. She sells her house, buys a small apartment building in a dodgy part of town and decides to become a private investigator. But to get a license she needs two years of experience! Well, that begins as she finds a murdered woman in one of the apartments. So, the saga begins! There is the expected salty language (nothing worse than any teenager or cop) but no graphic gore or amorous activities. Great story about Cat and diligence into the life of a movie starlet descended to street person.
Time of story is 1980s Cincinnati (no cellphones); book was originally published in 1990s, republished in 2020.
I loved it and decided to binge from the beginning after reading a recent book in the series.
Cat Caliban has decided to change her life. At 59 she is a widow with grown children. She sells her house, buys a small apartment building in a dodgy part of town and decides to become a private investigator. But to get a license she needs two years of experience! Well, that begins as she finds a murdered woman in one of the apartments. So, the saga begins! There is the expected salty language (nothing worse than any teenager or cop) but no graphic gore or amorous activities. Great story about Cat and diligence into the life of a movie starlet descended to street person.
Time of story is 1980s Cincinnati (no cellphones); book was originally published in 1990s, republished in 2020.
I loved it and decided to binge from the beginning after reading a recent book in the series.
January 17, 2021
A completely unique plot, almost a story inside another story. I enjoyed how relatable the main character was, and pretty funny too.
Cat is a recent widow who has upended her life. She moves, buying an apartment complex and living onsite. and decides to start a new career as a private investigator. Her first job is a dead body in one of her vacant apartments which triggers a cascade of events right up to the climatic end.
I loved it. Just so you know, there are a few "f" bombs scattered throughout but don't let that stop you from reading this book, in a weird way it works with the story line.
Cat is a recent widow who has upended her life. She moves, buying an apartment complex and living onsite. and decides to start a new career as a private investigator. Her first job is a dead body in one of her vacant apartments which triggers a cascade of events right up to the climatic end.
I loved it. Just so you know, there are a few "f" bombs scattered throughout but don't let that stop you from reading this book, in a weird way it works with the story line.
December 23, 2021
what you want in a slim, 200pp pocket paperback 90s whodunit.
February 1, 2021
Entertaining and well written. Great cast of characters!!
February 15, 2021
This is the first in the series and the first time reading this author. The main character is Cat Caliban who decides to buy an apartment building and become a PI. When someone is murdered in one of the upstairs apartments she decides to investigate . Along the way she figures out a lot of stuff the cops overlooked just because the victim was a bag lady. Will she figure it all out without anyone getting hurt along the way ?
January 30, 2021
A delightful easy read murder mystery. Lovable characters
August 1, 2021
I had a difficult time staying engaged with this story. While I enjoyed a lot of the dialogue and the escapades of the protagonist, I often found my mind wandering. Cute story, easy read, but I guess just not as intriguing as I had hoped.
July 19, 2021
Cute Murder Mystery
This book was okay, a quick read. IMHO, there were too many characters for me to keep up with. I'm not sure I'll continue this series, at least for awhile.
This book was okay, a quick read. IMHO, there were too many characters for me to keep up with. I'm not sure I'll continue this series, at least for awhile.
September 4, 2021
For Agatha Christie(Miss Marple) and Nancy Drew fans. This one is a cozy, light, amusing mystery read.
Cat Caliban is a widow, who after almost 4 decades of marriage and raising 3 kids, finally wants to do something for herself.
She sells her nice neighborhood house and buys a building in an albeit shady neighborhood.
She wants to become a P.I. you see.
One day she opens one of the apartment doors to give her new tenants the tour and finds it's already occupied by a dead body.
The police aren't that interested in finding about who killed her, since she lived on the streets. But yet another dead body turns up. Also of an old lady living on streets. The police think Cat is meddlesome old lady with cats. There is more to the dead lady, just because she was homeless doesn't mean they didnt have any money.
You may think Cat doesn't have experience in the art of detection. But oh she has raised 3 kids who have kids of their own, she knows all about "who left the freezer door open so all the icecream melted", "who drew stripes on the cat with Marks-a-lot"😂😂
At this point the cats get a special mention. Sadie, Sophie and Sidney😻🐈😸. Sidney gets a special mention because oh his uncanny ability to attack intruders and people he doesn't like 😂.
