A cosy mystery which is a solid debut. An ex-cop detective is not a new idea but a female, recently widowed one isn’t something I’d seen before nor was the talking cat sidekick. This is an easy read and I would look forward to reading a sequel.

I got The Cat Who Caught a Killer by L T Shearer for free from NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

The Cat Who Caught a Killer by L T Shearer is a cozy mystery where Lulu a former police detective living on a canal boat in London and a talking cat called Conrad investigate the sudden death of Lulu’s Mother-in- Law.


The Cat Who Caught a Killer on one hand is an enjoyable mystery novel, with all the standard parts of this genre, from an engaging main character, a puzzle which this reader at least found interesting, as well as a number of engaging characters some of which could have been the murderer at some point in the story, with the number of red herrings throughout the book.

Having said that their were times when reading The Cat Who Caught I thought it that the story started to almost become fair to political for what is in essence a cozy mystery. I am not saying that a novel were a lot of the main characters are mature, that there should be no looking back saying how better things used to be.

Having said that L T Shearer did have me looking out for back in my day comments, which is not something that has happened before.

Having said that I must praise the novel on its main character Conrad the talking cat, for me he stole the show with not only what he said but in the way he said it was such a high lite of the novel for me.

What really engaged me about Conrad was the way he explained about what is good or bad for cats and the reason why.

All this make The Cat Who Caught a Killer by L T Shearer, a must read for cat and cozy mystery lovers.

I gently enjoyed this cosy crime story. It was predictable but I enjoyed the whimsical nature of the story. I am a cat lover and the thought of a talking cat entertained me!

An easy going story with an array of interesting characters.

A light read but enjoyable.

Having many years ago enjoyed the 'Cat Who' Mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun, I was eager to read this book. I like Conrad, the talking Calico cat, he is the best character in the story, and in many ways, it would have been better to tell it from his viewpoint rather than the ex-detective Lulu. The simple plot is easy to follow, and there are a few suspects and false leads, but it's not difficult to establish the antagonist characters in this story.

Whilst the author is trying to reflect older and somewhat disillusioned characters, some of the outdated viewpoints expressed through the characters detract from the plot's cosy aspect.

I like the cat detective and feel that Lulu's character has potential as an amateur sleuth, but it needs to be easier to like her and her detective sidekick to achieve its cosy potential.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I was intrigued by the title of this book and when I read the blurb, I thought I’d give it a go. I’m so glad I decided to read this book as it’s a quirky, cosy crime story.
It took a while to get used to the cat talking to Lulu but then I quite enjoyed his insights into life.
Emily’s mother in law passed away suddenly and Lulu is convinced she did not die of natural causes. Proving this is easier said than done though.
With Conrad the cat helping her though, Lulu is soon on the trail of the killer and together they work on finding the killer.
I’d love to know what happens next for Lulu and Conrad.
A great book that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

An enjoyable enough read, but I felt that despite the (many) unusual and quirky characters, the rather idyllic sounding setting in Little Venice and the clever plotting it didn’t quite come together for me as a complete “package”

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

If you love a good cosy crime with great characters, a good plot, and cats, you have to read this book.
Retired DI Lulu Lewis is enjoying living quietly on her canal boat. Her husband was killed in a hit and run 3 months earlier and Lulu can’t face living in the home that holds so many happy memories.
One day Lulu sees a beautiful Calico cat on the towpath, before she knows it, he has hopped on board and said hello! Getting over her disbelief at a talking cat, Lulu and Conrad quickly bond.
When Lulu’s beloved Mother-In-Law, Emily, dies suddenly in her care home, Lulu’s “coppers instinct” tells her something isn’t right. With Conrad’s help she begins to investigate but soon finds herself with more questions than answers. If Lucy can get to the bottom of Emily’s death, she may just solve more than one crime.

This is an easy read - a crime novel with a slightly different pairing of protagonists (Lulu, an ex-detective living on a canal boat in London’s Little Venice, and Conrad, a calico cat that befriends her). It’s genteel and somewhat original, although largely predictable, too.

When Lulu’s mother-in-law, Emily, dies suddenly, it marks the start of a mysterious investigation into what happened to Emily. Conrad is a perfect partner to Lulu - a clever cat who talks, although only Lulu can hear him. There are some of the usual tropes - a wicked sister-in-law, various red herrings and potential suspects. Admittedly, this novel isn’t ground-breaking but it does have a playful side - and having a calico cat myself, I’d like to think she would be as savvy as Conrad!

