A review of Caroline Burnes's Familiar Lullaby

My wife retrieved this paperback from one of our book sale boxes and,
mid-reading it, read out loud a paragraph or two. She explained that
Familiar was a cat and Clotilde was his lady friend and they "talked."
They lived in different houses, Clotilde at the Johnson's, a wealthy
couple who had everything except the child they wanted desperately and
Familiar at the Curry's, friends of the Johnsons.

One day a baby is dropped off at Rose and Preston Johnson's place, in a
basket.

The story unfolds: who left the baby?, why would anyone do such a
horrible thing?, could the Johnsons adopt?

Two people, a detective and a reporter, Mel and Lily, show up. Very
different personalities and agendas. They both want to be involved in
baby David's situation. Meanwhile, Familiar (and Clotilde) seem to be
everywhere, know everything, and somehow communicate with the principals
of the book, causing them to make choices that ultimately will benefit
the bipeds. Humanoids are a lower species and need the superior
intellect of felines.

I think I was hooked about a week after my wife finished it; her sharing
with me this crazy plot did it.

Although the plot is clearly contrived, there is a serious layer going
on. Susie Bishop, the baby's mother, is the one who "dumped" her child
and we learn why: her husband Wayman is an abuser.

The relationship between Lily and Mel is one of mutual distrust. Lily is
trying to protect Rose and get her out of the country and safe from a
murderous husband but can't reveal her complicity. Mel has his own past
(he's an orphan) that drives him to want to bring the guilty party to
justice.

It all sounds "corny," I know. But cops and robbers don't get any better
when you let Caroline Burnes tell it. The predictable romance and the
eventual conviction are masterfully developed.

And the book is drop dead hilarious. Italics are used when the cats are
"talking," "plotting," "thinking." Clotilde impresses Familiar by
noticing what Margie Lavert is really up to (she is the widow of Jim
Lavert, a bad cop, and is under the spell of Wayman).

	I'm not so certain I like this setup. Margie Lavert was awfully
forthcoming with all the information about the boat and the marina. Of
course, she is a cop's widow, and detail is a way of life for those in
law enforcement. I guess it was Clotilde who picked up on her perfect
cooperation.

	I have highly trained observing skills, but Clotilde has a double
dose of acute observation—feline and female. It's difficult to
concede, but sometimes she's just a little more astute than even I.
Which puts her about a million light years ahead of humanoids.

	She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was about the grieving
widow, but she got vibes. And not the good ones either.

	Now I have a choice. Should I follow Dick Tracy up to the boat and
protect him, or should I stay here with the girls? Given a choice
between girls and detectives, girls, normally, would win hands down. If
only I could subdivide like an amoeba and be in two places at once.

	I'll ask Clotilde what I should do. She'll certainly have an opinion.
I don't know a female who doesn't.

	Wait a minute! What's that noise? Thunderation! It's a car coming.
Run, Lily, run!

I liked the book so much I contacted the author and she was kind enough
to get back. She has written a ton of other "Harlequin Intrigue" books.
The latest ones are about Familiar's son, Trouble. They are co-authored!
Her bio reveals that she loves animals, owns horses, and is very well
read. I made a push-together puzzle which features the names of the
characters in her book. It contains a word search type sub-puzzle. I
hope she likes it when she gets it.