Nine Lives

by Catherine Steadman

When she begins to peer into the lives of her glamorous neighbors, one woman discovers a terrifying secret in this riveting psychological thriller with nine lives worth of twists, from the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water, a Reese’s Book Club pick.

These are your neighbors. One is a killer.

Reeling from a very recent divorce, Frankie has moved into a glamorous London neighborhood. This is a new chapter in her life. She's decided to put down roots with Blue, the beautiful Persian cat she left her marriage with.

But little doubts about her perfect new life start to grow and when Blue returns one night from slipping into places he shouldn't, Frankie’s concerns solidify. Two words are roughly scratched into his collar: HELP ME. Unsettled and unwilling to ignore the incident, Frankie roots out an old unused "cat cam" collar. What slowly begins as a voyeuristic fascination with her neighbors and the secrets they're hiding soon turns into a perilous quest for the truth that threatens to bring untold terrors to her doorstep.

A riveting thriller about the terrible secrets hidden behind the pastel-colored façade of one of London's most upscale enclaves, Nine Lives is catnip for suspense readers everywhere and perfect for fans of modern classics like The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Adult, Contemporary, Suspense

Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 23, 2026

About the author

Catherine Steadman is an actress, screenwriter and author. She lives in North London with her husband and two children. She is best known as an actress for her role as Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey. Something in the Water was her first novel - NINE LIVES will be out Summer 2026

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Loved the way this story was told. From the voyeur aspects through a cat camera, the protagonist unintentionally watches a crime happening. But she doesn't know where or how to do anything because the police aren't biting. She's a great lead, and as she befriends neighbors on a posh London street, it makes me glad I stick to my own business. Tho, if I knew a crime was being committed, I'd try to solve it, too. Strong motivation. Newly rebuilding life. A complex story with a few layers and interesting POV throughout the chapters. My primary niggles: (1) where was her family in all this? She had no one to talk to except the neighbors, and (2) the ending was just off. It was a 5-star read until the very end. I won't spoil it but I felt like it sputtered instead of blossomed. Plus someone we'd briefly learned about came back in the picture to take up the last few pages, and in a way that simply took the story's power away from the main character. Oh well... still a very exciting read all the way through!

[Laura]

Tempted to give this 5 stars just to balance the idiot who rated 1 when it doesn’t even have a title or synopsis so you’re rating it on nothing at all….

But regardless after 2 wins from ms steadman I’m eagerly anticipating this release ☺️

[Meagan (Meagansbookclub) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a page turner whatsoever.

The beginning had me thinking this would be a strong thriller because the plot definitely kicked it off in a mysterious way, but every page after, had me bored. The thing with Catherine’s books is they seem to have a good idea about them, but momentum gets lots along the way, this one in particular had so many characters, and implausible pieces of the story. The ending was underwhelming. Unfortunately, this was a huge miss!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ rounded up

I enjoyed her previous novel, Look In The Mirror, so when I saw that Catherine Steadman had written a new one, I wanted to read it.

After a recent divorce, Frankie uses her savings and what she got in the divorce to buy a home on a posh street in London.
One night, her Persian, Blue, returns with the words “Help Me” carved into his collar.
Curious as to what to do, Frankie puts a cat camera on his collar to see if she can find out who needs help.
(I had no idea that they made cameras that could be worn by a pet cat and actually had to Google “cat camera” because I’d never heard the term before).
Through Blue’s camera, Frankie learns a lot about all of her new neighbors and is also able to see who the person who needs help is.
She goes to the police and isn’t taken seriously, but she is determined to find a way to help the individual in need.

The first 25-30% of this was a little slow for me, but after that things got more interesting.

Steadman is known for writing thrillers, but the majority of this book felt more like a slow burn mystery to me.
Only the last 15% felt more like a thriller.
This book was good, but it was far from being one of the best mysteries/thrillers that I’ve ever read.
For me, a really good thriller needs to be one that I cannot put down because I’m dying to know what happens next, and I didn’t feel that way with this book.
I did really like the ending, so at least I finished it feeling positive.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for proving me with an ARC to review.

