One morning Keri Tarr, an otherwise average girl, wakes to find that her cat is talking to her--and she can understand it all; indeed, she can converse with all cats. Cats are excellent (if temperamental) informants, and Keri opens a detective agency, solving local pet mysteries with ease. When she attempts to recover a cat who has stowed away on a plane to France, she finds herself in the catacombs of Paris, attempting to avert a catfight of epic proportions. Delightfully good fun for middle readers and all pet-lovers.

Wendy Lement is associate professor and chair of the theatre department at Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts.