The Cat and The Christmas Kidnapper By L T Shearer
Review written by Louise Cannon
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Looking for a great Christmas present for cosy crime lovers and/or cat lovers? This book is just a fabulous combination, hitting the spot perfectly. The Cat and The Christmas Kidnapper carries intrigue and mystery. Join Conrad the cat detective and retired police detective Lulu Lewis this Christmas for another case to solve. Check out the blurb and my review below for Random T. Tours.
Blurb
Join Lulu Lewis, a retired detective with a knack for uncovering secrets, and Conrad, her extraordinary talking cat, as they take on their latest case. Hoping for a relaxing break, Lulu sets off with Conrad on her canal boat, The Lark, to the picturesque city of Bath to visit friends. But Christmas cheer soon gives way to festive fear when the pair learn of a ruthless kidnapping plot that is plaguing parents in the area. As the kidnappers fuel panic with further demands, the pair must unravel clues faster than Conrad can charm with his witty banter if they are to stand any chance of bringing the criminals to justice in time to save the holidays . . .
Review
Cat owners already know their cats communicate well with their owners, but Conrad is something different. He truly speaks, which reminded me of a novel I read a lot of years ago with a cat community who could speak English and read and do all sorts of things, so The Cat and the Christmas Kidnapper is all rather pleasing. It also fits well with that festive cosy crime vibe.
Bath looks festive at Christmas and the holiday vibe is on, or is it? Retired Lulu Lewis and her rather smart cat are heading down the canal to Bath to visit friends to find themselves with a case on their hands as there is so much crime in the city, with the focus being on kidnappers. Both cat and human are intriguing within themselves, added to that, a crime to be solved and this book has a bit of depth. It is all rather intriguing and entertaining. The manner of which the book is written makes it a book for curling up with your cat and/or festive treats on a cold, wintry night.
Stirling, a town that became a millennium city and hosts a big crime book festival called Bloody Scotland. Now, it is the setting for the latest Jane Renwick book by Val Penny. Discover a bit about this thriller below and how you can get your hands on the book in this spotlight on the Reading Between the Lines blog. Check out the beautiful scenery of Stirling that includes both the Wallace Monument in the forefront and Stirling Castle in the background before the cover.
BLURB
In the second Jane Renwick Thriller by Val Penny, drug cartels collide as crime boss Connor O’Grady returns to Scotland to protect his turf from rival Peggy Cheney, newly released from prison.
DS Jane Renwick and DC Brian Harris are sent to Stirling, where Jane discovers two tragic deaths—a young man and a girl—raising suspicions of a single killer.
O’Grady denies involvement, but can a drug lord be trusted? Set in Stirling and Gartcosh, this tense police procedural thrusts Jane into the heart of a deadly turf war.
The Bad Women see a return to The Brampton Village Mysteries in book 2 of this twisty series. Check out the blurb and my review below as I join the Hobeck Books Blog Tour. Please note, all opinions are my own and nor am I affiliated to anything or anyone.
Blurb
It is a new year and the Covid pandemic is a distant memory for the residents of Wilton Close. If only the sudden death of neighbour Tara Sanderson wasn’t still haunting some of them. But Tara is very much alive in memories, and consciences – in particular, those of friends Ashley Khan, Elspeth Chambers and Clare ‘Bird Woman’ Titchfield.
Then a young woman from a nearby caravan park is found dead in a local quarry. Police conclude it was suicide; she was gravely ill when she died. But is there more to the tragic death than meets the eye?
Attempting to lay ghosts to rest, Ashley becomes obsessed with solving the mystery, finding an unlikely ally in the local police. Her friends insist on helping, too. Clare must make amends after she carelessly let the local vicar snatch her drawing of the scene of Tara’s death. Elspeth seeks atonement for her role in Tara’s unfortunate demise – while doing her best to quell suspicions that the three friends are guilty of a heinous crime.
The trio find themselves trailing the young woman’s suspected killers, pitching them against powerful men determined to keep their own secrets hidden. To stand a chance of defeating their adversaries, the women must find a courage beyond their imagination.
Review
Villages are a great place for a murder mystery. Even in reality, the sleepiest village probably harbours its secrets. None quite as dark as Little Brampton though. There are strong feelings, some which is grief for someone our main characters knew and some because a suicide just might not be that at all…
Ashley Khan, Elspeth Chambers and Clare ‘Bird Woman’ Titchfield are friends whose points of view, along with DC. Kate Peters readers will follow in each chapter. They take it upon themselves to look for murder suspects for a young woman found in a quarry. The search takes you to some interesting places, such as Dolphin Clinic for alternative therapies, it isn’t something you read everyday. There are a few original ideas, such as this one within the plot that stand out an pique interest.
The book has that sinister, cosy crime feel, with many twists, intriguing characters and a whole lot of clues and red-herrings to keep you guessing and turning those pages.
Firstly, author, Andrew Raymond was the author for Crime In the Spotlight reading a section from one of his new books from the DCI Lomond series. He sounds an author worth checking out. I have a book to review and he informed me there’s another on the way… Now, onto the main event…
Sitting and watching a conversation between Richard Armitage and Denise Mina is fascinating. It just flows and instantly captivates. They know how to hook you, not only into their books, but a little into their worlds. They make you think, some of the talk was highly relatable, some of that, for me, on sad notes, but still… That’s the beauty and skill of their conversation, whether they were talking about easy topics or more difficult, heart-rendering ones, they made you feel it, they made you understand a time, a place, a person. They’re highly talented and together are a powerhouse, ultimately, giving a powerful, moving talk about their books and also incredible insights through their experiences…
Richard Armitage, known for screen and on the page. He’s known for Spooks, The Hobbit Trilogy and Obsession, topped the bestseller chart with his sensational debut thriller Geneva and his new cold case novel is The Cut.
