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Conrad the Cat Detective #5
The Cat and the Halloween Murder: A Spooky, Cosy Crime Mystery, Purr-fect For Cat Lovers!
'Conrad is a delight' – S.J. Bennett
Join Lulu Lewis, a retired detective with a knack for exposing mysteries, and Conrad, her extraordinary talking cat, as they take on their spookiest case yet . . .
Lulu and Conrad dock in Stratford-upon-Avon to visit friends for Halloween. But the festivities take a haunting turn when a local midnight performance of Macbeth ends with the lead actor collapsing on stage.
The plot thickens with the revelation of another cast member's recent mysterious demise. Can Lulu and Conrad unravel the town’s eerie secrets and uncover the truth behind these sinister Halloween deaths before the curtain falls once more?
***
Praise for LT
'Charming and original - this is the cat's whiskers' – Anthony Horowitz, Sunday Times bestselling author of Close To Death
'Perfect for all those who love their crime cosy' – Peter James, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Roy Grace series
'My favourite detective duo . . . had me curled up and purring from first page to last' – Orlando Murrin, author of Knife Skills for Beginners
'A terrific read' – J.M. Hall, author of A Spoonful of Murder
Join Lulu Lewis, a retired detective with a knack for exposing mysteries, and Conrad, her extraordinary talking cat, as they take on their spookiest case yet . . .
Lulu and Conrad dock in Stratford-upon-Avon to visit friends for Halloween. But the festivities take a haunting turn when a local midnight performance of Macbeth ends with the lead actor collapsing on stage.
The plot thickens with the revelation of another cast member's recent mysterious demise. Can Lulu and Conrad unravel the town’s eerie secrets and uncover the truth behind these sinister Halloween deaths before the curtain falls once more?
***
Praise for LT
'Charming and original - this is the cat's whiskers' – Anthony Horowitz, Sunday Times bestselling author of Close To Death
'Perfect for all those who love their crime cosy' – Peter James, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Roy Grace series
'My favourite detective duo . . . had me curled up and purring from first page to last' – Orlando Murrin, author of Knife Skills for Beginners
'A terrific read' – J.M. Hall, author of A Spoonful of Murder
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 24, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 20, 2026
Halloween and cats are two of my favorite things... so obviously this book ticks all the right boxes, and I so wanted to like this... but the writing is just so incredibly irritating.
The book seems to have very little faith in its readers’ ability to understand and retain basic information. There’s a lot of unnecessary exposition, characters speaking in cliches and stating the obvious over and over again, repeating the same things over and over again, as if the reader were a brain-dead goldfish who couldn’t put two and two together. This leads to some super awkward and unrealistic dialogue. Even for a cozy mystery, I expected better.
Also, the murder takes place on Halloween, but other than that, the book has absolutely no Halloween vibes.
And the cat. I mean, a talking cat is the coolest thing ever, and I’m all for it, but he doesn’t behave like a cat. He knows everything about Shakespeare, science, chemistry, tv shows, dictators and he can even read. I'm pretty sure this cat has a more impressive educational background than I do. But honestly, it’s way more charming when cats act like actual cats, being mischievous, curious and sassy.
The book seems to have very little faith in its readers’ ability to understand and retain basic information. There’s a lot of unnecessary exposition, characters speaking in cliches and stating the obvious over and over again, repeating the same things over and over again, as if the reader were a brain-dead goldfish who couldn’t put two and two together. This leads to some super awkward and unrealistic dialogue. Even for a cozy mystery, I expected better.
Also, the murder takes place on Halloween, but other than that, the book has absolutely no Halloween vibes.
And the cat. I mean, a talking cat is the coolest thing ever, and I’m all for it, but he doesn’t behave like a cat. He knows everything about Shakespeare, science, chemistry, tv shows, dictators and he can even read. I'm pretty sure this cat has a more impressive educational background than I do. But honestly, it’s way more charming when cats act like actual cats, being mischievous, curious and sassy.
September 30, 2026
Just love the Conrad stories! It's not to scary and anybody could have done it. Hopefully there will be a 6th book!
