Street Cat Blues by Alison O'Leary #Review

 I am delighted to welcome Alison O'Leary to the blog today for her debut novel, Street Cat Blues. It is a great cosy mystery told from the perspective of Aubrey, the stray cat.

After spending several months banged up in Sunny Banks rescue centre, Aubrey, a large tabby cat, has finally found his forever home with Molly and Jeremy Goodman and life is looking good.

However, all that changes when a serial killer begins to target elderly victims in the neighbourhood. Aubrey wasn’t particularly upset by the death of some of the previous victims, including Miss Jenkins whom Aubrey recalls as a vinegar-lipped bitch of an old woman who enjoyed throwing stones at cats, but Mr Telling was different. Mr Telling was a mate…

My Thoughts

This is a cosy mystery with a twist. The twist being that it is told from the perspective of Aubrey, the cat, who can listen and overhear all the characters as he goes about on the prowl. He has a distinct personality of his own with his wry observations which bring a smile to the reader's face. I loved his remarks about The Archers ( a BBC programme) which he observes Molly and Jeremy are addicted to. As a fellow addict, I had to smile at his incomprehension about the yearly pantomine.  

    The cast of feline friends and enemies which Aubrey introduces us to add spice to the story. There are some relevant plot lines introduced in this first novel, such as the plight of the illegal immigrants. The real strength is that we get to hear the story through the humans who populate Aubrey's life, through his ears. I love a cosy mystery which this undoubtedly is and I can see many more books which Aubrey will be able to unravel for us. 

In short: A murder mystery with a feline twist.

About the Author

I was born in London and spent my teenaged years in Hertfordshire where I spent large amounts of time reading Agatha Christie novels and avoiding school. Failing to gain any qualifications in Science whatsoever, the dream of being a forensic scientist crashed and burned when a careers teacher suggested that I might like to work in a shop. Later studying Law, I decided to teach rather than go into practice and have spent many years working as a college lecturer teaching mainly Criminal Law to adults and young people.

I live on the south coast with my husband John and cat Archie. When not writing I enjoy crosswords, walking by the sea and drinking wine. Not necessarily in that order.

You can follow Alison here: Twitter    |  Website 

Book links: Amazon UK    |   Amazon US

Thanks to Alison O'Leary, Crooked Cats Books and Rachel of  Rachel's Random Resources   for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

                                                         Check out the rest of the tour!