The dialogue is so quick-wittedand funny. At one point Sidney's ability to attack garners him popularity and celebrity status😺, where everyone wants to know if he is trained, if he is intelligent an what kind of cat food he eats!🐈 😂🤣
Suspense wise this book didn't keep me on my toes. And although I was sufficiently absorbed by the mystery. It's the dialogue and the narration that kept me hooked.
Thankyou @netgalley and the Publisher for providing me the ebook for an honest review.
Cat Caliban is a widow, who after almost 4 decades of marriage and raising 3 kids, finally wants to do something for herself.
She sells her nice neighborhood house and buys a building in an albeit shady neighborhood.
She wants to become a P.I. you see.
One day she opens one of the apartment doors to give her new tenants the tour and finds it's already occupied by a dead body.
The police aren't that interested in finding about who killed her, since she lived on the streets. But yet another dead body turns up. Also of an old lady living on streets. The police think Cat is meddlesome old lady with cats. There is more to the dead lady, just because she was homeless doesn't mean they didnt have any money.
You may think Cat doesn't have experience in the art of detection. But oh she has raised 3 kids who have kids of their own, she knows all about "who left the freezer door open so all the icecream melted", "who drew stripes on the cat with Marks-a-lot"😂😂
At this point the cats get a special mention. Sadie, Sophie and Sidney😻🐈😸. Sidney gets a special mention because oh his uncanny ability to attack intruders and people he doesn't like 😂.
The dialogue is so quick-wittedand funny. At one point Sidney's ability to attack garners him popularity and celebrity status😺, where everyone wants to know if he is trained, if he is intelligent an what kind of cat food he eats!🐈 😂🤣
Suspense wise this book didn't keep me on my toes. And although I was sufficiently absorbed by the mystery. It's the dialogue and the narration that kept me hooked.
Thankyou @netgalley and the Publisher for providing me the ebook for an honest review.
October 29, 2020
Recently widowed, Cat Caliban has lived through what our society deems a woman’s usual existence; daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, etc but now she wants to stretch her legs and expand her boundaries. What better way to accomplish that than by buying an apartment house in a rundown area of Cincinnati and deciding to hang out her shingle as a private investigator? Never mind that she lacks even the most basic knowledge and skills required to be a licensed P.I. That’s what the public library is for. When Cat finds one of her tenants has been stabbed to death with her own knife she considers it an omen that her new career choice is the right one for her and she sets out to catch herself a killer.
“One for the Money” is set in the mid-1980s and Cat’s personae is one of a middle-aged, salty tongued woman who could give any sailor a run for his money in the language department. She’s witty, sarcastic and an all ‘round hoot. And then there’s Cat’s close friends and family and the people she meets in the course of her investigation. All told, there are so many characters in this story that you need a program to keep track of who’s who. The plot is original but gets bogged down with unnecessary details and too many characters to keep track of. And who really cares what Cat is wearing? How and why is that important? It’s not as if she is a fashion plate showing off some designers creations. The significance of her wardrobe choices totally escapes me. Where this novel shines is in the dialogue. Author D. B. Borton has either lived among the street people or spent lots of time studying the street vernacular because the dialogue is absolutely spot on in its authenticity and accuracy, including the dropped syllables. It’s as if you can actually “hear” the accents and the unique manner in which information is exchanged on the street. This aspect alone is sufficient to recommend “One for the Money” as a worthwhile and entertaining read.
Originally published in 1993, this and two other titles by Borton are being reissued this year. My thanks to NetGalley and to author D. B. Borton for the privilege of previewing “One for the Money”. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Four stars.
“One for the Money” is set in the mid-1980s and Cat’s personae is one of a middle-aged, salty tongued woman who could give any sailor a run for his money in the language department. She’s witty, sarcastic and an all ‘round hoot. And then there’s Cat’s close friends and family and the people she meets in the course of her investigation. All told, there are so many characters in this story that you need a program to keep track of who’s who. The plot is original but gets bogged down with unnecessary details and too many characters to keep track of. And who really cares what Cat is wearing? How and why is that important? It’s not as if she is a fashion plate showing off some designers creations. The significance of her wardrobe choices totally escapes me. Where this novel shines is in the dialogue. Author D. B. Borton has either lived among the street people or spent lots of time studying the street vernacular because the dialogue is absolutely spot on in its authenticity and accuracy, including the dropped syllables. It’s as if you can actually “hear” the accents and the unique manner in which information is exchanged on the street. This aspect alone is sufficient to recommend “One for the Money” as a worthwhile and entertaining read.
