CAT & MOUSE
by Justin M. Kiska
March 30 – May 1, 2026
Virtual Book Tour
Hi, everyone!
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for CAT & MOUSE: A Parker City Mystery by Justin M. Kiska on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a PICT giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Twenty years ago, Elizabeth Blakely was the target of a relentless stalker—someone who sent threatening letters, invaded her life, and left her living in fear. The case made headlines. The threats were chilling. And then… it all stopped.
Now, in the summer of 1985, Elizabeth’s past has come roaring back. A new letter appears—eerily familiar and signed just like the ones before. Then her husband is stabbed in their home.
Parker City Police Detectives Ben Winters and Tommy Mason are handed the case and quickly find themselves trapped in a decades-old maze of obsession, secrets, and psychological scars. As they peel back the layers of the original investigation, they begin to suspect the truth was never what it seemed—and the stalker may have never left.
With pressure mounting, the detectives must solve a mystery rooted in the past to prevent another tragedy in the present. But what they uncover will challenge everything they thought they knew about guilt, innocence, and what it means to be a victim.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249061798-cat-mouse?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=cLAC9MOban&rank=1
Cat & Mouse: A Parker City Mystery
Genre: Traditional Police Procedural with a Dual Timeline element
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 31, 2026
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 979-8898202118
Series: A Parker City Mystery, Book 6
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
CAT & MOUSE: A Parker City Mystery (Book #6) by Justin M. Kiska is another intricately plotted and intriguing dual timeline classic detective mystery. The Parker City Mysteries feature two recurring main detective protagonists in the mid 1980’s and two historic crime fighters in the past, but also always in Parker City. Despite spanning various decades or centuries, these crimes consistently exhibit a common theme, clue, or character. You get two exciting well plotted mysteries in one book which can easily be read as a standalone, but I have enjoyed reading all the books in the series.
Parker City 1965. Elizabeth Blakely is one of many women in Parker City receiving menacing letters from an unknown stalker, but her letters are handwritten and very personal. While the women of the town are all terrified only Elizabeth is singled out with escalating crimes. The police in 1965 have little to go on and no clues that help them find Elizabeth’s stalker.
Parker City 1985. After twenty years, Elizabeth and her husband returned to Parker City. She gets another chilling letter which is identical to the threatening letters from before. She and her husband bring the letter to the current police department, and Detectives Ben Winters and Tommy Mason are on the case now. With alternating decade narratives, can Winters and Mason solve this twenty-year mystery?
I always enjoy getting into a new book in the Parker City mystery series. The recurring detective protagonists in 1985, Ben and Tommy, are a smart, memorable, and enjoyable duo that I enjoy returning to in each book. The second past mystery in this book was interesting with the same cast of characters and continuation of the crime in 1965 and 1985. This story pulls you in with the police procedurals in both timelines and the differences in the handling of the case. I was engrossed in both and while not surprised at the conclusion, it was plotted well throughout both timelines. I always find it entertaining that 1985 is classified as historical, but it makes me think about the clues more, which the author is always fair on, because you do not have all the scientific expertise of present-day crime fighting.
I highly recommend this dual timeline historical traditional detective mystery in the Parker City series. I also recommend the entire series which are all worth reading.
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Excerpt
June 1985 . . .
“All I’m saying,” Detective Tommy Mason said to his partner as they walked down the sidewalk, “is that this was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen crazy. You know I’ve seen crazy. But this…this was crazy.”
“I don’t see why a trip to the vet has gotten you so worked up,” Ben Winters, Tommy’s partner, friend, and commanding officer of the Parker City Police Department’s Detective Squad said, shaking his head.
“I’m getting to it. I’m trying to set the mood. Let me tell it, will you?”
Ben rolled his eyes and chuckled but let him continue. He should have known. This was just how Tommy was. The two men had known each other since they were kids. They’d grown up together, gone to school together, joined the academy together, and put on the uniform together. They weren’t just friends; they were more like brothers. Which is why Ben was well aware of Tommy’s penchant for storytelling. The trick was to only believe about half of what he said. Tommy had a flair for the dramatic.
