Cover Image: The Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn

The Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn

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Member Reviews

“In case I’m not back when you arrive, Rex Cook spotted Walter near the Hanging Barn – YIPPEEEE! I’m going over to get him while he’s still there. Cherry cake in the cake box, see you later. Clarice xx”

My thanks to Little, Brown Group U.K. Constable for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn’ by Kate High. My apologies for the late feedback.

First published in 2021, this is the first book in her Clarice Beech series of cosy mysteries set in Lincolnshire.

Six months ago Clarice separated from her husband, Detective Inspector Rick Beech, though she is finding life without him difficult. She works with ceramics and also encourages local artists. The other great passion in her life is animal rescue.

When Lady Vita Fayrepoynt contacts her about the disappearance of Walter, her adopted three-legged ginger cat, Clarice is happy to help with the search. She finds him snug and quite well in a ruined building, known as the Hanging Barn, as it was where justice was carried out locally up until the mid-18th Century.

However, Clarice also finds a dead body in the barn and has an accident that lands her in the hospital with a broken foot. So, she spends a lot of the novel hobbling about on crutches.

The case also brings she and Rick together as Clarice enjoys a bit of sleuthing. They try to understand the reasons behind the murder that has shaken their rural community. Of course, a darker underside to the small town is revealed in the process as well as more bodies.

I found ‘The Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn’ an enjoyable cosy mystery and appreciated the role played by Clarice’s rescue cats and dogs. Since its publication there have been two further books in the series with another due in 2024. I hope to read these at some point in the near future.

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Clarice Beech has two passions in life: animal rescue and Detective Inspector Rick Beech. She is devoted to the first but she and Rick have been separated for the past six months - life without him is hard. Meanwhile, she is still known as a bit of a sleuth and continues to work on her ceramics to which she shares this love with the elegant Lady Vita Fayrepoynt.
When Lady Vita’s 3 legged rescue cat Walter goes missing, Clarice is brought in to help search for him. Upon finding him in an old decrepit barn with a missing roof, Clarice falls from the roof beams and lands straight onto the dead body of Rose Miller…
Can Clarice and her separated husband Rick work together to find out what happened to Rose? What will happen when they are pulled into the world of blackmail, scams and violence?
This was a perfect cosy crime read full of some wonderful characters and lots of loveable animals. Where the storyline was a little predictable in places, it did not stop me from reading, immersing myself into the story completely and thoroughly enjoying it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I hope this the first in a series because I thoroughly enjoyed and would be happy to read other stories featuring these characters.
It's an engrossing and entertaining story that kept me hooked and guessing.
I loved the likeable and fleshed out characters and the solid mystery full of twists and turns.
It's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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The Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn is an engaging début that I found very fresh. I really enjoyed the mystery with its copious twists and turns - the developments were well-paced, and the tension really peaked in the second half. There was a lot going on and Kate High did an excellent job of pulling in all the loose ends in the final stages.

Set in rural Lincolnshire, England, artist and amateur sleuth Clarice was a very likeable lead; I found her kind, realistic, intelligent and also very level-headed. I enjoyed reading about her animal rescue activities and many cats though this part of the story did not overshadow the mystery. The secondary characters were deftly drawn as well, including Clarice’s estranged husband DI Rick Beech and Clarice’s loyal friends.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to friends, family and crime lovers; it’s a fantastic read that left me wishing I could immediately move onto the next in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Little, Brown Book Group via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

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I’m a sucker for a cosy mystery and if that mystery happens to include cats or dogs then I’m suckered, this book has both.

Clarice lives a near idyllic life in Lincolnshire, she is a skilled ceramic artist and she also is the go to person in her neighbourhood for looking after animals with nowhere else to go. Her life would be fully perfect if her policeman husband was still at home and not living elsewhere.

Whilst on the lookout for one of her neighbours rogue cats she not only finds the missing moggy hiding in a local barn but when the floor gives way beneath her she also comes across a body. The body belongs to a local woman, Rose, a woman whose past seems a little bit dodgy to say the least.

Clarice’s discovery brings her back in to the path of her ex-husband Rick, despite his insistence she doesn’t get involved, she finds herself looking in to Rose’s past and discovers that she was definitely not who she said she was and when less than savoury relatives of Rose’s turn up, Clarice finds herself looking over her shoulder. She also discovers that the murder may lead to a murkier secret which may cause a local family to give up their secrets.