Originally published in 1993, this and two other titles by Borton are being reissued this year. My thanks to NetGalley and to author D. B. Borton for the privilege of previewing “One for the Money”. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Four stars.
March 31, 2021
This series is in my “Grab in Case of a Fire” box for a reason! Cat Caliban, foul-mouthed, funny, widowed grandmother, decides it’s time for a new life and a career. And after raising three children (and solving the many mysteries of teenager secrets and behavior) what would be more natural than becoming a private detective? This book is set in 1980s Cincinnati, making it a Historical, which makes me feel really, really old.... but back to the synopsis.
Cat buys an apartment building and when showing prospective tenants an apartment, discovers the body of a murdered homeless woman, Betty Grumbacher. When the police don’t seem to be terribly interested in the murder victim (or the murder), Cat gets ticked off and decides to use her skills to find out more.
Betty was active in the local movement for homeless rights, providing possible motives for her death. When a second homeless woman, Lucille, is murdered, it turns out that the women are connected by their homeless status and more: both women worked together in the movie industry in their youth. Cat must dig to determine who really wanted both Betty and Lucille dead. (Spoiler: she does.)
Cat does swear, so if you find that offensive, this may not be the series for you. The cussing is not overbearing, nor does it detract from the story. If you don’t mind a little salty language, you will enjoy Cat Caliban’s adventures.
Secondary characters are really well done in this book. While looking into the women’s lives, Cat gets to know several of homeless people. The author doesn’t reduce them to stereotypes and she discusses the homeless problem without over-moralizing. Leon, an exceptional youth from the neighborhood is well-written and humorous. Borton writes him without stereotype, pity, or condescension. The tenants are also well-rounded and interesting. Even Cat’s pets are funny.
Throughout this series, Borton consistently and deftly handles social issues with deep caring and a light hand. Such issues are woven into the stories thoughtfully and naturally rather than appearing contrived and lecture-heavy.
I highly recommend this book, as well as the entire series if you like humor and good writing.
Cat buys an apartment building and when showing prospective tenants an apartment, discovers the body of a murdered homeless woman, Betty Grumbacher. When the police don’t seem to be terribly interested in the murder victim (or the murder), Cat gets ticked off and decides to use her skills to find out more.
Betty was active in the local movement for homeless rights, providing possible motives for her death. When a second homeless woman, Lucille, is murdered, it turns out that the women are connected by their homeless status and more: both women worked together in the movie industry in their youth. Cat must dig to determine who really wanted both Betty and Lucille dead. (Spoiler: she does.)
Cat does swear, so if you find that offensive, this may not be the series for you. The cussing is not overbearing, nor does it detract from the story. If you don’t mind a little salty language, you will enjoy Cat Caliban’s adventures.
Secondary characters are really well done in this book. While looking into the women’s lives, Cat gets to know several of homeless people. The author doesn’t reduce them to stereotypes and she discusses the homeless problem without over-moralizing. Leon, an exceptional youth from the neighborhood is well-written and humorous. Borton writes him without stereotype, pity, or condescension. The tenants are also well-rounded and interesting. Even Cat’s pets are funny.
Throughout this series, Borton consistently and deftly handles social issues with deep caring and a light hand. Such issues are woven into the stories thoughtfully and naturally rather than appearing contrived and lecture-heavy.
I highly recommend this book, as well as the entire series if you like humor and good writing.
November 8, 2020
I got this book in exchange for a review.
It's great! I loved it! And I'm excited to read the rest of the series. I didn't expect it to be as funny as it is. I thought it would just be funny in a fish out of water kind of way, but it's more than that. I'm sure I laughed out loud every chapter. The story is serious, it's the telling.
The main character is Cat Caliban, a woman who's taken to private investigation after her husband died after her kids had all left home. Her experience up to her first case is mainly solving the little mysteries of a household, like who stole their sibling's stuff and so on, and reading and watching murder mysteries. She's also bought a little block of 4 flats to live in, and the existing tenant and the first new tenants are her main helpers & friends as she investigates. They're wonderful, and so are all the other characters - even the characters you only see once, and the baddies. There are plenty of suspects and though you might suspect some more than others, they all feel totally credible and not shoehorned in.