Pub Date: June 23, 2026

[Corinne Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a messy divorce, Frankie moves into a new home with her cat, Blue. After a night of prowling around, Blue comes home with the words, “Help Me” etched into his collar. Needless to say, Frankie is freaked out! She must find who this person is. So she decides to put a Cat Cam on Blue and let him lead her back to this person. She feels like an absolute voyeur, as she learns all kinds of things about her new neighbors in the process. This was a fast-paced, entertaining read, and I was excited to read another Catherine Steadman twisty thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley & Ballantine for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frankie is a recent divorcee who moved to London with her cat. She starts getting suspicious when she discovers a mysterious cry for help written in her cat’s collar when he returns from a long day of adventuring outside (been there…anxiously waiting for the cat not discovering a cry for help). After being dismissed by the police she takes it upon herself to find the victim. Nine Lives was a well done quickly paced thriller, exactly what I expect from Catherine Stead man I’ll admit I did not expect the twist and the epilogue was a little over the top but I loved it. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. 4/5

[Cassidy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars rounded up. I ended up enjoying this book, but it did take me until around the 50% mark to be fully interested. It gave me Woman in the Window vibes, but with the perspective of our heroine's cat being sent out into the world to spy on her new neighbors and solve a mystery while wearing a collar cam. I did find the video footage and the cat's wanderings to be a bit too convenient, but if you can suspend disbelief, this turned out to be a rather solid thriller with a good twist.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of this novel and exchange for my honest review.

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will have to set aside my personal feelings about letting one’s cat roam free to explore in order to review this one. Super irresponsible and not something I would ever encourage, but it is fiction, so let’s just hope no one takes this as a sign to let their cats out where they could be in danger. Anyways!

The mystery was very interesting and I was invested in the story. I loved the neighborhood vibes with all the different characters and could really visualize the setting. A fast read!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted arc

[Rachel the Page-Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A publisher offers me a thriller book that has a cat as a main character, and I’m going to read it because, yes, I’m that girl. Bantam knows their audience! This character addition actually made the book what it was, though. Without the cat, this may have been a regular old mystery/thriller about a missing person.

Frankie is our main character, and she and her cat Blue have just moved to London after a messy divorce. This book is about the first week in her new home, which was QUITE eventful. Her cat is indoor/outdoor (grr…but if he hadn’t left the house we wouldn’t have this book!) and after him getting out on the day she moved in, he came home with something shocking scratched into his collar. Two words: “Help Me”.

When Frankie sees the collar, she immediately attaches an old “cat-cam” to it, and lets him out again the next day. Blue understood the assignment, and returned to the same place. Now Frankie has video proof that someone is being held against their will, but what does she do with it? It’s illegal to videotape someone inside of a private home, and Blue likes to enter windows (which also makes for some fun reading, as we get to know everyone on Frankie’s new street, and what their secrets are.) If she goes to the police, they may charge her with a crime, and she could be overreacting to nothing.

This book took a thriller, added a cat with a camera, and made it a unique and interesting story. There were even chapters from Blue, as well as a few other neighbors. The ending, especially the epilogue, were great. I really thought I had the ending pegged, but I was completely wrong! Three huge surprises at the end really impressed me, and made the book that much better. Four stars.

(Thank you to Random House - Bantam and Catherine Steadman for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is set to be released on June 23, 2026.)

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently divorced and unemployed Frankie moves into a new house in London. Through a camera on her cats collar she catches something unnerving in a neighbors home. After meeting with the dumbest police force ever written in a book Frankie is on her own to figure it out.

This was much slower than Catherine Steadmans other books and lacked the unhinged twists we’ve come to expect from her previous novels. I was hoping the epilogue would tie it all together and leave my mouth on the floor but it didn’t.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

[Nicole Auerbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. Very quick read. Enjoyed getting to know most of the characters in the neighborhood. The main twist surprised me; there weren’t a ton of hints dropped in advance. Always love a story with an animal as a key character.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[megs_bookrack]

Bantam! Thank you for the ARC. I think this sounds like so much fun! What a great concept and I cannot wait to dive into it. This immediately went to the top of my priority TBR.

[Patty Abarno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just come out of a recent, messy divorce, Frankie and her cat Blue move into a beautiful new home in a ritzy neighborhood in London. She is slowly acclimating to her new life and getting to know her neighbors when Blue returns home one night with a scary message scratched onto his collar. Seeing this cry for help, Frankie decides to put a “cat cam” collar on Blue to record his adventures and possibly find out what is behind this message. As days pass and she gets more footage she begins to unearth all sorts of secrets about her neighbors and struggles to determine who is behind the possible “abduction”. But time is running out, and she digs deeper, bringing danger right to her door in her attempts to find out the truth. This was such a twisty fast paced read! I love all of Steadman’s novels! 5 star read for me!

