Month: May 2026

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: 27 by Stewart Giles

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for 27 (A Jan Norge/Hilda Baker Thriller Book #2) by Stewart Giles on this blog tour.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

27 : A club you definitely do not want to be a member of.

What starts out as a series of seemingly unrelated murders, soon turns into something much darker.
A murderer is killing people, based on the causes of death of the members of the mythical 27 Club.

Detectives Jan Norge and Hilda Baker are baffled. Someone is going to a lot of trouble to get the details right, but none of the officers on the team are able to figure out why they’re doing it.

As the body count increases, Jan and Hilda make a breakthrough of sorts in the form of a tragic accident that happened sixteen years ago, But it soon becomes clear that there is more to it than a simple tragic event. The murderer the press is dubbing The 27 Club Killer has another agenda, and with the list of potential victims running into the dozens the pressure is on for Jan and Hilda to stop the most depraved killer either of them has ever come across.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249077265-27?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=tCqffvFA5Q&rank=2

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

27 (A Jan Norge/Hilda Baker Thriller Book #2) by Stewart Giles is an exciting, fast-paced second book in the new Norge/Baker British police procedural crime thriller series. I have been looking forward to this book to get to know the main characters more intimately and I always know Mr. Giles will give me an intriguing new crime for his protagonists to work. This can be read as a standalone book since it is so early in the series, but the first book, Hakuna Matata is an excellent read, also.

Seemingly unrelated murders are piling up quickly until Detectives Jan Norge and Hilda Baker make the dark connection that the killer is imitating the historical deaths of members of the 27 Club. Discovering the link between the murders is good, but they continue without any indication of stopping as Jan and Hilda work to uncover the why.

I really enjoy this main cast of characters and how they work together. Jan is strait-laced, intelligent and has a strong sense of right and wrong, but he is softened by his backstory and his tripping occasionally over English slang. Hilda is an excellent detective, but she is abrasive and has little to no filter. (I could do with a little less of her bed hopping.) The two do somehow work well together though and make an impressive pair. The plot moves quickly and has several suspects, red-herrings and twists that keep you turning the pages. I was still second guessing the killer right up to the reveal. The integration of the 27 Club history also adds a layer that is very interesting.

As in every Stewart Giles book, you must read and be aware of every sentence right up to the end. While this book has a completed crime plot, the ending has me on pins and needles and I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

I highly recommend this second book in this British police procedural crime thriller.

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Author Bio

After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.

In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later. 3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series. The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.

I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018. After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.

The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow. I also have another series featuring an Irish detective who relocated to Guernsey, the Detective Liam O’Reilly series. There are also 3 stand alone novels.

Social Media Links

Website: https://stewartgiles.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stewart.giles.33

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Norge-Hilda-Baker-thriller-Book-ebook/dp/B0GQHT2CH3/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.j9y5eXysVhfDe8z9DJq2iYmhcLuaZQ22

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Cat on a Hot Tin Woof by Spencer Quinn

Book Description

Chet the dog is less than enthusiastic about the Little Detective Agency’s next case. Chet and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, have been hired to find a missing person—only the missing person is a cat. Miss Kitty, an internet sensation, has disappeared, and Chet and Bernie have been hired to find her before her many followers realize something is wrong.

Miss Kitty belongs to Bitty, a sweet teenage girl who lives with her mom. Bitty and her mother are struggling financially, but the arrival of Miss Kitty and the chance discovery of her social media appeal has changed everything. Bitty now has sponsors, a high-powered agent, and all the tools needed to thrive online, and real money is flowing in. At least, it was. With Miss Kitty gone, the family’s income is on the line.

The case presents a slew of challenges for Chet and Bernie. For one thing, a potential witness is a pig named Senor Piggy who may be in possession of an important piece of evidence. For another, it seems like a possible perp has been killed twice—and there’s evidence implicating Bernie in the crime.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Cat On a Hot Tin Woof by Spencer Quinn has the Little Detective Agency run by Bernie with his furry partner Chet asked to find the internet sensation Miss Kitty, a missing cat. Chet is the narrator and as just as most dog owners, Quinn puts words into his mouth.