“Just hear me out,” Tommy pleaded, stopping under an awning to get out of the warm sun for a moment. “So, I’m spending the day with Christine, right? And she tells me her cat has a vet appointment. Okay, I mean, I’m not a fan of her cat. Truth is, I hate the thing. It’s pure evil wrapped in fur. But, as the good boyfriend that I am, I said I’d tag along. You know, trying to be sensitive and show an interest in things she cares about blah, blah, blah.”
“You’re terrible,” Ben interrupted.
“Hey! That cat cornered me one morning and tried to kill me.”
“Is this the time you hid in the bathroom like a five-year-old?”
“Really? You’re going to take the cat’s side when I’ve saved your life how many times now?”
“You’re a trained police officer. You shouldn’t be afraid of a little cat. And don’t even try to say you’ve saved my life more than I’ve saved yours.”
Anyone who spent any amount of time around the two detectives, whether on duty or off, knew this is how they talked to one another. They were like an old married couple. Constantly taking shots at each other and making wisecracks. It was their friendly jibes that helped to keep them grounded. Especially when they were working a particularly difficult case. And after only four years as detectives, they’d already seen more than their fair share of tough cases.
“Anyway,” Tommy said. “We take Satan’s pussy cat to this little townhouse out there on 9th. I swear, the sign in the window was written on cardboard, which made me start to question this vet’s credentials. Turns out, she’s some sort of all natural astrological pet healer. I didn’t even know that was a thing. But this vet—and I use that term loosely because she looked more like a gypsy fortune teller—comes out and takes the demon cat—”
“Satan’s pussy cat,” Ben reminded with a smirk.
“Satan’s pussy cat—and puts it on this card table to examine it.”
“Is the cat male or female?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s its name?”
“Hellraiser…it doesn’t matter.”
“I’m just trying to get all the facts,” Ben said, knowing he was getting under Tommy’s skin. “It’s kind of what we do.”
Ignoring him, Tommy continued. “So, Lucifur is on the table, doing everything possible to get away and this voodoo priestess pulls out a tuning fork. She puts her hand on the cat’s back, then she whacks the back of her own hand with the tuning fork and listens. She does it a second time and turns to Christine and says the cat hasn’t been eating because it’s unhappy with where she moved the food bowl.”
Ben stared at him. “You’re kidding me.”
“I shit-you-not. And the worst part is, Christine then paid this hippie. Paid her!”
“I’m really not sure what to say. But I do have a question. Did Christine move the bowl back to wherever it was before?”
“Yes.”
“And?” Ben found himself surprisingly eager to hear the answer.
Tommy looked away, clearly annoyed. “Damn cat ate the whole bowl of food.”
Ben burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. The whole story was so ridiculous. Absolutely absurd yet fitting somehow. Leave it to Tommy to find himself in a situation like that. But he was happy to see his friend getting so serious with someone. He and Christine weren’t just going out on wild dates anymore. They were doing the more mundane things couples did together. This was the longest relationship Ben could remember Tommy ever being in. Long enough that Christine was going to be Tommy’s date at his and Natalie’s wedding. Nat was thrilled. Not just because she liked Chistine, but she didn’t have to worry about Tommy sleeping with one of the bridesmaids now. And with the wedding only a matter of weeks away, it was nice to have one less thing to fret about.
Taking a final sip of the soda he was carrying, Ben tossed the empty cup in the trashcan next to the curb as the two continued walking down Commerce Street.
Today was a special day in Parker City. Six blocks of downtown had been shut down for the Summer in the Streets festival. Shops and restaurants had set up booths, offering local goods, special menus, and giveaways. The sidewalks were packed with residents and visitors. As music from local bands and church choirs echoed through the air.
An event like this would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. In 1978, Parker was devastated by a terrible flood that destroyed the city’s business district, leaving the once thriving commercial corridor in ruins. The damage had been so extensive, most business owners simply boarded up the windows and walked away, leaving empty, derelict buildings sitting for years. Right in the heart of the city.
The economics of the ‘70s had already taken its toll on Parker City to begin with, so the flood was the final nail in the coffin. A once bustling city practically turned into a ghost town in the span of three days as the rain fell and the murky waters surged through the streets. Once it was all over, the destruction was so severe, no one could see a clear path to restore the area. No one except the city’s young, energetic mayor. He made it his mission to return the downtown to its former glory. And though it had been slow going, the fruits of his labor were beginning to show. The abandoned buildings were being cleaned up, renovated, and leased, welcoming new shops and restaurants, and even a small art gallery. There was still a long way to go, but this outdoor market was a chance to show that the city was coming back to life.