[Trisha]

ooh I'm a big fan of this author and this one sounds SO GOOD!
Pub date: 6/2026!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Samantha // fictionfigurine]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shubhi Nigam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of advanced copy received from Netgalley

Nine Lives by Catherine Steadman is a gripping psychological thriller that perfectly captures the "nosy neighbor" trope with a modern, high-tech twist.
The story follows Frankie, a recent divorcee who moves into a posh London neighborhood. Her quiet new life is upended when her cat, Blue, returns home with a chilling message scratched into his collar: "HELP ME." Driven by curiosity and concern, Frankie attaches a "cat cam" to Blue, leading her into a voyeuristic and dangerous investigation of the secrets hidden behind her neighbors' perfect facades.
Why it’s worth a read:
• Unique Concept: Using a cat’s perspective (via camera) to uncover a crime is a fresh and clever hook.
• Atmospheric Pacing: It starts as a slow-burn mystery that effectively builds tension before spiraling into a fast-paced thriller in the final chapters.
• Relatable Lead: Frankie’s journey of rebuilding her life makes her an easy protagonist to root for, even as her obsession grows.
This is a stylish, cinematic read that explores the thin line between neighborhood gossip and life-threatening secrets.

[Lexi Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had me hooked faster than a laser pointer on a hardwood floor. Nine Lives is sharp, twisty, and just a little bit mischievous in the best way.

The cat connection is absolute gold. It adds a sly, almost eerie thread throughout the story that keeps you second guessing everything. And the cat cam…honestly, I will never look at a cat the same way again. Such a clever, slightly unsettling twist that made the whole book feel fresh and different from your typical thriller.

Catherine Steadman really knows how to play with tension. Just when you think you have landed on your feet, the story flips and you are scrambling again.

Smart, original, and just the right amount of creepy. This one definitely used up all nine lives keeping me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ Thrilling, easy read. I loved the perspective of how this book was written, especially by leaning into all of the cameras people use in and around their homes. Many chapters end with great cliffhangers, making you want to keep going. The plot varied a bit throughout, but was quite enjoyable. The ending was exciting, but not the level or surprise or twist I was anticipating, but it lent itself to a slightly more heartwarming ending.


I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGallery.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Good read. Frankie moves into a new house and meets the neighbors on her street. They are some interesting characters. She had a camera on her cats collar that catches a woman in a locked basement clearly being kept there against her will. She works to find out who she is and how she can get her out. The last part of the book was excellent. I couldn’t stop reading. The book has multiple perspectives which I really liked.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another great book for the author. After a disappointing “Something in the Water”, she knocked it out of the park with this one. It is suspenseful and I did not figure out who Simon was. This is always a plus in a book. I loved the cat camera aspect. The main character was enjoyable although she did make some dumb decisions towards the end. This is a great read and super quick too! Perfect weekend or vacation read!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Meghan W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for this arc! I loved this read. From page 1, I was hooked. I was constantly feeling uneasy about what was going on. I love when a book can make me feel that way.

[Amanda Alviz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an easy 5 stars for me and one I still find myself thinking about. The beginning immediately pulled me in and I was hooked the entire time.

From the start, Frankie’s fresh post-divorce reset in London feels equal parts hopeful and uneasy. There’s something subtly off beneath the surface of her “perfect” new beginning, and that tension builds so naturally. The story really takes off when Blue, her Persian cat, comes home with that chilling message scratched into his collar: HELP ME. That moment completely hooked me.

What makes this book stand out is how original and immersive it feels. The use of the cat cam was such a clever device. Following Blue as he slips in and out of neighboring homes made me feel like I was right there with him—quietly observing secrets I wasn’t supposed to see. It added this adventurous, slightly voyeuristic layer that kept me completely engaged.

The pacing was spot-on, gradually shifting from intrigue to something much darker and more unsettling. I loved how the mystery unfolded through small, almost mundane details that slowly revealed something much bigger and more sinister.

