Midwest Book Review
The Fox And The Puma is set on an island off the coast of France, populated with an unexpected mixture of native farmers and fishermen with more or less affluent vacationers. There are natives like the Town Crier, beating his tinny drum to announce both good and evil news, and the aging femme fatale, Regine, jealous of her lovely, young daughter, and playing her own summer games at the topless beach. A puma escapes from an itinerant circus at the same time that a convicted rapist/murderer does the same from the nearby prison. When a nude, partly devoured woman's body is found near a popular beach, the island erupts into panic. Fred and Maggy Renard will be drawn into the investigation. Old hatreds and sins, dating as far back as the Nazi occupation in World War II, begin to surface, and many more ugly secrets will be exposed. Barbara Sohmers has debuted a marvelous couple into a small world of excitement, romance and danger. The Fox And The Puma is brightly written by an author of imagination and a talent for spinning a terrific suspense novel that will the reader hoping for more to come!

The Norman [Okla.] Transcript Mandy Bowerman April 20, 1997
"Barbara Sohmers writes in the preface of THE FOX AND THE PUMA that she loves reading mysteries. She couldn't find any books to her liking one day, and decided to write her own. She succeeded. The book is a good one and I couldn't put it down. The descriptions of the island, its inhabitants and characters are vivid and believable. Sohmers has a way of drawing the reader in, even to the point of being in the thoughts of the escaped mountain lion. THE FOX AND THE PUMA is the first Fred and Maggy adventure to appear in print. This reader is looking forward to the second installment, THE FOX AND THE PUSSYCAT.

Book Description
Sexual repression, hatred, and bigotry, nourished during Nazi occupation of an island off the coast of France, fifty years later unleashes a killer. Add a puma escaped from a circus, a convicted rape/murderer on the loose, and you stampede a tourist packed island.

From the Publisher
Mystery, generally, is considered a minor genre, good only to distract and entertain. Not many authors manage to contribute something of value to society, while at the same time telling a suspenseful, gripping story,as does Barbara Sohmers in The Fox and the Puma. The underlying theme? Intolerance. Hate, driven not just by the individual demons of a character, but infesting society like a deadly, creeping plague. Sohmers believes there is nothing better than an exciting mystery, with well-painted backdrop and real, sympathetic characters. She also believes that we are all, consciously or not, engaged in the battle against anything that divides us from others, whether they be humans, animals, or the universe itself.

From the Author
I wrote this book because it is a book I'd want to read.

The Midwest Book Review James A. Cox January,1997
"THE FOX AND THE PUMA is brightly written by an author of imagination and a talent for spinning a terrific suspense novel that will keep the reader hoping for more to come."

From the Back Cover
Your new adventure in France. Visit the island, the sea, the people, the circus. Discover the puma's escape, the body, the hateful secrets, the festering wounds. Share the world of Fred and Maggy and their lovable and unforgettable dog called Rug.

About the Author
BARBARA SOHMERS, a native New Yorker, lived and worked for many years in Paris, where she was one of very few foreigners to become an established actress in French theatre and TV. Since her return to the U.S., she has appeared on Broadway and in prestigious Regional Theatres such as Arena Stage, Long Wharf, and the Mark Taper Forum. In 1990, she noticed the first signs of a neurological disorder which affected her speech. Forced to give up acting, she turned to her second love, and began to write full time. Since then, she has completed two one-act plays, four screenplays, and two suspense/ adventure novels. THE FOX AND THE PUMA is the first to appear in print, to be followed by THE FOX AND THE PUSSYCAT. A third novel, THE FOX AND THE SERPENT"S TOOTH, is in the works.