October 22, 2026
Normally I'd give any book in this series 5 stars, but I have a sneaking feeling someone has been reading her reviews and has cleaned up her act a little. Gone are the boring and repetitive snippets of boat life, gone the recipes for eggs and such, gone is the constant mentioning of Waitrose and Evian and how great Maida Vale is, gone is Lulu's police friend who misses the days when you could be openly racist. And it's just less fun as a result. Sure there's a few insinuations about the Catholic church and one reference to police being more bothered about online abuse than "real crime", but it's all a bit self aware now. That isn't to say that there's not still fun to be had in LTS' phenomenal inability to write. In what I can only imagine is an attempt to show how bad modern police are compared to her day, the DI at the centre of this story is USELESS. Constantly misunderstanding stuff a child could work out so that Lulu can point out the right answer... at one stage he finds out the initials of a suspect, sees they match his own and then questions whether he should be investigating himself - if you think I'm exaggerating, read it. This is exasperating to say the least, especially when towards the end Lulu describes him as a good detective... On what basis? In lieu of being able to sneak her own dubious world views into the mouths of her characters, Shearer has developed an INFURIATING habit of using dialogue for exposition. There's a scene in chapter 26 where she's chatting about the relationship between the press and police with a journalist and the journalist just explains in great detail about the Leveson Enquiry that changed that relationship. There's absolutely no way Lulu isn't aware of this, it should be the narrator breaking away from the dialogue to explain, or better still... Don't explain, we do a quick Wikipedia search of the Leveson Enquiry if we care. Indeed, after he's finished explaining why the relationship has changed, Lulu simply immediately changes the subject, completely ignoring everything he's just said. This is the sort of disconnect that ripples between every character throughout the book. Every conversation between any two characters reads like two people who have never interacted with a human before, littered with people making basic mistakes so the other can one up them with the real information (which is always presented at painstaking length and detail as a copy and paste job from Wikipedia, or more likely Chat GPT). Speaking of chapter 26, after this mindnumbing conversation it ends with the most tenuous solving of a riddle I've ever heard of, it genuinely is the worst chapter of any book I've ever read. 5 books of this I've read now and I don't think I could tell you what the cat sounds like. Surely given that it's a series about a talking cat (once again by the way, the cat is COMPLETELY unnecessary to the plot other than as a word count expanding device... Every conversation begins with someone acknowledging she's got a cat, then saying they love the way the cat talks when he meows, then Lulu saying "yes he does" with a nod and a wink, then someone saying Calico cats are normally female, then Lulu saying "he's not an ordinary cat's with a nod and a wink), there would be some attempt at describing how he talks. If you're asking me by the way, I'm imagining Nigel Havers. Speaking of word count, the scene with the solicitor butting in after every question to urge his client to say no comment is interminable, completely unnecessary for the point to be laid on that thick. The book has also got absolutely nothing at all to do with Halloween, as readers of last year's Christmas special would probably have expected given the complete lack of Christmas in that book. All in all it was dreadful again, but the new Conrad book will always be bought immediately, pushed straight to the top of my reading list, and finished within a couple of days. Tremendous fun, but not in any way intended by the author.
I will say, the mystery itself is solid.
I will say, the mystery itself is solid.
October 23, 2026
I’ll weave a short, spoiler-free plot synopsis into the opening, keeping the rest of your review in the same conversational style and retaining your criticism of the excessive exposition.
advance review copy received from netgalley in return for an honest review
I’ve read most of L.T. Shearer’s Conrad the Cat series by this point, and I still think the premise is a fairly unique one. A talking cat who, despite being rather central to the whole thing, doesn’t appear as though he’s ever going to become a particularly significant plot point in his own right. It’s an unusual approach, but one that has clearly worked well enough to keep me coming back for more.
In The Cat and the Halloween Murder, retired detective Lulu Lewis and her feline companion Conrad find themselves in Stratford-upon-Avon, where they’ve arrived by canal boat to visit friends for Halloween. Unfortunately, their plans for a pleasant autumn break are rather derailed when a midnight performance of Macbeth ends with the leading actor collapsing on stage. With another member of the cast having recently died, it soon becomes apparent that there’s rather more going on than a spot of theatrical bad luck, and Lulu and Conrad find themselves investigating another suspicious series of events.
