- Pluto in The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is the father of modern crime-fiction so it’s fitting that we start with what is still possibly the most shocking cat story ever. The narrator supposedly loves cats but that doesn’t stop him murdering two of them and then his wife. Of course, it doesn’t end well for him…
Typically, EAP has no problem breaking the unspoken law of crime-writing: never kill the cat.
- Olivia in The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
This book is such a masterpiece of storytelling that it doesn’t even come as a surprise that one of the narrators is a cat. All humans are Teds to Olivia who says, supremely cat-like, ‘I think it’s OK to say that I am beautiful’.
But, like all good narrators (and all cats), Olivia has a secret…
- Charlie in Here to Stay by Mark Edwards
Master of suspense and real-life animal lover, Mark Edwards, often has cats in his books. My favourite is Charlie in this psychological thriller about the in-laws from hell. It’s very comforting that, whatever horrors befall the narrator, Elliott, he never forgets about his loyal pet.
Mark says, ‘You can demonstrate someone’s true character through their interactions with animals, and also by what pet they choose. The men in my books choose cats because they are cool and independent but also a lot more loving than people think.’ Mark also makes this pledge to his readers: ‘the cats always survive.’
- Elvis in the Tom Thorne books by Mark Billingham
All good detectives need a cat and Elvis definitely brings out Thorne’s softer nature. Best-selling author Mark Billingham is not afraid to go to the dark side though. The Killing Habit is about a murderer who starts by killing cats.
- Nelson in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan books by Val McDermid
Nelson (great name!) is the beloved pet of DCI Carol Jordan. Val McDermid is great on the relationship between humans and their companion animals. Let’s just not mention the dog…
- Claude in Something in Disguise by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Claude is a magnificent creation, a black and white cat of ‘almost treasonable appearance’, who is beloved by his owner, despite his monumental selfishness and greed. Claude also plays a crucial part in the plot of this wonderfully dark domestic drama.
- Church in the Pet Semetary by Stephen King
Winston Churchill, otherwise known as Church, is the family pet whose death and subsequent rebirth starts the diabolical chain of events in this classic horror story.
The tradition of cats being associated with evil seems to have started in the sixteenth century. Previously cats were worshipped by the Egyptians and prized for their rodent-killing abilities. But the witch trials of the 1500s recast the animals as ‘familiars’ or sinister companions. The first mention of cats having nine lives comes in a 1584 book called Beware of the Cat, where nine was the number of times a witch could take feline shape.
- Mandy Morton’s Feline Detective Agency
We are on more wholesome ground with this charming cosy crime series. In the first book, slightly confusingly called The Number 2 Feline Detective Agency, feline sleuth Hattie investigates body-snatching at a home for elderly cats.
- Because of the Cats by Nicholas Freeling
What has turned the children of Bloemendaal aan Zee into monsters? Inspector Van der Valk is told it’s “because of the silence and because of the cats”.
- Macavity in Macavity: The Mystery Cat by TS Eliot
Where better to end than with the mystery cat, the master criminal who can defy the law? Even a devoted cat-lover like me can’t deny that they have all the attributes necessary for successful villains. Cats are charismatic and charming, but they are also cold-blooded murderers (ask any bird). And, like Macavity, they have mastered the art of appearing and disappearing at will.
When builders discover a human skeleton in the wall during a renovation of a café, they immediately call in DCI Harry Nelson and Dr. Ruth Galloway. The bones turn out to be modern—the remains of Katherine Sands, who went missing in the 90s. Right before she disappeared, Katherine attended a spiritual wellness course led by none other than Ruth’s dear friend Cathbad.
The police start asking questions and discover that there are other missing women connected to the wellness group. Suspicion soon falls on Cathbad, but believing the druid is innocent, Nelson follows a trail to the famous Neolithic flint mines in Grimes Graves and to an archaeology club. Ruth agrees to infiltrate their ranks to try to save her friend and while there she meets a pivotal figure from her own past. When he realizes that Ruth is in danger, Nelson is finally forced to face his feelings for her. What can the future hold for them after all this time?
Mystery Woman Sleuth [Mariner Books, On Sale: April 25, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780358726487 / eISBN: 9780063286733]
Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels take for their inspiration Elly's husband, who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist, and her aunt who lives on the Norfolk coast and who filled her niece's head with the myths and legends of that area. Elly has two children and lives near Brighton. Though not her first novel, The Crossing Places is her first crime novel.
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