As Ben looked around at the crowded festival, he figured at least half the city had shown up, not to mention the out-of-town visitors. Ben wasn’t sure who’d be happier with the turnout, the president of the Chamber of Commerce or the mayor. Regardless, it looked like the first Summer in the Streets was a huge success.
As members of the Parker City Police Department’s Detective Squad—albeit the only members of the Parker City Police Department’s Detective Squad—Ben and Tommy would not usually be on the street like this. But with an event of this nature, they’d been asked to lend a helping hand. Both were happy to do so, though Tommy made it very clear he would not be putting on his old uniform. Not on a hot June day in Maryland. Instead, the detectives were comfortably patrolling while wearing simple white polo shirts with the word POLICE emblazoned on the back and their badges hanging around their necks on silver chains.
If it were up to Tommy, that’s how they’d dress every day. But Ben insisted that they wear full suits and that only the police detectives on television and in the movies wore T-shirts, leather jackets, and jeans. Though he grumbled about it every chance he got, Tommy begrudgingly listened to his supervisor, Detective Sergeant Winters, and put on a suit in the mornings.
As they reached the corner of Commerce and 1st, Tommy glanced up the block. With wooden barricades set up at every intersection, there was no vehicular traffic, leaving cross streets virtually empty. Halfway up that particular block, next to a sandwich shop Tommy frequented, was a Maryland United Bank branch. Looking at his watch, seeing that it was one o’clock, he was just about to suggest they grab a bite to eat when something caught his eye.
A flash of red.
Doing a double take to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, he turned to Ben and asked, “It’s still June, right?”
Ben gave him a puzzled look. “Yeah. Still June. Why?”
“And it’s pretty warm out here today? About eighty-five degrees or so?”
“Right…” Ben nodded.
“Then seeing a guy dressed as Santa Claus would be considered suspicious,” Tommy said pointing up the street toward the bank.
Following his finger, sure enough, Ben saw a man in full Santa gear pacing around outside the bank, shifting his weight nervously, swinging a sack from shoulder to shoulder.
Unhooking the walkie-talkie from his belt, Ben keyed the button on the side and said, “Dispatch, this is PC-12. Come in.”
“Hey, Ben. How’s it goin’ out there, sugar,” the voice crackled over the radio.
“It’s a beautiful day and there’s a big crowd,” Ben answered. “So, Shirley, Tommy and I are looking at a suspicious person outside the Maryland United Bank on 1st. We’re going to check him out.”
There was a momentary pause before she came back with, “I show Spurrier on patrol in that area. I’ll send him your way. Do you have a description for me?”
Ben hesitated. “Um…yeah. It’s Santa Claus.”
“Come again?” she asked, her surprise coming over the radio loud and clear. “I don’t think I heard you right, puddin.’”
“No. You heard me. The guy’s dressed as Santa Claus. Full suit. Sack and all.”
“Well, ho, ho, ho,” Shirley said before sighing off.
Tommy looked at Ben. “So…think we’re looking at a robbery, or just a nutjob?”
Ben shrugged. “Either way, it’s going to be interesting.”
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Author Bio
Justin is a theatre producer, director, and mystery writer who can usually be found sitting in his library devising new and clever ways to kill people (for his mysteries). In addition to writing the Parker City Mysteries Series, which includes Now & Then, Vice & Virtue, Fact & Fiction, Black & White, and Cops & Robbers, he is also the mastermind behind Marquee Mysteries, a series of interactive mystery events he has been writing and producing for nearly twenty years. Justin and his wife, Jessica, live along Lake Linganore outside of Frederick, Maryland with their pups Brownie and Cocoa.
Social Media Links
JustinKiska.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @JustinKiska
BookBub – @JMKiska
Instagram – @JMKiska
Facebook – @JMKiska
Purchase Links
Amazon – https://pictbooks.tours/0TX1Laq3
Kindle – https://pictbooks.tours/RX5nvBBy
Goodreads – https://pictbooks.tours/uZXhOaoO
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PICT GIVEAWAY
https://pictbooks.tours/fDCUcN8A