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

Quirky read! Books need more cats in them!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
As an animal lover and fellow author of animal/pet lit, I was immediately interested in this book. I was surprised to find the main character, Conrad the Calico cat, was a talking cat! Usually, films and books which feature animals and people talking to each other don’t work for me. I probably wouldn’t have chosen to review the book if I'd known that. However, I’m so glad that I did! For the first time, a story featuring a talking animal worked for me.
The Cat Who Caught a Killer is well-written and easy to follow. Conrad is a likeable character and one I’d definitely like to read more about. He and Lulu make a good team, and L T Shearer has made the concept of living in Little Venice a lovely one!
The Cat Who Caught a Killer is a cosy mystery which I enjoyed reading – although I’d have liked there to have been a bit more of a twist. I had a pretty good idea who the culprit was halfway through the book, but I still enjoyed the story and found it easy to follow.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

So let me start this review by saying, this book wasn't for me, which was a shame as the premise of a cat-solving mysteries sounded really interesting.

Firstly, I felt like the writing was a bit fractured and sometimes took me out of the story. It felt like I was constantly reading the same conversation, but with different characters. I felt like the story itself was dragged out, and I became bored in the middle, as it became repetitive.

Secondly, I didn't like the character of Lulu herself. Yes, I understand that she was a retired police officer, who loved looking back at the good old days. But a lot of the things that were told through the character just didn't sit right with me. Constantly, complaining about younger people and technology became repetitive and annoying. And don't get me started on her ex-partner wanting to go back to times when you could be jokingly racist to someone.

Thirdly, the setting. I have a lot to say about it! As someone who actually lives in the area where the book is set, I think the author is wanting to glamourize it too much. I constantly felt like maida vale and the surrounding areas were being pushed onto the reader, and it sometimes made the book read like a tour guide of the area. It became annoying when the author was constantly dropping facts every few paragraphs about the area!

Lastly, this book was a mystery, and while there was a mystery it was lackluster. It was easy to see where it was going from the beginning and I felt like we were led to the other characters to make the book longer. Some of the plot points didn't make any sense and could have been left out. I guess the only thing I kind of liked in the book was Conrad the Cat, but even his "meow" at everyone they met became repetitive. It definitely had the good premise to be a good book, but the execution fell flat.

A gentle cosy mystery. I wasn't expecting a talking cat and it's odd that as a cat lover it didn't work much for me. The cat's speech seemed somewhat repetitive.

There was quite a bit of information dumping to explain backgrounds to places etc which, for me, drew me out of the story.

Some of the attitudes and viewpoints in this book are outdated, such as Lulu missing being cat-called. It felt uncomfortable.

A likeable enough story if you can suspend your disbelief about a talking cat.

The plot

A delightful modern cosy mystery set around the events after the death, seemingly from dementia, of Emily Lewis, who had been in a care home of outstanding repute.

The book opens with Lulu Lewis, Emily's daughter-in-law, looking out the galley window of her canal boat, moored at Little Venice, not far from Maida Vale in London. She moved from her home after the death of her husband two months earlier, and since Emily went into the care home. A calico-coloured cat, unusual as its a tomcat where most calicos are female, strides purposefully by the window and jumps aboard. Welcoming her first visitor to the barge, she casually asks the cat if he would like a saucer of milk. Much to Lulu's surprise, the cat answers quite matter-of-factly that he's not one for milk. He goes on to say that most cats aren't. Not unsurprisingly, Lulu is aghast and thinks she's dreaming. Which of course, she isn't, and the cat, Conrad, is a 100% talking, thinking cat, though the glass of wine was purely in jest.

With Conrad neatly wrapped around her shoulders, Lulu heads to see Emily. Conrad senses Emily is a good person and the two bond. One of the nurses takes a picture of the three, so it can be placed on Emily's wall to help her remember. Taking a chocolate from Emily's box, Lulu and Conrad leave. It is the last time either will see Emily alive, for when Lulu arrives the next day, Emily has passed away.

Now, cosy mysteries being as they are, things start to unfold. As Lulu is a retired police detective, a first-rate detective, she starts to question the suddenness of it all. As Conrad points out, Emily's aura was one showing good health and a person at ease. She definitely wasn't sick. Yet, the doctor has stated her cause of death as old age and dementia.
From here on in, we get into the thick of family arguments, wills, missing evidence, and some shady characters. With little to go, save a visitors list at the care home, and some pictures taken by the nurse, Lulu and Conrad set off to investigate, calling in favours from pals still on the force.

