Source: Kate Kindle
Date: 11/14/2010

Miss Mae has produced a dynamite and highly visual whodunnit that crosses over to the horror genre. Life-threatening natural situations abound in this story of a dozen mismatched people who come to a convention from hell to play "Catch Me If You Can".

Storms abound in the form of a hurricane, and a tornado that lift part of the roof and snuff out the lights at Wycliff Mansion where eleven visitors and their beleaguered hostess make a dozen people who are convened for the purported purpose of playing a game. It's a murder mystery game produced by a mysterious multi-millionaire with a questionable history. Ships and bodies are washed ashore; people are murdered or die, and then disappear; a fire destroys the kitchen of the mansion-there are myriad emergencies that, alone, produce an atmosphere of terror to challenge the group and entertain the reader. It's an exciting story reminiscent of a King thriller.

But, wait.......there's more. Ala Agatha Christie, the characters have assembled for reasons of their own-all having to do with the no show game author, Stuart Harrington. He has produced a game disc that the hero, Victor Helm, confides to heroine Lois, contains state secrets which Harrington is trying to barter to a Middle Eastern power. He must find out who has the disc; who is his contact there and who is a shill. I don't want to give away this riddler; other guests have other agendas regarding Harrington and it all adds up to murder and mayhem. Whodunnit? I defy any reader to even begin to figure the villain(s) until the plot starts to resolve in the last five chapters of "Catch Me If You Can".

We never do learn the contents of the disc, although the cops locate it. Stuart Harrington remains offsite, too, a character who we come to know only by hearsay.

Alfred Hitchcock said he used a device called the MacGuffin in his mysteries. A MacGuffin is an object or person whom the characters refer to,and around whom/ what the mystery revolves, but that never materializes. Miss Mae uses this mystery device to perfection and it gives her story a film noir effect from page one. Speaking of film, this story is highly visual and would be even better if it were produced on celluloid.

Only one thing: I'd say that there should be multiple line spacing between action scenes as well as more and shorter chapters because so many different things are happening on so many different levels, the reader needs a break to change gears. Other than that, way to go, Miss Mae!