I have to make a special mention of her 3 cats, who, asides from being cute, can always tell the good eggs from the bad, no matter how scary or polite they might seem. I think more murder mysteries should have cats in. Obviously, carting them around to get their opinion of every character isn't feasible - they're cats - so they're hardly some kind of investigating superpower, but it's fun to see their opinions of the few characters they do meet.
The story has plenty of twists and turns, but isn't confusing, just interesting. There are several strands to the mystery, and they're all engaging. It's all about what quickly turns out to be a series of injustices, and you really root for her as she's trying to solve them (for free, too).
It's really funny, very entertaining generally, and kinda heartwarming (as much as murder ever can be...). I'm really pleased I found it. Definitely recommend it!
It's great! I loved it! And I'm excited to read the rest of the series. I didn't expect it to be as funny as it is. I thought it would just be funny in a fish out of water kind of way, but it's more than that. I'm sure I laughed out loud every chapter. The story is serious, it's the telling.
The main character is Cat Caliban, a woman who's taken to private investigation after her husband died after her kids had all left home. Her experience up to her first case is mainly solving the little mysteries of a household, like who stole their sibling's stuff and so on, and reading and watching murder mysteries. She's also bought a little block of 4 flats to live in, and the existing tenant and the first new tenants are her main helpers & friends as she investigates. They're wonderful, and so are all the other characters - even the characters you only see once, and the baddies. There are plenty of suspects and though you might suspect some more than others, they all feel totally credible and not shoehorned in.
I have to make a special mention of her 3 cats, who, asides from being cute, can always tell the good eggs from the bad, no matter how scary or polite they might seem. I think more murder mysteries should have cats in. Obviously, carting them around to get their opinion of every character isn't feasible - they're cats - so they're hardly some kind of investigating superpower, but it's fun to see their opinions of the few characters they do meet.
The story has plenty of twists and turns, but isn't confusing, just interesting. There are several strands to the mystery, and they're all engaging. It's all about what quickly turns out to be a series of injustices, and you really root for her as she's trying to solve them (for free, too).
It's really funny, very entertaining generally, and kinda heartwarming (as much as murder ever can be...). I'm really pleased I found it. Definitely recommend it!
November 28, 2020
D.B. Borton’s inaugural mystery in the Cat Caliban series, One for the Money, is filled so delightfully with sharp-tongued observations, perplexities, and social skirmishes that I’ll admit at some points I felt I had stumbled upon a new Susan Isaacs thriller.
Borton has the same talent for wit, social satire, and suspense… and also chose for her first novel a (widowed) housewife turned amateur sleuth as her main character, who defies stereotypes with her eclectic group of helpers to crack her first case!
Some might call her a crazy cat lady, and to be sure her felines are part of the fun. Many dismiss her due to age and novice. But Borton’s protagonist combines cleverness, indefatigable sleuthing, and a bit of good old fashioned luck in this classic whodunit written in a cheeky style that also has just the right touch of old Tinseltown secrecy thrown in.
Also reminiscent of Isaacs, Borton’s books are poised to make an entertaining education of current social themes. One for the Money alone tackles widowhood and aging, job ability for the disabled, homelessness, and racial injustice.
A tantalizing tale, combined with Caliban’s oft sarcastic observances, keeps readers page-turning with pleasure. But having come to love Cat — and definitely wishing we were in the mix with her renters at the Patagonia Arms — at least there are a few more in the series already released so we can devour them as well.
Borton’s Cat Caliban series is just the light-hearted escape readers need right now!
Borton has the same talent for wit, social satire, and suspense… and also chose for her first novel a (widowed) housewife turned amateur sleuth as her main character, who defies stereotypes with her eclectic group of helpers to crack her first case!
Some might call her a crazy cat lady, and to be sure her felines are part of the fun. Many dismiss her due to age and novice. But Borton’s protagonist combines cleverness, indefatigable sleuthing, and a bit of good old fashioned luck in this classic whodunit written in a cheeky style that also has just the right touch of old Tinseltown secrecy thrown in.
Also reminiscent of Isaacs, Borton’s books are poised to make an entertaining education of current social themes. One for the Money alone tackles widowhood and aging, job ability for the disabled, homelessness, and racial injustice.
A tantalizing tale, combined with Caliban’s oft sarcastic observances, keeps readers page-turning with pleasure. But having come to love Cat — and definitely wishing we were in the mix with her renters at the Patagonia Arms — at least there are a few more in the series already released so we can devour them as well.
