Four Elements of Murder

"Mel had explained to me the whole concept of organic gardening, all about nature and balance and natural enemies. So if the Japanese could send us their beetles, why couldn't they send us a Mothra to eat them? Import quotas?"




After decades of marriage, motherhood, and grandmotherhood, Cat Caliban has become Cincinnati's newest, oldest, funniest detective-in-training.

Death does a land office business in Millins County, Tennessee. Everybody knows why, but talking about it can get you killed, too. When a whistleblower is killed on his way to tell what he knows, Cat comes to town to dig up buried secrets at a toxic waste disposal site. But somebody has a vested interest in keeping them buried and now they're coming after Cat, who is enthusiastically if inadequately protected by a large friendly dog who has adopted her as his new best friend. Concerned for her safety, ex-cop Moses Fogg and Kevin O'Neill, another of Cat's tenants, arrive in Millins County to join the team.




Meanwhile, while Cat fights killers in Tennessee, the organic garden behind the Catatonia Arms is fighting its own losing battle with cats, dog, weeds, and insects.




None of the miscreants is committed to a fair fight.