Moved to Murder: A Vivien Brandt Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – South Yorkshire, England
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Troubador Publishing Ltd (June 5, 2024)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 266 pages

Vivien Brandt (forty-something editor, librarian, and future interior designer extraordinaire) has spent decades dreaming about a life in England, and thanks to her marriage to second husband Geoffrey, her dreams are finally coming true. She and her cat Sydney (who is considerably less excited about leaving the warmth of California) are the newest inhabitants of a cosy South Yorkshire village.

But as Vivien meets the locals – including the vicar, a charismatic politician, and a pair of troubled teenagers – she finds she still has a lot to learn about her new home. Especially after she discovers a body in it.

Now she must work with her neighbor Hayley and a somewhat mistrustful police inspector to uncover the village’s secrets and find a killer. Preferably, before the killer finds her.

Because it seems when the chips (crisps?) are down, the only common language between America and Britain… is murder.

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Guest Post

Cats and Cozies: The Purrfect Pairing

Animals have been a frequent feature throughout the history of mystery writing. There’s parrot who repeats something the murderer said that gives the game away. The faithful hound who saves the life of its amateur-sleuth owner and sometimes provides comic relief. (Turner and Hooch, what a classic!) I even read a novel told from the point of some very observant sheep.

But when it comes to cozy mysteries, nothing beats a perspicacious pussycat, whether it’s one that magically speaks, provides felicitous feline clues to the detective, or is simply in the right place at the right time to give aid and comfort.

So ubiquitous is the cat in a cozy mystery that it is often listed as a prerequisite for readers.

For example, I sometimes volunteer at a subscription library in a nearby city, helping to catalogue their collection and hobnobbing with librarians now that my own library career has ended. A few months ago I revealed to them that I was writing the first in a series of cozy mysteries (which became Moved to Murder), and I hoped they would buy it for the library. The questions came fast and furious:

“What will it be about?”

“Will there be cooking?”

“What craft will be involved?”

“How many people are going to be murdered?”

The head librarian stopped them all with a glance before turning to me, her face deadly serious.

“Most importantly, Netta, is there a cat?”

I assured her there was most definitely a cat before answering the rest. (A California expat who marries a Brit and moves to England. A little bit. Interior design. Don’t know yet, I’m still murdering…um, I mean, writing.)

But why are cats considered the ideal companions for our cozy heroes?

There are many excellent reasons. At a recent mystery writers’ conference, I listened to multiple authors bemoan their choice of doggy pets for their protagonists. “I didn’t realise I’d have to work all that dog walking into the plot!” said one. Another complained of the dog’s dependent nature: feeding time has to be strictly observed, as you can’t just leave two days’ worth of kibble and expect Fido to pace himself.

Cats, on the other hand, mostly keep to themselves, and sleeping eighteen hours a day leaves their human companions plenty of time to pursue clues and nab the baddies. Need to take off for a day or two to run down a lead in a distant county? Get a neighbor to drop by once a day and fill the dish. There’s no need to play with Purrsephone, she’d much rather have the house to herself, thank you very much, be on your way now.

There are, of course, other animals that require even less care, but Polly is unreliable with her word soup, and one can’t really imagine getting invaluable assistance from a goldfish. I suppose a poisonous snake could at least bite the malefactor, if she or he was careless enough to break it out of its enclosure, but it seems a bit risky to rely on such villainous incompetence.

Then there’s the matter of intelligence. Let’s face it, ol’ Rover is unlikely to be the sharpest tool in the shed, now, is he? Those puppy dog eyes may look up at you filled with love and devotion, but that alone reveals a certain lack of judgement, eh?

BartholoMew, on the other hand, seems to be constantly assessing your usefulness, glaring at you suggestively (particularly around feeding time), and demanding your total capitulation when a belly rub is required (on his terms, don’t touch the parts he’s warned you off before!).

This discerning attitude also makes the cat essential for identifying evildoers. While your snake is indiscriminate regarding its next victim, we all know cats will greet a feline-loving human with a subtle nod from a distance, leaving a visitor time to get settled before offering them the honor of a stroke or chin tickle.

But cat haters? Your average pussy is on them like sauce on ribs, amping up the meowing and head butting to provide maximum anguish. And they are correct to do so: A dislike of our furry friends is a sure sign of inherent evil!

Lastly, cats are the ultimate comforters when you’ve found a body in your backyard or misidentified a miscreant. There’s nothing relaxing about the squawk of a parrot. The snake lacks empathy (it is, after all, cold-blooded). And the dog? Well, they are exuberant in their affection, but there’s usually some slobber and quite a collection of noxious gases to contend with.

In contrast, nothing soothes like the feel of a furry head cuddled in your neck and the slow rumble of a purr reverberating against your chest. Your cat knows when you’re upset and will do its best to lower your stress level if only to ensure you’re around at supper time.

Of course, there are stories of them climbing into bed with terminal patients in hospitals to provide comfort, so maybe all that attention isn’t such a good thing…

Nevertheless, I’m sticking with the cat as the perfect sidekick for getting the job done. Sydney, the Siamese cat Vivien brings with her to England in Moved to Murder, doesn’t talk or do magic. Much of the time, he’s bent on ignoring his mistress for transporting him to a cold country (until he finds out about radiators). But he’s there to help when the chips (crisps?) are down. Moved to Murder is available now from your favorite retailers. I hope you enjoy it!

About the Author

Like her protagonist, Gianetta is California-raised and moved to England twenty years ago after marrying her British husband. She has worked as a technical writer, knowledge manager, and librarian in both countries. She is currently owned by two cats who are unimpressed by her accomplishments but willing to tolerate her in return for food.

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