Today I am delighted to introduce the first book in the Kat and Mouse Mystery Trilogy, Murder Undeniable.
Katerina Rowe, a Deacon at the church in the sleepy
village of Eyam, has a fulfilled life. She is happily married to Leon
and her work is rewarding.
But
everything changes when she discovers the body of a man and a badly
beaten woman, Beth, in the alleyway behind her husband’s pharmacy.
Drawn to the young woman she saved, Kat finds herself embroiled in a baffling mystery.
When
Beth’s house is set on fire, Kat offers the young woman sanctuary in
her home and soon the pair begin investigating the murder, with some
help from Beth’s feisty grandmother, Doris. But neither the police, nor
Leon, nor the criminals want Kat and Beth looking into their affairs and
the sleuths quickly find themselves out of their depth…
Can Kat and Beth solve the mystery and walk away unscathed?
My Thoughts
This is a very promising start to a new series which I thoroughly enjoyed. The three main characters who emerge, Kat, Beth (Mouse) and Doris are all well-defined and have their own individuality. The story line is well paced with some quite shocking developments and there is a real feeling of jeopardy in the novel. It has the feeling of a cosy crime, a genre I enjoy, but nevertheless, some of the subject matter has a gritty edge.
The three women who drive the story emerge as intelligent and independent thinkers who support each other. It is slightly surprising how quickly Kat bonds with them but in the end, you feel that their friendship is authentic. It is also refreshing to see senior women police officers integrated into the story. I am looking forward to the next in the series when I am hoping that the network of friendships and acquaintances will be revisited.
In short: Strong female leads and a well plotted storyline set the scene for a new series.
About the Author
Anita Waller was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in 1946.
She married Dave in 1967 and they have three adult children.
She began writing when she was around 8 years of age,
writing 'compositions' at junior school that became books with chapters.
In 1995 she sent Beautiful to a publisher and as they
reached the contract stage the publisher went into liquidation. As a result,
the book was consigned to the attic in dejected disgust but in 2013 it was
dragged out again for an enforced complete re-type. The original was written on
an Amstrad 8256 and the only thing that remained was one hard copy.
Anita is not a typist and it was painfully reworked over two
years, submitted to Bloodhound Books who, within three days of reading it,
offered her a contract. 31 August 2015 saw its release into the wide world.
Following the outstanding success of Beautiful, she began a
sequel on 27 December 2015, finishing it on 19 March 2016. The new novel,
Angel, was launched on 7 May 2016.
34 Days followed, with its launch in October 2016. This was
a huge success, particularly in the United States. While this, her third book
in the psychological thriller genre, was flying out in all directions, she
began work on her fourth book.
Winterscroft was a change in genre. It is a supernatural
tale, set in Castleton, Derbyshire, and its release date was February 2017.
While she was writing Winterscroft, it became very clear
from reading reviews that a sequel to 34 days was needed, and she began work on
that. Bloodhound Books launched Strategy, on 10 August 2017.
Her next book, launched February 2018 and entitled Captor,
is a psychological thriller, set exclusively in Sheffield. It was an instant
success, both in the UK and the US.
Then along came Game Players… once more set in Sheffield,
the story involves a group of six children who have each other’s backs to a
remarkable extent. The darker, criminal side of Sheffield is explored, with the
book launching 18 May 2018.
Malignant arrived in the world on 10 October 2018, her
eighth book in three years.
And now Anita is working on her first series, the Kat and
Mouse trilogy, set in the beautiful Derbyshire village of Eyam. The first in
the series, Murder Undeniable, launches 10 December 2018.
In her life away from the computer in the corner of her
kitchen, she is a Sheffield Wednesday supporter with blue blood in her veins!
The club was particularly helpful during the writing of 34 Days, as a couple of
matches feature in the novel, along with Ross Wallace. Information was needed,
and they provided it.
Her genre is murder - necessary murder.
Books:
Beautiful, 2015
Angel, 2016
34 Days, 2016
Winterscroft, 2017
Strategy, 2017
Captor, 2018
Game Players, May 2018
Malignant, October 2018
Murder Undeniable, December 2018
Current WIP, Murder Unexpected, launches February 2018
Thanks to Anita Waller, Bloodhound Books and Emma Welton of Bloodhound Books for a copy of the book and a place on the event.
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