by L T SHEARER;
An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.
Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade cosy Adult Fiction. There are some books that we just HAVE to read, and this is one of them. Though I have to admit, it crept up on Mrs H, and it wasn't until the publishers contacted us directly that we knew the launch was impending. Given we haven't been able to go outdoors due to the torrents of rain and floods, Mrs H and I, got the chores done and nestled ourselves down on the duvet and got stuck in.
LT Shearer is a calico cat and canal boat lover, and both feature, the former predominantly so, in this adventure. There is nothing finer than a mystery adventure, be it a book or movie, especially when we recorded no actual sunlight on our solar meter. So wherever you guys are, this book is the perfect remedy and Sunday or weekend treat......
AUTHOR: L T Shearer
Cover art by: Unknown at this time....
Published by: Pan Macmillan
Publication date of Hardback: 26 October 2023
Publication date for Paperback 20 June 2024
Paperback ISBN: 978-152 909 80 44
Cover price for Hardback £16.99
Paperback £9.99
Kindle price £7.99
Available on Audible. £7.99
Pages: 336
Age range: Adult
Any
dogs or cats? But of course, this feratures Conrad the talking feline.
SPOILER ALERT
Some as to plot direction and characters.
Thank you to...
We are exceedingly grateful to Charlotte and Team Conrad at Pan Macmillan Publishers for inviting us to Read & Review this much-anticipated book before publication. And to Net Galley for hosting the ARC of the book for us.
As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.
First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.
The plot
We rejoin our protagonists, Lulu Lewis – retired Police Detective Superintendent, and Conrad, the calico cat who now shares her life, having decided to wander aboard her canal boat in London. Conrad is a rather erudite cat, rare for being a male calico. And even rarer, possibly unique, in so much that he can talk but does so only to Lulu.
They have arrived at the Oxfordshire country house-cum-mansion of Julia and Bernard, two long-time friends from the days when Julia and Lulu worked on the force. It is the occasion of Bernard's 60th birthday bash, and Lulu is taking up the invite as an opportunity to catch up on old times with friends she has lost touch with in recent years.
The word 'bash' turns out to be a Freudian slip on my part, as on arrival, there is some turmoil in the home; the day before, both Bernard and an insurance broker that was in the home were attacked. The broker, Billy Russell, died when his head was stoved in by the fireside poker. Bernard was lucky to get away with his life, a dented head bruised aye and shock. With the theft of a group of paintings from the room, it seems like the police have a bungled robbery by two people in black and wearing masks to investigate.
But......
Old habits die hard, and Lulu senses that Bernard's story and the placing of people and timings don't quite add up. But is it too soon for him to remember clearly what actually happened? And then there's the break in itself. They clearly weren't opportunistic and could have avoided the conflict and risk by merely looking through the window. The door they entered by was even unlocked, and yet they smashed the glass. The two beefy men described by Bernard would have been more than a match for Bernard and Billy without resorting to violence. The 'Modus Operandi' was also unlike the recent spate of thefts from local and secluded properties. Yet there is an air of amateurishness about the crime. The pictures taken were all, relatively speaking, cheap by comparison to those nearby worth millions.
Lulu can't help asking police officer-like questions of Julia, who was out shopping at the time. Thankfully, their friendship is good, and they talk things over, but little in the way of new evidence comes to light, or so it seems, from Lulu's perspective. Conrad, however, on a tour of the house, spots blood on the indoor pool loungers. A fact he tells Lulu about later on.
Both Lulu and Conrad stay the night. The following day, they continue to contemplate and investigate the crime, with Lulu discussing the matter with Tracey, the police officer in charge of the case. With the birthday celebration still taking place, the police support leaves the house, and soon after, the guests arrive. It is also where the next murder takes place. That's two thus far. This snowballs, and in the thick of the investigation, Lulu becomes a ride-along helper cum consultant to Tracey who is new to the role. Conrad, of course, goes too, riding on Lulu's shoulders.
It would be remiss if I catually, sorry, 'actually' said the who, where and how. Suffice it to say, the pages start turning quickly as the investigation widens and ultimately narrows down the suspects and comes to its dramatic conclusion. A conclusion aided by Conrad stepping up his game and stepping in, so to speak, to foil a villain.
OK, so as to the actual lists of murder victims, subsequent crimes, the investigation and suspects, you will just have to read for yourselves.
So, what did we think?
Where book one set the scene for our characters, personality, etc. (see my book 1 review HERE), book two is very much about the adventure and the crimes. Don't get me wrong, the new location and crime scene are equally appealing.
There is everything to love about these two adventures; neither seems clichéd, and each is delightfully different (arguably, poles apart) and addictive.
Of course, Conrad the cat has lost none of his magic and is a most excellent foil for ex-Detective Superintendant Lulu Lewis. There are still sage feline replies, but the banter has changed and matured as the two have grown together. One of the great things is how other humans react and interact with Conrad, and how Lulu manages to avert questions about who she is talking to. This does not mean his presence is belittled, far from it.
I have read many cosy mysteries, and the best have a special 'je ne sais quoi', the something extra that elevates them from the slew of similar and frankly repetitive stories. This series reminds me of the writings of the late great Lilian Jackson Braun. There is the same air of confidence and quiet style. Of course, the original cat in her book, Koko, could not talk.
I dearly loved the characterizations in this second book. The secondary characters have a depth that, I must surmise, reflects LT Shearer's observation of life and provides a suitable twist to the plot and our perception of the evidence we are presented and the assumptions we, as readers, make. I do like that.
The plotting works really well, and whilst Mrs H and I always have suspects of our own, I never got the feeling that we knew what would happen to any of the characters. Surprisingly (or not, given the writer's skill) the story ends with a moral question most would be pushed to answer. Where Conrad and Lulu end up next on their canal boat, called The Lark, is anyone's guess. I understand from LT that there are another two adventures in the planning.
So . . . . Crunch time.
Without a doubt, it is as masterful a cosy mystery as ever I have read. Ably mixing cosy mystery and detective fiction with a lovely dash of (ex)police procedural.
This is a page-turner that might just have non-cat owners adopting a cat. Those already blessed with a feline of their own may well already be wondering what crime-solving skills they possess.
Whatever your take on cats, we believe this book will have something for the murder mystery fan and make a perfect Christmas present. Heck, don't wait that long; buy a copy and pass it on!
I, for one, will be cueing up to buy them.
If you're intrigued – and I hope you will be by this review, Mrs H is planning to do a giveaway from her pension, stored in a very deep and hard-to-fathom purse protected by a large, grump, highland hedgehog.
One commenter on this post will receive a copy of book 1, The Cat Who Caught a Killer.
Only comments received up to midnight Sunday 29th October 2023 GMT will be included in the draw. The winner will need to be in an area covered by Amazon, be able to supply a postal address to receive an Amazon delivery and have parental permission where appropriate.
Want to buy a copy?
LT SHEARER appreciates their anonymity (something we applaud) and doesn't have an author web page, but is on Facebook as @LTShearerofficial Look for the calico cat and book cover and you're in the right place.
Pan Macmillan's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.panmacmillan.com/
I
shall leave you with a casual selfie of me. I'm certainly not solving
any crimes, and Mrs H says this is as criminally blatant angling for a
tickle and some treats as she's ever seen!
🙂 🙂
Till laters!
ERin