It’s a fairly standard addition to the series, offering a competent enough mystery with the familiar characters and atmosphere readers will have come to expect. Unfortunately, I do think it suffers from something that’s increasingly bothered me about these books, and that’s the sheer amount of over-explaining.
Do we really need to know the exact law that prevents a police officer from legally opening a sealed letter? Personally, I don’t think so. It’s obvious that Shearer has done an enormous amount of research across a surprisingly wide range of subjects, and I certainly wouldn’t criticise an author for wanting to get the details right. The problem, for me, is how that information is delivered. Rather than being woven naturally into the narrative, it sometimes feels as though the characters have abruptly abandoned their personalities and turned into walking Wikipedia articles.
It’s a shame, because there’s nothing inherently wrong with the mystery itself, and I do enjoy spending time in this slightly peculiar world. I just wish the research were packaged a little more organically, allowing the characters to sound like actual people having actual conversations rather than delivering carefully prepared lectures on whatever subject happens to have cropped up.
Ultimately, this is an enjoyable enough instalment for those already invested in the series, but I can’t help feeling that a slightly lighter touch with the exposition would make these books considerably more engaging. Sometimes less really is more.
advance review copy received from netgalley in return for an honest review
I’ve read most of L.T. Shearer’s Conrad the Cat series by this point, and I still think the premise is a fairly unique one. A talking cat who, despite being rather central to the whole thing, doesn’t appear as though he’s ever going to become a particularly significant plot point in his own right. It’s an unusual approach, but one that has clearly worked well enough to keep me coming back for more.
In The Cat and the Halloween Murder, retired detective Lulu Lewis and her feline companion Conrad find themselves in Stratford-upon-Avon, where they’ve arrived by canal boat to visit friends for Halloween. Unfortunately, their plans for a pleasant autumn break are rather derailed when a midnight performance of Macbeth ends with the leading actor collapsing on stage. With another member of the cast having recently died, it soon becomes apparent that there’s rather more going on than a spot of theatrical bad luck, and Lulu and Conrad find themselves investigating another suspicious series of events.
It’s a fairly standard addition to the series, offering a competent enough mystery with the familiar characters and atmosphere readers will have come to expect. Unfortunately, I do think it suffers from something that’s increasingly bothered me about these books, and that’s the sheer amount of over-explaining.
Do we really need to know the exact law that prevents a police officer from legally opening a sealed letter? Personally, I don’t think so. It’s obvious that Shearer has done an enormous amount of research across a surprisingly wide range of subjects, and I certainly wouldn’t criticise an author for wanting to get the details right. The problem, for me, is how that information is delivered. Rather than being woven naturally into the narrative, it sometimes feels as though the characters have abruptly abandoned their personalities and turned into walking Wikipedia articles.
It’s a shame, because there’s nothing inherently wrong with the mystery itself, and I do enjoy spending time in this slightly peculiar world. I just wish the research were packaged a little more organically, allowing the characters to sound like actual people having actual conversations rather than delivering carefully prepared lectures on whatever subject happens to have cropped up.
Ultimately, this is an enjoyable enough instalment for those already invested in the series, but I can’t help feeling that a slightly lighter touch with the exposition would make these books considerably more engaging. Sometimes less really is more.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Lulu Lewis and Conrad have gone to visit one of Lulu’s Goddaughters in Stratford-upon-Avon, just in time for Halloween. Whilst attending a local midnight performance of the Scottish play *coughsMacBethcoughs* Lulu and Conrad are witnesses to the lead actor collapsing on stage. Even curiouser, another cast member of the play has recently passed away too. Are the two instances connected or just pure coincidence? And will there be another sinister incident for the grand finale?
The Pros:
1) I really do love Conrad! Such a cutie pie and he is able to use his additional ‘catty’ skills to investigate - like his superior sense of smell and get into inaccessible areas. Such fun.