Miss Kitty belongs to Bitty, a sweet teenage girl who lives with her mom, Evelyn. Bitty and her mother are struggling financially, but the arrival of Miss Kitty and the chance discovery of her social media appeal has changed everything. Bitty now has sponsors, a high-powered agent, and all the tools needed to thrive online, and real money is flowing in. At least, it was. With Miss Kitty gone, the family’s income is on the line.

The mystery explores social media influencers and the vast amounts of money that companies spend to have their products posted on social media.

Chet is not a fan of cats ever since Chet flunked out of the K9 police academy because of what he did to a cat. There is also a secondary storyline of some trouble in paradise for Bernie’s ex-wife Leda and her hubby.

This is a fun mystery that will keep readers smiling throughout and turning the pages to see who cat nipped Miss Kitty.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the series?

Spencer Quinn: In many earlier books the stories were much darker with a third person narration. I enjoyed writing about dogs, and they were part of the story. My wife suggested the idea of writing mysteries modeled on the Sherlock Holmes narrative where the sidekick tells the story in the first person. But the sidekick should be a dog, not a talking dog. Some people think this series are cozies but since sometimes dark things happen, they are not in that genre.

EC: How did you get the idea for this book?

SQ: When I began this series in 2009, I do not think there were social media influencers. Now we are moving to a society where everyone will be an influencer or influenced. I do not want to be either. The dog, Chet, has always had a problem with cats. I decided to combine an internet famous cat influencer.

EC: What was the role of Kitty the cat?

SQ: As an influencer the cat was very valuable and worth a lot of money. Chet and Bernie were hired to find this cat who was taken very quickly. I came up with the name because it rhymes with Bitty.

EC: How did you come up with the title?

SQ: Chet has a Facebook page. When I have an idea for a book I write a post. Any reader who suggests the title and I use it gets a signed book copy. I love that kind of reader interaction.

EC: Were you influenced by dog owners who put words to the dog thoughts?

SQ: Yes, just as Shakespeare had Hamlet turn to the audience and recite a soliloquy so the audience knows what is going on in their mind. Similarly, we all talk to our dogs and never lie to them. People say what is in their heart to their dogs. They also can communicate with their owner without talking.

EC: How would you describe Chet?

SQ: He is a 100 plus pounder. His ears do not match. Chet is a mix of some sort. He can bounce back to his reset position very quickly, to have joy in life. I love writing in his voice. I try to keep the human qualities out. He is not a human in a dog suit.

EC: What about the relationship between Chet and Bernie?

SQ: They have a great love for each other, the beating heart of this series. To Chet, Bernie can do no wrong.

EC: How would you describe Bernie?

SQ: Bernie is a war hero, heroically saving a lot of those in his platoon. He is not a salesman at all and financially is not doing very well. He is an introvert. He is dogged when trying to solve a case.

EC: What about Evelyn and Bitty?

SQ: Evelyn, the mom, and Bitty, are Kitty’s owners. They are a divorced family. Bitty’s father is a bad guy. They have a stroke of luck when Miss Kitty becomes popular. I am hoping they are seen as sympathetic characters. Bitty has some childlike elemental goodness in her.

EC: What about Leda and Weatherly?

SQ: When the series starts Bernie is already divorced from Leda. Weatherly, his fiancé, is his true match. In some ways she is just like him. There is something magical about her. We are moving toward a wedding. In some books she plays a huge role but with this one she was not in it much. She is in more in the background in this story. Since this series has a multitude of characters and I always want to advance the story some characters have a bigger role than others.

EC: Next book?

SQ: It will be out in April 2027. The title is Raiders of the Lost Bark. The plot has competing paleontologists trying to find the giant desert tortoise thought to be extinct.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.