I have to say I loved this mystery. It may be considered by some a cosy mystery, but it has a much bigger feel, worthy of the Morse of Colin Dexter, Danny Boyle, or even Agatha Christies's Hercule Poirot!
Conrad's arrival on the scene is pure magic.

The dialogue in the opening pages is fluid and just what one might expect from a feline encounter of the talking kind. I found myself laughing at the retorts and hoping the story would continue in the same vein, which I am happy to say it does, without the feeling of ever getting old or worn.

The book also deals very well with the subject of dementia for those left behind and those afflicted. I found this hard as this has touched my family, like many others. There was never any sense of the subject being given anything other than due respect.

All in all, I desperately want to see this detective due, placed wonderfully in the heart of London and uniquely on a barge, go from strength to strength and on to equally as interesting new cases. Undoubtedly a 5 Star book for lovers of mysteries with a modern flavour and compelling characters and storyline.

A really good read. Conrad and Lulu made such a good team. Although I worked out “whodunnit” reasonably early in the book, it was great following the trail from clue to clue and seeing how the team came to their conclusion. I have cats and it was interesting reading how Conrad interacted with people and how they responded to him. These were characters you could relate to. The storyline was good and kept you interested through to the end.

onrad quinted at her quizzically. 'You keep looking for a reason as to why I'm here,' he said.
'Because it's strange. It's not every day I get approached by a talking cat.'
'Don't overthink it, Lulu. Sometimes paths just cross, that's all there is to it.' [loc. 115]
Lulu (named after the singer) is a retired police detective who lives on a narrowboat in Little Venice, a quiet upmarket area of London. She used to live in her mother-in-law Emily's house nearby, but Emily's now in a nursing home and Lulu, recently widowed, couldn't deal with living alone in the house.

One day Lulu welcomes aboard a special visitor, Conrad the Calico Cat. (Most calicos are female, but not this one.) She knows Conrad's name because he introduces himself, very courteously and patiently, and finally gets her to accept that yes, talking cat. He rides on her shoulder when she goes to visit Emily -- and when Emily unexpectedly dies that night, Conrad (who can see auras, gauge health and guess what Lulu's thinking) agrees with Lulu's suspicion that Emily's death wasn't natural.

This is a charming and heartwarming cosy crime novel, with two very likeable leads and decent pacing. There were some aspects I would have found more bothersome in a less cosy book (the way both Lulu and Conrad love to infodump local history; the repetitive banality of tea-making descriptions; the occasional hint of Daily Mail sentiments; the fact that the villain is so very obvious from the moment they appear). But Conrad and Lulu's relationship, and especially their kindness to one another, turned out to be just what I needed. I also liked the setting, with Lulu's life on the canal, her friends in the community, and the sense of place. I was thoroughly charmed, and I look forward to reading more in this series.

Lulu is living on the canal when a calico cat jumps aboard and starts talking to her. His name is Conrad. Her husband did three months ago and then suddenly her mother in law dies. What is going on and can the cat help?

Brilliant novel and great storyline plus great characters. Plenty of intrigue and I advise you read and hopefully enjoy it as much as I did.

Didn't expect to like this book, didn't think it was my type of thing, wasn't expecting an actual talking cat. Turned out that I did like it; it was my type of thing and there was indeed a talking cat (which surprisingly wasn't too irritating but was a little twee). Definitely worth a read if you're a fan of cosy mysteries and still an entertaining read even if you're not.

The cat who caught a killer should really be the cat who helped catch a killer as it is between Conrad the talking Callico cat and ex detective Lulu Lewis that help solve the crime, Basically, without giving to much away, Lulu lives in a houseboat after the bit and run death of her husband when she's approached by a talking cat, which to be fair she takes quite well without any worries for her mental health.
what follows is a cute cosy crime novel that wasn't very brain taxing but still an enjoyable experience, it was a bit repetitive in places and I think shares of a particular brand of water might go up after reading this but it is a quick and pleasant read.

I liked the idea behind the novel and the execution of that idea was impressive. The writing style was simple and effective and the overall flow of the story felt very smooth. I read this book in one sitting. as I really wanted to get to the end to see if I guessed the mystery right.

Loved the talking cat, but there was quite a few things I jus didn't get on with. Lulu as a character I just didn't like, eg she misses getting Cat called. The plot had high expectations for me but it fell flat, the writing was simple and straightforward and nothing seemed to be woven together. Very easy to read but jus didn't do it for me.