This was an enjoyable read, some cosy crimes can be a bit twee but this wasn’t, it was the perfect balance of fun and crime and you could almost imagine Miss Marple inserting herself in to the picturesque setting.

A fun read, perfect for all cosy crime fans.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a fun read and a promising new quirky mystery series.

My only real criticism is that there were a lot of characters to try and remember, plus I felt the story meandered a little at times.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

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Well that was fun! That Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn by Kate High is an enjoyable read. It's a gentle murder mystery with a varied cast of characters and an evocatively realised setting. Clarice, the main character, is likeable and balanced - no great flaws and not too saccharine - whilst those around her, although not all as successful stay the right side of stereotypical. I would have to see that the writing and plot pacing are a bit uneven, but for a debut it's remarkably assured. I very much this heralds a long series. If it does I'll be eagerly reading what follows.

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A ceramicist may be an unlikely detective but this new mystery series places Clarice Beech firmly at the forefront. The dedicated animal lover – who has an interesting relationship with her estranged husband, DI Rick Beech – feels she’s met a kindred ceramics soul in the form of Lady Vita Fayrepoint. When Walter, a three-legged cat goes missing, Clarice is on the hunt. She injures herself in the process but also manages to find a dead body, someone Clarice knows and who has died in suspicious circumstances. Of course, she wants to dig deeper, and her detecting leads her into a world of blackmail, untruths and violence. It has the cosy crime feel of someone like MC Beaton but with a more sinister, darker undercurrent. I rate Clarice as an amateur sleuth; she doesn’t jump ahead or make outrageous suppositions, which means the reader doesn’t feel cheated by the denouement. More please.

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Clarice Beech loves her cats, she rescues and then sets about rehoming them. This, amongst other things out a strain on her marriage and he moved out but she never stopped loving him. One of her rehomed cats has escaped and while trying to catch it she slips off a beam in a barn and lands on a dead body. Whilst in hospital her estranged, soon to be ex husband, who is in the police, visits her and they end up teaming up to solve the murder.

Absolutely loved this story. There is a lot going on with lots of twists and turns and a few red herrings. I love a good cozy 'whodunnit' and this is up there with the best of them. Great plotline it totally had me fooled. Turned into quite the page turner as you are drawn in to try and work out who did it. Brilliant debut novel. I hope this turns into a long series.

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Introducing Clarice Beech....
Introducing Clarice Beech, sometime amateur sleuth in this delightful debut cosy mystery. With a likeable protagonist in animal lover Clarice, a colourful cast of supporting characters and a wholly entertaining plot this is an enjoyable, escapist read.

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What delightful start to what I hope is a new series. Clarice, an artist specializing in ceramics works from home in a converted outbuilding. She is also heavily invested both financially and emotionally in local animal welfare, often taking in injured and problem cats and dogs. It is no surprise when she receives a call about a lost cat spotted near the Hanging Barn. Off she goes to rescue3 legged Walter. Climbing up the rafters is not a good idea in a derelict barn, but Clarice is determined to follow Walter and bring him home. Almost in reach, she leans forward and the rafter breaks. Concussed, it takes a while for Clarice to come around and when she does, she finds Walter placidly sitting on her and underneath she finds a decaying corpse!
This is a great read and I hope more will follow. Thank you to netgalley and Little Brown for an advance copy. Highly recommend.

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She definitely had me fooled, Kate High - the author of The Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn, because there were unexpected twists at the end.

I have to say, there were quite a lot of people involved in this story, lots of names had me confused like Mary and Maggie; Bob and Bill; Laura, Linda and Lucy; Paula and Peggy...
And I kept wondering who Ena was, but you'll remember Ena in the end. She is the one majestically sitting on top of kitchen table.

If this is a series, I'm looking forward to a next book!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

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Wao. I was hooked.
Clarice Beech has two passions in life: animal rescue and Detective Inspector Rick Beech. She is devoted to the first but she and Rick have been separated for the past six months - life without him is hard.
Clarice shares her other love, for contemporary ceramics, with the charming Lady Vita Fayrepoynt. When Vita's adopted three-legged ginger cat Walter disappears from Weatherby Hall Clarice is called in to find him. Walter, snug in an old barn, is quite well. But his discovery ends with Clarice in hospital, and Rose Miller, late of the Old Vicarage in the morgue. There is nothing natural about Rose's death...Putting their differences aside, Clarice and Rick are drawn together to try to understand the murder that has shaken the rural Lincolnshire community.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book UK for giving me an advanced copy.

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