The Kensington Kidnap: An absolutely gripping cozy murder mystery

Katie Gayle

Dec 2020 · Bookouture

About this ebook

‘I absolutely raced through this’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A cozy mystery at its finest!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘My new favourite female sleuth!... Wonderful’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I really loved this book’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Meet Epiphany Bloom: devoted cat owner, well-meaning walking disaster zone – daring detective?

Epiphany lives in a cozy corner of London, scraping a living from a baffling variety of odd jobs. But lately work has been hard to come by, and now even her beloved cat Most is feeling the pinch. The trouble is, every job she has ends up going wrong somehow. When an office temp assignment with a private investigator leads to her mistakenly being set on the trail of a missing boy, it seems this time is doomed to be no exception!

Matty is the young son of wealthy but distant American parents, and Epiphany would desperately like to believe he’s just run away so she can go back to temping and collect her pay cheque in peace. But he doesn’t know anyone in London – where would he run to? And there’s been no word from him for days.

In a battle between her soft heart and her empty wallet, Epiphany’s heart wins every time. Most will just have to endure the value cat food a little longer…

As rumours reach her that one of Matty’s few friends is also missing, now presumed dead, she realises she’s running out of time to bring him home safe. Her investigation takes her from grand Kensington mansions to scruffy East End cafes, where she finds a clue that will crack the case at last.

But by now she knows how far the people who have taken Matty will go to get what they want – will she be able to reach him in time?

A warm and light-hearted cozy mystery for fans of M.C. Beaton, T E Kinsey and Joanne Fluke, featuring an irresistible new heroine.

Readers are loving The Kensington Kidnap

‘Epiphany Bloom is my new favourite female sleuth!… What a wonderful character… I am looking forward to more from this author!’ Netgalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A cozy mystery at its finest!… I loved everything about this story, total Janet Evanovich ‘Stephanie Plum’ vibes! This Epiphany Bloom cozy mystery took on a life of its own! I found much joy in playing amateur sleuth right along with Pip.’ Misty’s Corner Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘It’s a giggle a minute joining Pip in her adventures… Addictive and amusing… I just loved Epiphany Bloom. She’s a fabulously funny, frivolous character who can make the sun shine even on the most gloomy of days… Fans of cozy mysteries should find this book a sheer delight!’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Fun. Witty. Wonderful. A lively, lovely feel-good read. I absolutely raced through this brilliant story. Wonderful escapism during these troubled times. Highly recommended.’ Renita D’Silva ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Refreshing when you discover a new series where you can’t decide which character you adore more.’ Books ’n Whatnot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A great escapism read, funny, entertaining and easy to read. It reminded me of younger Agatha Raisin who I love, and Pip is a genuinely warm and comical character… Great fun, I loved it!’ Karen Reads and Recommends

‘Hilarious… I really enjoyed this story. Liked Pip and the other characters and hope to read more.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ratings and reviews

Epiphany (Pip) Bloom is quite the character. She absolutely is in love with her cat. Her wealthy mother has cut off funds .. and Pip really hasn't had much luck in working for a living. Every job seems to have gone wrong in one way or another ... and the one she's taken on today doesn't seem to be any different. From a temp agency, she shows up expecting to be filing, making coffee, etc. Trouble is, the private investigation office mistakenly takes her for a psychiatrist who will be helping them .. and Pip 'forgets' to tell them she's not who they think she is. She thinks helping out with looking for a missing boy might be fun .. so she goes for it. This is a rather light-hearted cozy mystery that will delight most readers. Pip is a fun, entertaining character who finds herself pretending to be multiple people in her quest to be a productive member of society. I found myself chuckling at her attempts .. .but how she came up with her cat, named Most, had me almost in tears I was laughing so much. First book in a series, I will most definitely be watching for more. Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this cozy mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

🚙 Pip is short on money after her allowance was cut by mommy, and not able to hold on to jobs due to her freak accidents. One such incident showed her kindness. Basically, she is a walking disaster. ⠀ ⠀ 🚙 Her agency sent her to an investigation firm, who mistook her for an experienced psychological coach. Instead of correcting the mistake, Pip takes over their current case of missing Matty Price, teenage son of a tv celebrity Madison, who is currently in London for her film shooting. Pip couldn’t let go of the opportunity of meeting a celebrity.⠀ ⠀ 🚙 At first, didn’t warm to Pip for her duplicity. But my opinion of her changed as she started to investigate. As she is an amateur detective, she tries to channel Miss Marple, but fails spectacularly and resorts to her instincts and comes up with her own methods. Her inner thoughts during interrogations were hilarious, and made me guffaw like a wacko. ⠀ ⠀ 🚙 Connected to Pip over her love of Christie’s mysteries. Loved seeing Queen of Crime references and her detectives. I burst out laughing while reading about Fliss - quirky sister of Pip, her transposing of words, clean eating malarkey, and crazy stuff she blogs about. Pip’s speculations were wild, amazed at her mindset. Hope to see Pip taking Fliss on her investigative adventures in future books. ⠀ ⠀ 🚙 Small grumbles of mine were, the inception of detective Pip could have been better. Investigative firm is hiring an employee without checks, letting a psychological coach solely investigate seemed dubious to me. But I can see why Gayle has taken this approach because its suited Pip’s weird persona. Some of the environmental drivel could be condensed as I was bored of it. ⠀ 🚙 The cracking ending had me in stitches. ⠀ ⠀ 🚙 Overall, I would recommend you to go on this delightful, amusing, cozy, and wild adventure with a witty detective. I eagerly await for the next adventure

A cozy mystery at its finest! It’s hard to believe that this is the first book by Katie Gayle, or should I say, Kate and Gail?! This duo teamed up for what I hope to be the first in a long series! Pip, Epiphany Bloom, starts off in a financial crisis of sorts (she’s in desperate need of rent money after Mummy shut down her money bags, of course!) leading to one mistaken identity after another. Soon, she’s deep undercover on a case in search of a very hush-hush missing celebrity teenager. What could go wrong? I loved everything about this story, total Janet Evanovich ‘Stephanie Plum’ vibes! This Epiphany Bloom cozy mystery took on a life of its own! I found much joy in playing amateur sleuth right along with Pip. I laughed out loud at most of her sister’s malapropisms, or misspoken sayings, and the references to Pip’s past mishaps! (Side note, I’d love a prequel where I could read several short stories about Pip’s misadventures, as mentioned earlier!) The mystery itself, ‘The Kensington Kidnap,’ while a bit far-fetched, was intriguing, a celebrity teenager, and possibly others, gone missing with talks about bloggers and influencers, falling down the Twitter rabbit hole! This was just the type of comedic relief within the mystery genre that I needed between hardcore thrillers! I can’t wait to see what newfound laughter book two will hold, especially with Pip’s (and her sister’s) one-liners, her cat’s upcoming life changes, and the looming romantic triangle! Katie Gayle has set the stage for their characters and the scene for Pip’s future at Boston Investigations! Many thanks to NetGalley, the authors Katie Gayle, and the publishers at Bookouture for my copy of this ebook!