Overall, this book felt fresh, suspenseful, and genuinely gripping. If you love psychological thrillers with a unique twist and an atmosphere that pulls you in, this one absolutely delivers. And honestly… I’ll never look at a cat wandering the neighborhood the same way again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine | Bantam for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Karen Brooks - TheTxLitChic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nine Lives 

~Catherine Steadman 

They say a dog is man’s best friend, but for Francesca “Frankie” Green, a cat might just be a woman’s salvation. In Catherine Steadman’s Nine Lives, that feline friendship becomes the key to unraveling a deadly suburban mystery in one of London’s most exclusive neighborhoods. 

Freshly divorced and trying to rebuild her life, Frankie swaps the Cotswolds for the glamorous enclave of De Beauvoir, searching for a quiet reset with her Persian cat, Blue, as her sole companion. But the serenity of her new surroundings soon feels deceptive. The manicured gardens, the immaculate cars, and the picture‑perfect façades hide more than gossip and glances. Frankie’s curiosity grows, especially after Blue returns from a late‑night wandering with something shocking carved into his collar: HELP ME. 

It’s a message impossible to ignore. What begins as anxious speculation turns into a terrifying investigation. Frankie outfits Blue with a tiny camera, sending him back out into the night, only to uncover footage that changes everything - a woman in captivity who uses the cat to cry out for help. When the authorities dismiss the evidence, Frankie’s frustration becomes obsession, and her quiet neighborhood morphs into a sinister maze of lies, secrets, and danger. 

The tension ratchets as Frankie takes matters into her own hands, following digital breadcrumbs through the manicured streets and designer homes of neighbors she thought she knew. Including, Matt, a charming man she’s just started to trust. With every step, the stakes climb higher, pushing her to confront both external threats and the internal wounds left by betrayal. 

Steadman’s mastery lies in her ability to turn an ordinary setting into a pressure cooker. She populates De Beauvoir with sharply drawn personalities - a glamorous actress, an open‑marriage couple, a wealthy financier - each with quirks and secrets that feed the suspense. The result is a portrait of privilege and paranoia where appearances deceive, and safety is only an illusion. Frankie’s personal growth arc grounds the chaos; she’s not just unraveling a crime but rediscovering her own courage and capacity for trust. 

Every page feels cinematic. From Blue’s nocturnal camera perspectives to the vivid descriptions of shadowed gardens and polished hallways, Steadman’s writing fuses elegance with unease. The pacing is sleek and deliberate - a steady simmer that quickens beautifully as the danger closes in. Her blend of psychological precision and vivid atmosphere makes Nine Lives irresistible for fans of domestic thrillers that value emotion as much as adrenaline. 

If you love twisty psychological thrillers, this is your next obsession - a taut, stylish thriller that proves sometimes curiosity doesn’t just kill the cat; it exposes the killer next door. 

Nine Lives by Catherine Steadman is available for pre-order now. Release date is 6/23/2026 and you don't want to waste a minute getting this one downloaded!

I'd like to thank Catherine Steadman and NetGalley for the opportunity to Alpha/Beta/ARC on Nine Lives. As always, all opinions and reviews are of my own volition. I have not been promised any compensation by the author or publisher for a fair and honest review.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Ballantine | Bantam for providing me an advance copy of Catherine Steadman's latest #thriller, Nine Lives, in exchange for an honest review.

#NineLives is a breezy #suspensethriller about millennial and recent divorcée, Frankie Green, who relocates to a posh enclave in London with her cat Blue, after her marriage implodes. Frankie is determined to embrace her newfound singledom as a positive, and chooses to view it as a second chance to revamp her life. That is, until the movers leave and she realizes she is now living alone for the first time in years. It doesn't help the situation that she is also unemployed and does not know any of the wealthier residents in her gated community, who all seem oddly suspicious of her and the house. What initially begins as paranoia and heightened anxiety, which Frankie and her GP chalk up to several life-altering events, unfolds as something more sinister lurking amongst the pristine facades in her neighborhood.

As a huge fan of the author's last three novels, I leapt at the chance to review her upcoming summer release. While page-turning to a certain degree, Nine Lives was unfortunately a slapdash of generic subplots that have been beaten to death (no pun) over the past decade, and therefore, lackluster until the conclusion. (Props to that epilogue!) Unlike her previous novels, this story felt haphazard and was missing the ingredients that make her writing enjoyable, namely, a strong plot, a well-developed protagonist, an adept command of language (in particular, imagery), and signature suspense elements that verge on horror. There was much more "telling than showing" throughout the passages, which is partly why the prose read as dull and uninspired.