Excerpted from The Fox and the Puma by Barbara Sohmers. Copyright © 1997. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
The engine sputtered once and died. At first, he refused to believe it. He kept jabbing at the starter button, cursing more viciously each time the engine died until, finally, he had to face the truth. They had run out of fuel. Raging, he stomped back into the cabin, shoving her out of his way, and started searching again, smashing whatever was still intact. He found no fuel, only some bottles of local red wine in the galley. He smashed the neck of one, poured half of it in the 'First Mate" mug, emptied it, filled it again and drank more. The wine seemed to give him new courage. He dragged the furled sails from their bags, hauled them up on deck and tried, clumsily, to attach one to the mast. The wind tore the canvas from his hands, whipping the loose sheets and halyards around his head until, with a howl of fury, he flung both the mainsail and the jib away. The sails floated awhile, pale, mocking islands among the waves, and were gone. The sloop was adrift. Dominique started to retch. She crawled hastily into the cockpit and hung her head over the side. But her stomach was empty. Nothing came up but a thin, bitter liquid that burned her throat and brought no relief. The man was clinging to the mast, holding himself upright with difficulty against the tossing seas. "Shut up!" he screamed. "Stop that disgusting noise, or I'll kill you right now! " Dominique's voice was a hoarse croak. "Kill me! Go on! You think I want to do this? I'd rather be dead!" The man spat. "Ach! Go ahead, puke up your guts! Lousy, useless slut! You and your stinking boat can go to hell!" He staggered back into the cabin. She heard another crash, a gurgle of liquid, then an "ahhh!" and a belch. He began to sing again, but it was not a sea chanty this time. " Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles! " he shouted, slightly off key. Through the curtain of her soiled hair, Dominique saw a thin streak of light, rising and falling behind the waves astern. Dawn was coming. The necklace of winking lights on the shore seemed more distant than ever. Suddenly, she raised her head. The east! The mainland was behind them! They were drifting westward, toward the island. or, she realized with horror, past the island to the open sea! She tried to get up, but could not balance against the rise and fall of the deck beneath her feet. Gasping with pain from her swollen knee, she crawled to the companionway and yelled at the man sprawled on the settee below. "You had better get up here! Do something! We're drifting away! You hear me? We are drifting out to sea" There was a loud crack. Dominique was thrown head first into the cabin and landed on the man's outstretched legs. Then both were flung, first to the floor, then upward against the bulkhead. The boat creaked and shuddered and, with an almost human groan of protest, sank heavily down on one side. The "Dominique" had run aground.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Barbara Sohmers introduces you to her favorite couple of adventure, Maggy and Fred Renard. Their shared passions, from good food (Fred is an amateur gourmet chef... Maggy just likes to watch) to jazz music, the sea, and the quirks of humankind, will endear them to anyone who loves excitement, romance, and danger in exotic places. 'The Fox and the Puma' is set on an island off the coast of France, full of an unexpected mixture of local farmers and fisherman with more or less affluent vacationers. Summer brings prosperity to some, hardship to others, as the tiny island is invaded by tourists in search of sun and fun. You will meet natives like the Town Crier, beating his tinny drum to announce both good and evil news, and the aging femme fetale, Regine, jealous of her lovely young daughter, and playing her own summer games at the topless beach. A puma escapes from an itinerant circus at the time that a convicted rape. murderer does the same from the island erupts into panic. The Renards will be draw into the investigation. Old hatreds and sins, dating as far back as the Nazi occupation in World War II, begin to surface, and many more ugly secrets will be exposed. Maggy and Fred invite you to sail away with them and their unforgettable dog "Rug," to the sensuous, dangerous world of 'The Fox and the Puma.' 'The Fox and the Puma' is the first Renard adventure. The second will be 'The Fox and the Pussycat,' set in the night world of Paris.

SYNOPSIS

An island off the coast of Franc, a charming French couple Fred and Maggy Renard, sunny beaches, an escaped puma, a convicted rape/murderer on the loose, a nude parly devoured woman's body found on a popular beach. Will the Renards catch the killer before another body turns up?

FROM THE CRITICS

James A. Cox

"'The Fox and the Puma' is brightly written by an author of imagination and a talen for spinning a terrific suspense novel that will keep the reader hoping for more to come." --James A. Cox, The Midwest Book Review

Bowerman