Katie by Michael McDowell REVIEW

Summary:

When Philo Drax receives a letter from her wealthy grandfather saying he fears for his life at the hands of the vicious Slape family, she rushes to the rescue. But too late! Katie Slape, a monstrous girl with psychic powers and a penchant for smashing skulls with her hammer, has already finished him off and gotten hold of his cash.

Determined to track down the murderers, Philo hunts Katie and her family through the streets of 1870s New York, where the Slapes' coffers are filling up with money as their cellar fills up with corpses. But going after the Slapes might be the worst decision of Philo's life, for no one escapes the bashing of Katie's hammer!

My Thoughts:

This book was a ride. Philo and her mother live in New Egypt, and are very poor. Her mother is a seamstress, and one day Philo discovers that her grandfather had written them a letter. We learn that he practically disowned her when she married a very poor man, and that they haven't spoken since. Despite this, Philo volunteers to go help him, and her mother holds on to the hope that he'll help them with their financial situation. He is already sick when Philo arrives, and not long after, he is killed by Katie. The Slape family rushes off, leaving Philo as the main suspect in the murder. When she finally returns home to her mother and goes looking for a job, Katie reappears to kill Philo's mother. Orphaned, she has no choice but to leave New Egypt and live elsewhere, hoping that she'll come across the Slape family again to stop them from killing for good.

Philo is a very well-developed and likable character. She deeply cares for her family and is devastated when they are murdered. When she leaves for New York, Philo later is asked to be a secretary for Mrs. Maitland, the aunt of their snobby neighbor Jewel in New Egypt. Mrs. Maitland cares for Philo as if she was her own daughter and is a generous and kind woman. Her son, Henry, falls in love with Philo and they get married at the end of the book. John Slape is killed by hanging for his crimes, Hannah Slape dies from rabies, and Katie dies from running away from Philo.

This book started off slow, but was very enjoyable. The writing was well done, and the characters were believable. If you like murder mysteries, you would definitely like this book.

My Rating: 3.5 stars