2) A good mystery is always a draw to me - and this one is rather clever...
3) The story is actually rather informative, especially for cat lovers.
4) Stratford-upon-Avon is a beautiful setting, plus obviously it is the birthplace of revered playwright William Shakespeare - and this is a big feature in the plot.
5) This is a purrfect book for a Halloween read! 😸
The Cons:
1) There are dark themes - please check trigger warnings if you feel you need to
The Quotes:
1) ‘Do you think she could see that I was talking to you?’ Lulu asked.
‘If she could, she probably assumed that you’re a crazy cat lady who talks to herself.’
‘That’s reassuring.’ said Lulu.
2) It’s a historical fact that dictators are almost always dog people.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini all kept dogs. And Vladimir Putin is always being photographed with dogs. Now, name one dictator who likes cats.’
‘I can’t think of any.’
‘There you are,’ said Conrad. ‘Case proved.’
3) ‘... Back then, you trusted the police - you knew that if you were in trouble, they’d help. These days it seems they’re more likely to charge you with saying hurty things on social media.
The Summary:
Everyone knows by now, I love Conrad the cat detective, so it’ll be no surprise I adored this book! Give me a cat and a good mystery and I’m a happy lady. I loved how the setting was in Stratford-upon-Avon (the birthplace of Shakespeare) and how it features in the plot. The mystery is very clever and obviously I loved when Conrad helps investigate! There are dark themes, so please check trigger warnings in case you need to. Overall, this is the purrfect Halloween read!
Summed up in a sentence?:
Lulu & Conrad attend a midnight play performance where the lead actor collapses on stage...
I rated the book 4.25 stars, rounded down to 4.
A big thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.
The Pros:
1) I really do love Conrad! Such a cutie pie and he is able to use his additional ‘catty’ skills to investigate - like his superior sense of smell and get into inaccessible areas. Such fun.
2) A good mystery is always a draw to me - and this one is rather clever...
3) The story is actually rather informative, especially for cat lovers.
4) Stratford-upon-Avon is a beautiful setting, plus obviously it is the birthplace of revered playwright William Shakespeare - and this is a big feature in the plot.
5) This is a purrfect book for a Halloween read! 😸
The Cons:
1) There are dark themes - please check trigger warnings if you feel you need to
The Quotes:
1) ‘Do you think she could see that I was talking to you?’ Lulu asked.
‘If she could, she probably assumed that you’re a crazy cat lady who talks to herself.’
‘That’s reassuring.’ said Lulu.
2) It’s a historical fact that dictators are almost always dog people.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini all kept dogs. And Vladimir Putin is always being photographed with dogs. Now, name one dictator who likes cats.’
‘I can’t think of any.’
‘There you are,’ said Conrad. ‘Case proved.’
3) ‘... Back then, you trusted the police - you knew that if you were in trouble, they’d help. These days it seems they’re more likely to charge you with saying hurty things on social media.
The Summary:
Everyone knows by now, I love Conrad the cat detective, so it’ll be no surprise I adored this book! Give me a cat and a good mystery and I’m a happy lady. I loved how the setting was in Stratford-upon-Avon (the birthplace of Shakespeare) and how it features in the plot. The mystery is very clever and obviously I loved when Conrad helps investigate! There are dark themes, so please check trigger warnings in case you need to. Overall, this is the purrfect Halloween read!
Summed up in a sentence?:
Lulu & Conrad attend a midnight play performance where the lead actor collapses on stage...
I rated the book 4.25 stars, rounded down to 4.
A big thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.
September 20, 2026
I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.
This is the fifth book in a series, but my first foray into this world. I didn’t have any trouble reading this as a standalone.
There’s an entertaining mystery here, rooted in Shakespeare. It takes place in Stratford upon Avon. There’s an amateur dramatics performance of a Shakespeare play that we attend, and there’s nods to Shakespearean history throughout. One of the key events does take place on Halloween, however otherwise Halloween was noticeably absent from the book. Given it was part of the title, I had expected it to be more prominent in the story. Shakespeare was far more prevalent.