Denise Mina has collected a shelf load of awards in a glittering career, including the McIlvanney Prize, CWA Daggers, and two Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year awards. Her new novel is The Good Liar. She studied forensic science for cross examining in the lawyers world. It was insightful how she talked about some forms of evidence now not being considered reliable, such as bite marks and blood splatters and such things used pre-DNA. She also pondered why so many people in prisons are of the working class. More about her book later…
After being very impressed by the story-telling of Geneva, liking it more than I expected, I remembered Richard Armitage mentioning The Cut last year. It’s now published and is an excellent book. His talk about The Cut is heart-rendering and sincere. If you were bullied in the 90’s you’ll really feel the emotion of what was an incredibly powerful and moving talk. The Cut takes place between 1993 and present day and sounds pacey and atmospherically intense as he delves into the corrosive nature of bullying and sounds like there are many twists and turns along the way…
Richard Armitage talked about how he is interested in the person you’d say was the villain of the piece, what caused the effect. Perhaps, refreshingly and original, he said he would like people to be divided by that particular character in the book.
Denise Mina’s novel, The Good Liar, is about a Glaswegian in London, as well as examining this, also looks at the effects of a chaotic family structure and climbing the social ladder to find safety, but is that all a pretence? Is it really a safer place in life to be?
There was interesting chat about how Scots in London downplay their Scottishness, in a way that then no one can quite place you. I found this recognisable when in London, but then again, I don’t have the accent of my home town either, even when coming from there, so it can be fun playing “guess where I come from,” or, I’ve just thought, could be used more mysteriously and not just for a bit of entertainment.
Both books involve young people and flawed characters, but the authors also, interestingly discussed families in present day with chaotic lives and how children are desperate to get those “Likes” on social media platforms. Then, how some parents also like to live vicariously through their children instead of leading their own lives… It was a thought-provoking discussion they had.
Whilst talking about audiobooks, Audible in-particular and then going to book format, Richard Armitage talked about the musicality of writing for audio format and stripping back to present scenes and more, which, like accent descriptions etc are added in the printed book. He disclosed how he had to present a manuscript to Audible before they signed everything off. It shows, even with a celebrity status, it wasn’t an instant yes, nor was it just for the sake of it.
Denise Mina has done an audio piece as well that had to be read in a P.G. Wodehouse like rhythm. Having just seen the fabulous Wodehouse In Wonderland play starring Robert Daws, I knew exactly what she was talking about. I had to smile at this unexpected linkage.
This fascinating talk concluded with the excitement that Geneva and The Cut are optioned for TV. It’s one of many stages which may or may not go ahead, but it’s a start and something for you to perhaps remember he felt confident enough to mention it at Bloody Scotland.
There will be more books to come from both authors…
Daughters In Danger: Adele Parks, Luca Veste, Heidi Perks
Review and photo by Louise Cannon
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
If psychological thrillers is your bag, the good news is, Adele Parks, Luca Veste, Heidi Perks all have new books out now.
This talk was captivating, all about family ties and exploring that as an arc throughout their books. It’s an engrossing subject to explore, how seemingly ordinary, everyday sorts of families harbour secrets, and have big life-changing events happen within them that creates for uneasy, uncomfortable atmospheres. In this case, they talked about daughters triggering their mother’s greatest fears…
The authors presented the topic very well, sparking curiosity about their characters and a desire to dive in deeper to find out more and see how their characters relate to each other and what sparked something rather untoward happening.
The authors talked about authors they liked. Luca Veste, especially pricked up my ears in this as he mentioned Will Carver. I have read and reviewed many books by Will Carver and also recommend him. The conversation also turned to Richard Osman, which seemed warm and they all wished they could have his ideas for books. I think all the authors on the panel and the ones aforementioned all have great ideas to weave into making a page-turning story.
Turns out Heidi Perks also recommends the podcast – Red Handed which focuses on True Crime.
Interestingly, Adele Parks doesn’t watch or listen to anything horrific.
Here are the author’s latest books: Our Beautiful Mess is a book I bought and will be reviewing at some point.
Bloody Scotland Panel – Dark Islands Featuring Morag Pringle, Ronnie Turner, Chris Barkley
review written by Louise Cannon
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Morag Pringle’s book is The Final Truth. She used to write medical romances for Mills & Boon, which appears of higher quality writing than perhaps some readers give credit to. She mentioned about the high standards and high quality that has to be adhered to and met, which in-turn honed her skills.
Ronnie Turner’s book is Small Fires she is interested in folk lore, fairytales, nature vs nurture, identity, beauty, psychology. Now, this sounds an intriguing, yet winning combination to explore.
Chris Barkley talked of Man at the End of the Stair being a metaphysical, locked room mystery.
I read and reviewed this book and it is thought-provoking with strong themes and exceedingly atmospheric. It pulls you in with its ability to intrigue and its intensity.
They drew you into their talk of their islands, creating a sense of dark, moody atmosphere as they talked of losing phone signals, creating a claustrophobic feeling. Folklore and myth being woven together like a tapestry. Ronnie was especially interested in this and in-turn made you enter that world.
Chris Barkley brings up many thought-provoking points, such as an island being a psychological symbol. They all mentioned how trauma and guilt is a journey. You could tell, they really examined these traits of the human condition and the what happened to a person to cause trauma.
Their books aren’t all heavy, they explained how there is a sweet innocence thread through them to lighten the themes and reading experience up a bit.
The talk was really fascinating, especially at the beginning and the middle. Some of the talk of writing experiences was interesting too, but it did feel like it lingered there a little too long, when the interest was that feeling of being or actually being on an island.
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 