Kijewski's formidable female P.I. Kat Colorado comes to the aid of a childhood friend in her latest and best thriller to date--set against the backdrop of Nashville's country music scene. When country music superstar Dakota Jones begins receiving threatening letters and dead roses on her bed, she fears it's not the work of a run-of-the-mill kook. As the pranks escalate into full-fledged violence, she calls on Kat for help.

From Emily Melton - BookList: Kijewski's Kat Colorado series just keeps getting better. There is Kat herself, as appealing and likable as any female PI on the market. And then there are Kijewski's plots--cleverly conceived, nicely paced, and full of just the right amounts of action, violence, and suspense. In her latest, country-western singing star Dakota Jones, a friend of Kat's since childhood, is worried. Like most stars, she has enemies, but someone has been sending her unusually unnerving letters and really nasty gifts. Dakota, afraid that her one out-of-control fan might do something stupid, asks Kat to join her entourage and find out who's up to what. As the pranks escalate into violence, Kat moves quickly to identify the culprit: Is it a faceless fan, or is it someone who knows Dakota more intimately--even a member of her family? A definite thumbs-up as Kat Colorado triumphs again!

From Publisher's Weekly: Murder mixes with those country-music familiars, booze and cheating, when the grown-up problems of a childhood chum draw PI Kat Colorado (last seen in Alley Kat Blues) into the rhinestone world of the C&W tour scene. Despite her years with a thieving, wandering ex-husband, country singing star Dakota Jones remains the warm person Kat remembers. Dakota even agrees to help aspiring singer Hope Delaney, a previously unknown relative who, Kat suspects, is not the simple, down-home girl she seems. So why is Dakota receiving threatening notes and bunches of dead roses? And why was her Memphis audience stampeded by a flash grenade? Enhanced security and Kat's reassuring presence enable Dakota to keep performing until a singer who resembles her is murdered, the body left with a note saying, ``Now we're even, Dakota.'' As the intimidation continues and Kat drags information out of Dakota's minimally helpful friends and associates, the singer gets an offer that's about as welcome as the threats: Clyde T. Jones, Dakota's no-account father who walked out on her as a child, wants to help his daughter in her time of need. With the alert dexterity of her namesake creature, Kat picks her way through her seventh, well-constructed case, and Kijewski persuades readers to share her sleuth's lively suspicions regarding, well, just about everybody. Mystery Guild alternate; author tour. (June)

From Kirkus: Not the best month for country-music sensation Dakota Jones: Somebody's been sending her threatening letters and unsolicited subscriptions to Seventeen and Prison Life; somebody's upstaged her Memphis concert with a flash grenade; somebody's killed singer Joni Ames, leaving a note on the body, ``NOW WE'RE EVEN, DAKOTA.'' (Still on the horizon: a dropped spotlight that nearly crushes Dakota, and a batch of cookies like mama never made.) And that's not all: The day after the murder, both Dakota's long-lost cousin Hope Delaney and the father who abandoned her as a baby turn up on her doorstep and want into Dakota's ménage. Luckily, Sacramento p.i. Kat Colorado, an old friend of Dakota's whose shingle ought to read ``MENACED INNOCENTS OUR SPECIALTY,'' is on the job, spiriting her off to hiding, taking a jaundiced look at her poor relations, and pointing the finger by turns at Dakota's abusive ex, her double-talking manager, and the lover who's two- timing her with sloe-eyed little Hope. From early on, Kat and Dakota are both so maddeningly sententious--``You help people rewrite their lives, Katy,'' Dakota tells Kat, who weighs in with gems like ``Truth is rarely easy, I think. And almost always a double-edged sword''--that you just want to shake them; but once the omnithreatening characters take over, the story takes off. So Kat's seventh is better than her recent cases (Alley Kat Blues, 1995, etc.), though still not up to 1992's Copy Kat.

From The Publisher: The formidable Kat Colorado comes to the aid of a childhood friend in Karen Kijewski's latest thriller, set against the backdrop of Nashville's country music scene. In the age of tabloid TV, talk-show mania, and crazed paparazzi, it's hardly unusual to hear of a celebrity being harassed by an overzealous fan. But when superstar country entertainer Dakota Jones begins receiving threatening letters, then finds dead roses on her bed, she fears it's not the work of your run-of-the-mill kook. At Dakota's urging, Kat joins her friend's tour to investigate the case. Dakota's concerned, but Kat is genuinely scared - she's seen this kind of thing before. As the pranks escalate into full-fledged violence, from explosions to murder, the threat to Dakota's personal safety becomes dire. Kat urges her friend to cut back on her performances and stay out of the limelight to protect herself and her crew. Meanwhile, Kat digs deep into their shared past, searching for clues and a lead on possible suspects. There seems to be no shortage of potential stalkers, and even Dakota's extended family is not above Kat's scrutiny, especially when long-lost relations turn up like so much loose change. There's a mysterious cousin with designs on a music career of her own; a boyfriend whose interests are not entirely altruistic; and Dakota's ex-husband, a bitter alcoholic whose own career faded as her star began to rise. It appears everyone has a claim to Dakota the celebrity - and it's up to Kat to protect Dakota the woman, her friend.