For Sheridan Phillips, it was one more bad ending to one more bad day. It wasn't enough that she had to contend with her boss Mr. Duncan (nicknamed the Prince of Darkness for good reason); she had also gotten another rejection letter from yet another publisher. She had pulled out her chicken from the microwave and poured her glass of dinner wine when a scratching at the fire escape called her; she opened the window and let a large blue-eyed black cat into her apartment and her life. When he deliberately peed on her rejection letter, she knew-there was something about him. She shared her dinner with him, and the next thing she knew, he was a permanent fixture.

Sheridan's life was an endless cycle of going to work and going home. Because Mr. Duncan was a complete jerk, she found herself with way too much stress and overtime. She had been plagued with utter loneliness. But now she came home to her cat, whom she'd begun calling Nick. She fed him people-food, talked to him as if he was human, and he seemed to understand. But there seemed to be more to him than the normal cat. When she whispered wishes to him, they came true. And at night with Nick the cat beside her-ah, the dreams she had of her dream lover. And then, a rapist was seen in the neighborhood, a man in black, with black gloves, and he was seen in connection with a black cat. She couldn't help but wonder if there was a link to her cat Nick.

Elizabeth Stewart has written a very engaging story with characters whose welfare interested me a great deal. The hero was delicious, of course. As Sheridan's story developed, perplexing questions came up which were all dealt with in a natural way in the course of the story telling. I kept turning the pages to see how Ms. Stewart was going to unveil all the secrets and explain all the mysteries. A great, compelling read.

Reviewed By: Maitresse
© July 2004