The Cat Who Caught a Killer - Stephen Leather

Meet Conrad. Conrad is a cat. You've never met a cat like him before. Neither has Lulu Lewis, until he walks into her life one summer's day. Mourning the recent death of her husband, the former police detective had expected a gentle retirement, quietly enjoying life on her new canal boat, The Lark, and visiting her mother-in-law in a nearby care home.

But when her mother-in-law dies suddenly in suspicious circumstances, Lulu senses foul play and resolves to find out what really happened. And Conrad is with her every step of the way . . .

This is the first book in what has gone on to be a series. I showed it to Hodder and Stoughton managing director Carolyn Mays and she turned it down. She was let go not long afterwards but by then I had found a home for the series at Macmillan, who are a great publishing house.

Because the books are so different from my regular thrillers - they are what they call 'cosy crime' novels and feature a cat that talks - Macmillan decided it would be best to use a pen name. We decided on LT Shearer, which is an anagram of SR Leather.

STEPHEN LEATHER WRITES

This is the first book in what has gone on to be a series. I showed it to Hodder and Stoughton managing director Carolyn Mays and she turned it down. She was let go not long afterwards but by then I had found a home for the series at Macmillan, who are a great publishing house.

Because the books are so different from my regular thrillers - they are what they call 'cosy crime' novels and feature a cat that talks - Macmillan decided it would be best to use a pen name. We decided on LT Shearer, which is an anagram of SR Leather.

The Cat Who Caught a Killer Reviews