Borton’s Cat Caliban series is just the light-hearted escape readers need right now!
December 2, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley and Boomerang Books for this free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
In One For the Money, D.B. Borton’s first book in her Cat Caliban series, after decades of marriage and raising three children to adulthood, Cat is ready for a change. She sells her suburban home in Cincinnati, buys a small apartment complex, and decides she wants to become a private investigator. When a body is discovered in one of the upstairs apartments in her complex, Cat gets her chance to try to solve a murder.
I will be honest, I almost DNF’d this book. I was fairly bored with it in the beginning and felt uninterested. I pushed through and I’m glad I did, because the story really picked up in the second half! I enjoyed Cat’s no-nonsense attitude and her renters/friends—I would really like to have more details about them. The real winners of this story, I felt, were her cats. They were definite scene-stealers! I also liked how Cat often referred to her knowledge of detective stories and films throughout the story, as well as the Old Hollywood aspect to the mystery. At times, I felt that the dialogue was a bit forced and it took me some time to get comfortable with the main character.
I thought this one was alright. The story definitely picked up as it went on, and there’s a chance I might read more in this series, but I didn’t love it enough to want to read more this minute. If you like mysteries set in the late 80s/early 90s featuring a woman detective, give this one a try!
In One For the Money, D.B. Borton’s first book in her Cat Caliban series, after decades of marriage and raising three children to adulthood, Cat is ready for a change. She sells her suburban home in Cincinnati, buys a small apartment complex, and decides she wants to become a private investigator. When a body is discovered in one of the upstairs apartments in her complex, Cat gets her chance to try to solve a murder.
I will be honest, I almost DNF’d this book. I was fairly bored with it in the beginning and felt uninterested. I pushed through and I’m glad I did, because the story really picked up in the second half! I enjoyed Cat’s no-nonsense attitude and her renters/friends—I would really like to have more details about them. The real winners of this story, I felt, were her cats. They were definite scene-stealers! I also liked how Cat often referred to her knowledge of detective stories and films throughout the story, as well as the Old Hollywood aspect to the mystery. At times, I felt that the dialogue was a bit forced and it took me some time to get comfortable with the main character.
I thought this one was alright. The story definitely picked up as it went on, and there’s a chance I might read more in this series, but I didn’t love it enough to want to read more this minute. If you like mysteries set in the late 80s/early 90s featuring a woman detective, give this one a try!
January 7, 2021
A fun mystery read with an unexpected lead detective. Cat Caliban, widow, mother of three grown children that we never see, mother of three cats too, decides she needs a change in her life and becomes the landlord of a small apartment building on the less desirable side of Cincinnati. Unfortunately, she finds a body in a vacant apartment. The body of a homeless bag lady who was murdered. Thus begins the real life changing career of Cat Caliban -- Private Detective.
This is my second D.B. Borton read, the first being Bayou City Burning, which I loved. One for the Money was an entertaining read, and I enjoyed the main character's journey as a novice detective. Her approach, whose experience stems from motherhood (and not necessarily from being a perfect mother) is at times charming and comical. A female Sam Spade, if Spade was in his 60’s and had a mother's intuition.
I enjoyed the silent era starlet connection, and the way the murder victim's life story unfolded. But I felt that something was missing, as far as Caliban herself was concerned. I didn't feel fully invested in her character, not as much as I wanted to be.
Still a fun enough read and worth your time if you're looking for a light mystery in the vein of Murder, She Wrote. Again with wishing I could award half stars. I'd rate this a 3.5 but not quite a 4.
This is my second D.B. Borton read, the first being Bayou City Burning, which I loved. One for the Money was an entertaining read, and I enjoyed the main character's journey as a novice detective. Her approach, whose experience stems from motherhood (and not necessarily from being a perfect mother) is at times charming and comical. A female Sam Spade, if Spade was in his 60’s and had a mother's intuition.
I enjoyed the silent era starlet connection, and the way the murder victim's life story unfolded. But I felt that something was missing, as far as Caliban herself was concerned. I didn't feel fully invested in her character, not as much as I wanted to be.
Still a fun enough read and worth your time if you're looking for a light mystery in the vein of Murder, She Wrote. Again with wishing I could award half stars. I'd rate this a 3.5 but not quite a 4.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews