By Anita Waller — Bloodhound Books, 2018
A brutal crime takes place behind a drugstore in a quiet English village, leaving a man dead and a university student/part-time escort named Beth (nicknamed Mouse) barely alive. When Vicar Kat and her pharmacist husband, Leon, stumble upon Mouse, they get her to the hospital, where Kat takes an interest in her recovery. More suspicious deaths occur in rapid succession. Both Mouse’s and her grandmother Doris’s lives have been threatened; Mouse’s roommates die in an act of arson. Seeking answers, the three women become amateur sleuths. Doris, twice the age of Kat and Mouse, is the brains of the trio, with IT skills, a brown belt in karate, and gun know-how—all, talents in high demand to solve the case. Neither the local police nor Kat’s husband like it that the women have become so invested, but are they concerned for their safety, or because the women may be on to something?
If you’re drawn to a credible plot and strong female characters, you’re in luck—there are three more books in this Kat and Mouse series.