The premise centres around a retired detective, now living on a houseboat with her talking cat. Conrad was by far my favourite part of the book and I wish we’d seen more of him. I imagine this is where having read the books in order would have helped. I really liked Conrad’s confidence and his sassy remarks. I’d have loved to see more of this. Conrad helps the main character to solve crimes because he can sense things differently and because he can investigate without being noticed for snooping. This was a fun dynamic.
I would check trigger warnings with this one. There are some elements that could be distressing and they are treated quite casually in the book. There was a discussion of mental health that felt a little oddly explored too so I would definitely just check for any triggers you know would be distressing for you.
Otherwise this falls more into the cosy crime genre. It’s not aiming to be scary, it’s aiming for charm and mystery.
This is the fifth book in a series, but my first foray into this world. I didn’t have any trouble reading this as a standalone.
There’s an entertaining mystery here, rooted in Shakespeare. It takes place in Stratford upon Avon. There’s an amateur dramatics performance of a Shakespeare play that we attend, and there’s nods to Shakespearean history throughout. One of the key events does take place on Halloween, however otherwise Halloween was noticeably absent from the book. Given it was part of the title, I had expected it to be more prominent in the story. Shakespeare was far more prevalent.
The premise centres around a retired detective, now living on a houseboat with her talking cat. Conrad was by far my favourite part of the book and I wish we’d seen more of him. I imagine this is where having read the books in order would have helped. I really liked Conrad’s confidence and his sassy remarks. I’d have loved to see more of this. Conrad helps the main character to solve crimes because he can sense things differently and because he can investigate without being noticed for snooping. This was a fun dynamic.
I would check trigger warnings with this one. There are some elements that could be distressing and they are treated quite casually in the book. There was a discussion of mental health that felt a little oddly explored too so I would definitely just check for any triggers you know would be distressing for you.
Otherwise this falls more into the cosy crime genre. It’s not aiming to be scary, it’s aiming for charm and mystery.
September 2, 2026
I just love Conrad the cat - I’ve read all of his adventures as the books are such fun, cosy crime mysteries.
In this book Conrad and his mistress, Lulu who is a retired Police Superintendent, arrive in Stratford upon Avon to visit Lulu’s goddaughter.
When they witness a murder during a performance of MacBeth, Lulu and Conrad decide to get involved in the investigation and help the police.
This book ticks all the boxes for me, it’s enjoyable to read, the characters are charming, particularly Conrad, the talking cat, the crime happens early in the story so the majority of the novel is given over to the investigation and I didn’t guess the perpetrator or the motive.
I liked the descriptions of Stratford Upon Avon, a place I’ve visited on many occasions and I liked the complexity of the plot- it was a perfect read.
Conrad is a great character and an excellent foil for Lulu. Even though I don’t normally like books with talking animals I will make a massive exception for LT Shearer’s novels and would certainly like to meet Conrad one day! I’m definitely going to be reading the next book in the series.
I highly recommend this book and all the earlier books featuring this amazing cat..
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.
In this book Conrad and his mistress, Lulu who is a retired Police Superintendent, arrive in Stratford upon Avon to visit Lulu’s goddaughter.
When they witness a murder during a performance of MacBeth, Lulu and Conrad decide to get involved in the investigation and help the police.
This book ticks all the boxes for me, it’s enjoyable to read, the characters are charming, particularly Conrad, the talking cat, the crime happens early in the story so the majority of the novel is given over to the investigation and I didn’t guess the perpetrator or the motive.
I liked the descriptions of Stratford Upon Avon, a place I’ve visited on many occasions and I liked the complexity of the plot- it was a perfect read.
Conrad is a great character and an excellent foil for Lulu. Even though I don’t normally like books with talking animals I will make a massive exception for LT Shearer’s novels and would certainly like to meet Conrad one day! I’m definitely going to be reading the next book in the series.
I highly recommend this book and all the earlier books featuring this amazing cat..
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.
October 8, 2026
Very enjoyable, just like all the other books in the series which I have read. A typical cosy murder. Lots of red herrings for the reader to take on board & plenty of the characters had a dubious past. Highly recommended
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews