The Kensington Kidnap: An absolutely gripping cozy murder mystery

Name: The Kensington Kidnap: An absolutely gripping cozy murder mystery
Rating: 4.677419185638428 (62 reviews)

Katie Gayle

Dec 2020 · Bookouture

4.7

62 reviews

Ebook

350

Pages

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

4.7

62 reviews

Colette Lamberth

December 2, 2020

This was a good read and the perfect set up for a series. Pip is the central character and I’ll be honest and say that my first impressions of her weren’t great but she definitely grew on me as the story progressed. She is so desperate for a job that when she is mistaken for a missing persons expert she doesn’t correct the error, deciding it’s a job she can do. What follows is a slightly madcap story of teach yourself private investigating. As the first book in a series the test is whether I’d like to read more and in this case it’s a definite yes. Light hearted and cozy and a welcome treat at this time of year.

Colin Edwards

December 2, 2020

The Kensington Kidnap is the first mystery novel from Katie Gayle (actually, two South African ladies: Kate and Gail). Epiphany Bloom (who, for some reason, vastly prefers to be known as Pip!) has failed at everything she’s tried to do. There are references to several previous unfortunate accidents / incidents / misunderstandings, like the event involving the hive and the tractor. Pip is currently out of work; behind with the rent; and Mummy has made it clear that there will be no more financial support. Fortunately, as she starts working through her contact list to see if anyone can offer her a job, she strikes lucky and trots off to an office 15 minutes’ walk away. There, due to yet another misunderstanding, she finds herself responsible for tracking down a missing teenager. I like Golden Age detective stories, set (and preferably written) well before the 1960s, ideally before 1950. I expected to be irritated beyond words by a book set in 2020. Instead, I was enthralled and I couldn’t put the book down. (Thank you so much, NetGalley and Bookouture, for letting me have an advance review copy.) This was my first mystery where the “detective” analysed Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for clues and used Google. Just like Sherlock Holmes could deduce stuff from tobacco ash or the way a character walked, his modern counterpart will interpret tweets and posts. Just to clarify, though, Pip is not Sherlock Holmes! She is an accident-prone but fast-thinking woman who is fortunate in her sister and her friends, because they have useful skills that she can draw upon. Her sister, Flis, for example, is a blogger and is almost making money from social media, completely at home with the relevant apps. Pip’s making it up as she goes along but does ask the right questions and is determined to solve the case. (If she doesn’t, she knows she’ll have to give back the advance fee.) There were a few too many fortunate coincidences for the plot to be 100% realistic, but who cares? Just accept this as cosy escapism and enjoy it. There were several moments that made me snigger. One cruel example was a 20-something saying to Pip (perhaps a 30-something, although we’re not told precisely), “Your generation doesn’t get that.” Ow, meow! My other source of enjoyment was Flis. Flis’s vocabulary is somewhat idiosyncratic, to say the least…I think my favourite phrase was “modular opera” rather than “modus operandi” but farming lemurs for their fur rather than llamas was a close contender. I believe Katie Gayle has signed a three-book contract. I can’t wait to read the next two. #TheKensingtonKidnap #NetGalley

blue pink

December 2, 2020

🚙 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

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