Catherine Todd (–1947)

A pretty sour look at the lives of the upper middle-class as represented by the lawyers in a Southern California city. I have given the book away already, and so details of plot are skimpy. A woman in her late forties is faced with divorce and her attorney husband is using all the lawyerly intimidation techniques on her to give her as small a settlement as possible. The mystery comes about as another ex-wife of one of the partners is found dead.

I actually didn't hate this as much as I thought I would, although the lead character made some really stupid choices and did some highly improbable things to move the plot along. The characters were engaging enough that I wanted to know how it resolved. I can't say I found this "Sassy, Irreverent and Smart" as one of the quotes on the back of the book said, but it was a good story of mild suspense, with quite a few literary references. It made me happy for the life I've led with the man I've shared it with. Possessions, power and upward-mobility have never been our thing.

This would be a good beach read or sitting in the waiting room or on an airplane if you need it. Not taxing to the brain, but an interesting ride.… (mehr)

There are some authors with whom there's an immediate connection. It's like they're talking just to me either about a shared experience or similar thoughts. Catherine Todd was like that for me. I'd not read any of her other books; I don't even remember how Staying Cool got on my TBR pile; but I'm so glad I bought this book because I enjoyed it very much.


Ellen Santiago Laws is in her 40's, and she's been assigned to a jury hearing a murder case. While she believes the evidence presented supports the jury verdict of guilty, there's something not quite right about the case, and Ellen can't dismiss it from her mind after it's over. Ellen is an art consultant, and it turns out that the murder victim also dabbled somewhat in the art world, so there are various reasons why Ellen is attracted to the facts of this particular crime.


As the story moves forward, more and more questions arise about the way in which the murder was investigated: whether the police had really found all the clues and whether or not the right man was convicted of the crime. But as the story progresses, the reader also learns more about Ellen, and that's where Todd's story really pulled me in.


Ellen is a widow, and after the death of her husband her life changed more dramatically than she realized. She became more isolated; she became far more content with her own company than she was by that of those around her. I found I became very interested in Ellen's thoughts about her preference to be alone. Many of her opinions mirrored conclusions I'd reached myself, and it was refreshing to read sentiments that don't always agree with conventional wisdom.


The mystery of this story is eventually resolved satisfactorily, but after a while the mystery became secondary to me. I enjoyed so much more about Staying Cool than merely its genre, and I look forward to reading more of Catherine Todd's books.… (mehr)