Additionally, side characters were introduced as blatant red herrings or two-dimensional throwaways that could promptly be forgotten. Moreover, Blue appeared to be a gimmicky device, which a handful of other contemporary suspense authors tend to use as a crutch, rather than Frankie's sleuthing sidekick as the title seemingly implied. I could continue expounding on the negatives, but will abstain because the author's other novels deserve to be read and this single experience could scare some readers away. I was truly shocked about how the novel unraveled because this did not read like anything I'm accustomed to by the author. Overall, two-and-a-half stars, rounded-up.

[Hope Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve ever looked at your cat and thought, “You absolutely know something and are choosing chaos,” then Nine Lives is about to validate you in the most entertaining way possible. And if you haven't, have you ever really met a cat?

This book has everything to get you hooked in early: a glamorous London neighborhood, suspiciously perfect neighbors, a freshly divorced main character trying to get her life together… and a cat who basically becomes a tiny, furry private investigator with a GoPro. Yes, really. And yes, it works way better than it should. The cops should be so lucky to have him on the force.

The premise alone deserves several stars. A cat comes home with “HELP ME” scratched into its collar, and instead of doing the normal-person thing (panicking, moving, pretending you saw nothing), our girl Frankie says, “Cool, I’ll strap a camera to my cat and investigate.” Honestly? Iconic behavior.

The story leans into that “nosy neighbor but make it high-tech” energy, giving strong Rear Window vibes, that is if Jimmy Stewart had paws and knocked things off counters for fun. There is a voyeuristic angle that was mentioned in the reviews I read and with the tension building through what the cat sees, it’s genuinely such a clever hook that you forgive everything else because you’re too busy waiting with baited breath..., “What did the cat see?!”

Is it a little dramatic? Sure. Are there a lot of characters? Yep. Did I occasionally suspect literally everyone, including the cat? Also yes. But that’s part of the appeal. It’s a mystery that ramps up into full thriller chaos, and by the end you’re fully invested in both solving the crime and protecting this MVP feline at all costs. Oh, and the other characters, too.

And can we talk about Blue the cat for a second? Absolute star. Scene stealer. Probably deserves their own spin-off series and a tiny award. May be he could team up with Chet when Bernie is being difficult.

Five stars because:
The concept is unhinged in the best way. The fun way.
The tension sneaks up on you like… well, a cat. And is just as untrustworthy yet appealing.
It made me side-eye my own neighbors. OK, I already do that.

Would recommend to thriller lovers, cat people, and anyone ready to trust a feline with investigative journalism.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: Reading this book before bed may give you insomnia!

Recently divorced, Frankie has returned to London and bought herself a gorgeously remodeled home in a wealthy neighborhood. In a nod to Rear Window, she starts watching her neighbors and cataloging their lives and idiosyncrasies (as one does when bored and half-heartedly job hunting).

But, when her cat, Blue, returns from roaming the neighborhood with his collar askew, Frankie realizes someone has carved "Help Me" into the back of it. What else to do but put the collar camera on Blue and try to get to the bottom of this? This is when the spying really gets good.

Meanwhile, Frankie is feeling a bit lonely in the house and on her own. Oddly, she keeps waking up to find her (previously closed and locked) back door flung wide open. Is someone coming in at night? Or just trying to rattle her? When she overhears the neighbors wondering how she, a single woman, could move into such a house, she channels her inner Nancy Drew. Alas, the neighbors fail to satisfy her curiosity. The cops are annoyed and caution her for videotaping the neighbors without consent. Maybe she's just anxious and overthinking everything? An rx for Valium is just what she needs! Everything is fine. Totally fine.

Boy, that one guy down the street is hot. And he keeps running into her, inviting her to coffee, being effortlessly charming. He just happens to have a second house he's remodeling a few streets over—surely nothing sinister is going on there?

The tension builds up bit by bit with each unnerving discovery. I swear, my heart was beating faster and faster, and I completely blame Steadman for not sleeping last night. (Okay, it was worth it.)

