Road to Nowhere: Cy Wyss

ROAD TO NOWHERE

Life hands you a certain deal but what happens when yours is split between being human and you won’t believe it being half feline. P.J. Taylor turns into a cat, no choice of her own every night at the same time. You would think this would hamper her and make her angry. P.J. uses this time as a cat to do some serious investigative work along with her brother, Robert helping him solve difficult cases. How cool is that! The story begins with Robert relating that he thinks that P.J. has been murdered and is so upset he can hardly focus but he is determined to act and bring the culprit to justice. First, let’s get to know her and then you will realize that just maybe she might still be around as the cases that she has to solve, involve cats that are being kidnapped for ransom. That is awful!

Things turn in a dangerous direction when PJ is asked to watch her niece Nanci for a week and then the unthinkable happens that no one expects, she turns into a cat at night, gets out and then she gets kidnapped too and Robert and PJ and her detective friend Jake and two reporters have to find her before it’s too late. But, the search goes on for quite some time, videos target a young teen named Elijah and another one Darius who seem to be in the thick of things and one or both did the kidnapping and picked up the ransom while working for an elusive woman who kept them in a barn. But, when Elijah if found dead, Nanci is now in her father’s custody and things spiral in so many directions including Robert’s affair with someone else, PJ finds herself dealing with conflicting interests and viewpoints and thinks that Robert needs to come clean with his estranged wife, Didi and with Nanci. But, first the murder of this young boy whose parents have kept his hidden secret hoping no one would find out about him but the autopsy revealed something they never wanted to come out.

One issue that comes through in this novel : parents that are not really concerned with their children’s whereabouts, into their lives and monitoring their comings and goings and who their friends are. Other issues are relating to transgender, dealing with shapeshifting and PJ’s true feelings for Robert.

When PJ learns that Nanci was kidnapped she sets her feline intuition in motion and that’s when we meet the fantastic cast of characters: Bing, Bell, Ring, Ding and so many other felines that add to the suspense of the story and help PJ find Nanci but there is much more as the death of Elijah brings out some unsavory characters as we meet his brother, Joseph who is glad that he is gone and his mother Pip who is not someone you want as part of your family but the end result will shock you.

Things take on many different turns as PJ learns more about her feelings for Robert, Jake and Blake need to find a way to protect both her and Nanci while they go after the kidnappers and the killer. Someone else is murdered namely Robert’s girlfriend Ashley’s aunt and then it gets complicated as the author makes PJ once again count on her feline friends to help solve the case of the catnappers and the dialogue is priceless and the communication unique as well as cats and humans working as one unit so to speak.

Robert and PJ have an unusual relationship as he calls her his sister but, she is his cousin the you will have to learn for yourself. Each time Robert, who is an FBI agent comes in contact with Jake he wonders why he has a cat as his partner and she is able in her own way to communicate information to him but when the truth behind Elijah’s death and the others come to light it is sad that someone would do what this person did. The issues are realistic and the reasons behind the killer’s motives sad and unyielding.

Things get out of hand and then PJ is shot, and Robert thinks she is dead, but he gets a call to come to the morgue so why is her body missing? What could have happened and is PJ alive or is she out of the picture? Robert must pass a lie detector test every year and so far, he’s failed it and if he does not pass this time according to the doctor, he has to see twice a week he might lose his job. But, how do you tell someone that you have a sister that is a cat? Some endings are unique and this one will pique your interest as Blake reveals something about himself and the fate of PJ lies in his talents and his hands?
Who killed so many? Who kidnapped the cats and why? What is the secret that someone does not want revealed? Author Cy Wyss creates a mystery filled with hijinks, murder, humor and a cat named PJ/human too that will keep you guessing until the very end and hopefully she will survive and some back for some more.

Using her intelligence as both a human and cat PJ risks it all to save Nanci, solve the murders and puts herself at risk. What is her final fate? Will she still have enough lives to come back some more? What about her relationship with Robert, Blake and Jake? Find out when the author pens the next chapter in the life of PJ Taylor.

Fran Lewis: Just reviews