The Cat Dancers

Cam Richter, Book 1

By: P. T. Deutermann

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

When two lowlifes rob a gas station, murder the attendant, and then incinerate bystanders who are filling up their minivan, the Manceford County, North Carolina, police quickly arrest the killers at a nearby motel.

But a stubborn judge throws out the case, because the suspects were not read their rights, leaving Sheriff Bobby Lee Baggett and Lieutenant Cam Richter to face the anger of the victims' families.

Soon thereafter, a mysterious e-mail arrives in the department: a link to a video of one of the murderers being executed in a homemade electric chair, ending with a voice announcing, "That's one". The shocking video spreads throughout the Internet, drawing the attention of local, state, and federal authorities, and national media, and putting intense pressure on Bobby Lee and Cam to find the vigilante before he claims his second victim.

Assigned to head the search, Cam finds himself resented by some of his fellow officers and subtly threatened by others. His job is further complicated by the fact that the offending judge is also his ex-wife, and now - after years apart, and an uneasy reconciliation - his sometime lover. Cam's questions lead him to a remote mountain area in western North Carolina and a group of daredevils who call themselves "the cat dancers" - so named because they have tracked the last wild mountain lions in the region to their dens, where they have photographed the animals face-to-face, or died trying. Cam must hunt this group and the cats they seek, or become their next target.

Listen to the sequel, Spider Mountain.

©2005 P. T. Deutermann (P)2005 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Well-drawn characters, intelligent, realistic dialogue and top-notch writing....Petrified readers will be checking under the bed and in the closets for any panthers that may have crept inside while they were glued to the pages." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Reader Dick Hill brings the best in voice and vocal variety to this effort. His voice is as rough as a raging river, as soft as falling snow - a perfect match for this engaging story." ( AudioFile)

Totally Wonderful

I have read all of the Cam Richter series to date. I would recommend reading them in order of when they were written. The Cat Dancers, Spider Mountain, The Moonpool, Firefly, Nightwalkers.

These are great murder mysteries. Wish they were about 10 hours longer each. Reading a series with a central character is my favorite thing. These are incredibly well done and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Not a bad one in the bunch. The central characters' (Cam Richter)life changes and some things are a continuance, hence reading in order is a good thing although all authors seem to think that it doesn't matter. I will read each of these books more than once or twice. Deutermann is a great author. I've read about 5 or 6 others not in this series and they are great as well.

Bad Language.

Overall it was an exciting and good story. Way too much fowl language for my taste. It would have been as good without it, even better.

Not a great story for the length of the book.

Would you try another book from P. T. Deutermann and/or Dick Hill?

Probably not. I don't like Dick Hill's narration that much; it reminds me of an actor in a 70's cop movie that you'd see on TBS on a Sunday afternoon while eating leftover beef lo mein.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Some of the characters were stock, so I'd make them more unique and therefor more real.

What three words best describe Dick Hill’s performance?

ok, meh, not bad.

Did The Cat Dancers inspire you to do anything?

Nope.

Any additional comments?

If you're on the fence about this one, I wouldn't go for it. I didn't feel that this book was fun to listen to.

Big cats = big hair ball in the story

Good story but sorry, I hike in cat country; the big cats ruined the book for me. Are you familiar with mountain lion habits? If so you might want to skip this one, if not, you will enjoy the story but don't form any conclusions about big cats based on what you read.

Good story, Great narration!

Having the perspective of the lions was fascinating. Of course, it is fiction, and nobody interviewed the cats, but while you are reading you believe it really happens as it was told. Dick Hill is one of my top three readers. I am sad for the books I'll not get to hear him read. Good Entertainment and a wee bit instructive for the reader. Excellent value.

Great book!

This was my first PT Deutermann book, and I greatly enjoyed it.

I liked it so much, in fact, that I've bought nearly all of the other Deutermann titles available on Audible.

I highly recommend Cat Dancers, and it's sequel, Spider Mountain.

First time listen to Author won't be last

Where does The Cat Dancers rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among my best listens

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

I tend to listen to books based off of the narrators. Will Patton, Dick Hill, Ron McLarty, George Guidall are my favorites. These authors bring the books to life with their narrations and can make a so so book fantastic

Loved this!!

I pretty much like anything by P.T. Deutermann and the icing on the cake for me was that it was narrated by Dick Hill! If you listen with your eyes closed you are transported right into it!

Love P.T. Deutermann

I think P.T. Deutermann is a terrific writer. I am also glad to not see his books Abridged. As usual, I enjoyed the imagination of Cat Dancers. Keep them coming!!!!

Two books for the price of one?

The first third of this book was quite different from the rest, leading me to believe that the author may have written two unfinished books over a period, finally melding them together in this book and did not do a particularly good job with the meld. This was a strange and disjointed book and, because of it, you could certainly call it a thriller and a mystery. The writing and dialogue was OK and the book moved on at a reasonable pace, but really it did not make a lot a sense to me. Perhaps, this is because am an Aussie and didn't get the 'big cat' thing in the last two thirds of the book. I found the exercise to take these cats photo's in an extreme adventure environment all a bit silly and the reason for it did not ring true but just contrived. The plot surrounding the baddies was very convoluted and also highly improbable. In most thrillers, I can suspend my belief in reality, but this one was just plain bit silly in parts.The only thing that saved this book was the narrator who did a commendable job in bringing this book to life. In the end, though, I think there are a lot better offerings in the thriller genre on Audible, if you just have the time to look and sample....