I wasn't a huge fan of how it all ended, and I really don't understand the inclusion of the epilogue. I also wish that writers would just stop with the prologues that flash forward, revealing the heroine in peril. It's a thriller, we know there will be thrills (at least we hope there will be)! Despite this, I'd give it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. If you like creepy, unsettling novels, you will definitely enjoy this book!

Thanks so much to Ballantine, via NetGalley, for this ARC!

[Angel **Book Junkie** · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Ballantine Bantam, NetGalley, and Catherine Steadman for a copy of Nine Lives in exchange for an honest review.

I think I personally used up at least three of my own nine lives trying to stay invested in this book. 🫠

The story follows Frankie, who moves into a new town hoping for a fresh start, only for chaos to arrive in the form of Blue, a mysterious cat showing up with a “Help Me!” note attached to his collar. Which sounds intriguing, right? Tiny furry detective? Neighborhood secrets? Creepy small-town vibes? Sign me up. Unfortunately, somewhere between the cat sneaking through windows and Frankie spiraling through endless anxiety, the story completely lost me.

The biggest problem was that I never felt grounded in the mystery. Frankie had just moved there, nobody in town seemed to like her, the neighbors practically laughed her out of the room half the time, and yet somehow she’s expected to solve… whatever this was supposed to be? I kept waiting for the pieces to click together in a satisfying way, but instead the story drifted from scene to scene like a tumbleweed made of stress and confusion.

And Frankie herself? Exhausting. Every situation turned into a full-blown panic spiral. I understand flawed characters, but I need something to latch onto, and instead I spent most of the book feeling like I was trapped in somebody else’s nervous overthinking session. The pacing dragged hard, the tension never really built, and by the time I reached the middle, I honestly struggled to remember what the actual point of the mystery even was.

Now, to be fair, the ending did save this from being a complete disaster for me. There was finally a spark of payoff and enough intrigue to earn that extra star. I just wish the rest of the book had shown up with the same energy instead of sleepwalking through the plot in fuzzy slippers.

Final Verdict:
A mystery with an interesting setup that somehow managed to drain all the urgency out of its own premise. Too much wandering, not enough payoff, and a main character whose constant worrying wore me down faster than the mystery itself. The ending rescued it slightly, but getting there felt like wading through literary quicksand. ⭐⭐

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love Catherine Steadman’s books, so the moment I received her latest work, I didn’t hesitate—I jumped right in. The idea of someone in your own neighborhood possibly being a killer? Instantly hooked. That kind of close-to-home tension always works for me, and this book delivers that uneasy, creeping feeling so well.

There are quite a few characters here, but I genuinely enjoyed getting to know them. Of course, Frankie is our anchor, but I have to say—my favorites were Aoife, the 29-year-old movie star with her own layers to peel back, and Pam, the retired, middle-aged woman who embraces her solitude with such refreshing honesty and no-nonsense attitude. And then… we have the real star of the book: Blue. Frankie’s cat completely stole the show for me. Truly, this furry little detective is the rockstar of the entire story.

One of the most unique and creative aspects of the book is the cat-cam perspective. Seeing parts of the story unfold through Blue’s eyes felt like watching an indie film or a cleverly shot documentary. It added a fresh, slightly eerie layer to the narrative—like we’re witnessing something we shouldn’t be seeing.

The structure also deserves credit. The story moves between the near past—two years ago, where we’re introduced to a mysterious woman who may have been taken—and the present timeline, where Frankie stumbles upon a disturbing video captured by her cat’s camera. (Honestly, the fact that she only checked the footage because her cat went missing makes it even more chilling.) As the two timelines slowly connect over the course of nine intense days, the tension builds in a very satisfying way. And I loved the subtle nod to the number nine—it almost feels like a clever wink to the “nine lives” idea, especially considering who the real investigator of this story is!

The pacing started off strong and kept me engaged, though I’ll admit the middle section felt slightly uneven at times. Some of the repeated cat-cam sequences and neighborhood interactions could have been trimmed a bit to keep the momentum tighter. Still, I was never bored. I kept turning the pages, eager to see how everything would come together.

And that ending? Very satisfying. It left me with a big smile—especially with how the author chose to use a certain character in the epilogue. Such a smart and rewarding choice.

