RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
MURDER UNJOYFUL (Kat and Mouse Mysteries Book #5) by Anita Waller is the fifth and final book in this British cozy mystery series. While set in the holiday season around Christmas, the crime and its consequences are darker and less of a strictly cozy mystery than the others in the series. While the mystery can be read as a standalone, I feel the series should be read in order due to the continued evolution and connections of the main characters.
As Christmas approaches everyone at Connection is making their holiday plans until a new and urgent case arrives at their door. Nineteen years ago, Paul Fraser kidnapped and almost killed Julie Clark. She lived, but she was paralyzed and testified against him in court. The felon, who should have been locked up for life, has been paroled and has failed to report for his monthly check-in. He has disappeared and Julie and her husband are afraid he will return to kill the woman who put him in prison.
Connection is on the case with help from a protection firm to protect the family as they search for Paul Fraser. DCI Tessa Marsden and DS Hannah Granger are also searching for him as he begins to leave dead and wounded bodies in his wake. This case will need everything Connection and their friends have to offer and will take more than they could ever imagine.
This was an excellent end to the series. The mystery itself had me completely engrossed and I was continually surprised by the twists and turns it took before the solution. I was happy for all the ladies of Connection and the partners they have found over the series. That said, there are also some terribly sad occurrences in this book to some main characters that had me so upset, but no spoilers allowed. Everything was tied up in the end and you believe the changes that take place in all the characters lives are inevitable and proper.
I feel this is a great series and I can highly recommend it! Ms. Waller gives you intriguing mystery/crime plots that kept me turning the pages and wonderfully realistic characters that feel as though I should be able to visit them in person.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55921022-murder-unjoyful
***
Author Bio
Anita Waller was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in 1946. She married Dave in 1967 and they have three adult children.
She has written and taught creative writing for most of her life, and at the age of sixty-nine sent a manuscript to Bloodhound Books which was immediately accepted.
In total she has written seven psychological thrillers and one supernatural novel, and uses the areas of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire as her preferred locations in her books. Sheffield features prominently.
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, launched 10 December 2018, and the second in the series, Murder Unexpected, launches 11 February 2019.
The trilogy has now been promoted to a quartet following the success of the first book; she is currently working on book three, Murder Unearthed. Book four doesn’t have a title, a plot, a first sentence… but she remains convinced it will have!
She is now seventy-three years of age, happily writing most days and would dearly love to plan a novel, but has accepted that isn’t the way of her mind. Every novel starts with a sentence and she waits to see where that sentence will take her, and her characters.
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.
Social Media Links
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/anitawaller2015/?ref=br_rs @anitawaller2015
Website: www.anitamayw.wixsite.com/anitawaller
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anitamayw @anitamayw