Plot-wise, we follow Frankie Green, who, after nearly twenty years of marriage, discovers her husband’s betrayal and starts over in a new London neighborhood with her beloved Persian cat, Blue. But her fresh start quickly turns unsettling. She begins experiencing strange night episodes—waking up at her front door with no memory of how she got there. Then Blue goes missing… and when he returns, there’s a chilling message scratched onto his collar: help me.

When Frankie checks the footage from Blue’s camera, she sees something disturbing—something she can’t ignore. But here’s the dilemma: she can’t go to the authorities, because the footage was captured without consent, making it legally unusable. She doesn’t even know which house the footage is from. All she knows is that someone nearby may be in danger… and the threat could be much closer than she ever imagined.

Overall, while this wasn’t my absolute favorite from the author, I really appreciated the originality of the concept, the character work, and the way the mystery unfolded. It kept me guessing, questioning everyone, and fully invested in finding out the truth.

If you’re already a fan of Catherine Steadman, this is definitely one you should pick up. It’s fresh, intriguing, and just different enough to stand out.

A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine / Bantam for sharing this intriguing thriller’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always look forward to a Catherine Steadman thriller so I was excited to get an ARC of her latest novel, “Nine Lives.” This book has a unique take on the “Rear Window” genre with an interesting twist: the protagonist, Frankie Green, spies on her neighbors using a camera attached to her wandering cat’s collar.

Frankie and her cat, Blue, have relocated to a house in a tony neighborhood in North London after Frankie’s recent bitter divorce. She attaches a camera to Blue’s collar, spying on her neighbors, sometimes from within their own houses after Blue gains access through open windows. One day, while reviewing the video footage from the camera, Frankie is shocked to discover a woman locked in a basement. The woman is limping and covered in bruises. It is not clear where the house is located since Blue took a circuitous route to get there.

In addition to the troubling camera footage, Frankie has overheard seemingly menacing conversations about her from neighbors speaking to each other outside her window, and she finds her back door open every morning, despite the fact that she is sure that she locked it the previous night. She starts dating a neighbor, Matt, a successful architect who is renovating a home in a neighboring street; however, she doesn’t know who among her neighbors she can trust, including Matt. Any one of them could have imprisoned the mistreated woman in their basements. The reader isn’t sure if any of the characters can be trusted either, including Frankie herself.

What follows is a ratcheting up of tension as Frankie tries to find out where the mystery woman is being held captive, and she tries to determine who she can trust. The denouement is deliciously intense, as everything comes to a head. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a psychological thriller set in posh neighborhoods with interesting characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for providing me an ARC of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Ballantine for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the overall premise of Nine Lives. The plot was what drew me in first and foremost, and it felt genuinely unique. Having the main character’s cat play such an essential role in the story was a fun and refreshing element, and thankfully nothing bad happens to the cat, which I definitely appreciated!

One of the book’s strengths was the atmosphere. The descriptions of the neighborhood and surrounding scenery were vivid without feeling overly drawn out. Even the sections where Frankie reviewed footage from Blue’s camera remained engaging, which I think speaks to how well the suspense was maintained throughout the novel. Overall, the story kept my attention the entire time and I never found myself bored.

That said, there were a few aspects that felt underdeveloped. There were a lot of characters and names introduced throughout the neighborhood, and at times it became difficult to keep track of everyone. I also would have appreciated more backstory for Frankie. Unless I missed it, I don’t remember much being explained about what happened to her parents, and I think exploring that further could have added more emotional depth to her character. Similarly, I wanted more insight into her sleepwalking and panic attacks, since those felt important to her characterization but weren’t explored as deeply as they could have been.

While I did enjoy the story overall, I also found parts of it somewhat predictable. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, not every thriller needs a massive shocking twist, but I do think the book lost some impact because of it.

My biggest issue was with the ending. I found the final Wikipedia-style summary of the crime unnecessary because, as readers, we had already experienced everything firsthand. It didn’t reveal any meaningful new information and felt less satisfying than ending directly with Frankie’s perspective. I would have preferred to stay with her POV so we could fully understand how everything emotionally wrapped up for her. I also really disliked the inclusion of her ex near the end, he sounded insufferable and not worth the page time.

Overall, I think this story had a fantastic and very original premise, but it felt somewhat lacking in execution. In some ways, it read like a very strong first draft that could have benefited from additional editing and deeper character development. Even with those flaws, though, I still found it to be an entertaining and memorable read.