The Cat Among Us

Fiction

About the book

When Gerry Coneybear, a cheerful young artist, comes to her Aunt Maggie's funeral, she is astonished to learn that she has inherited her aunt's rambling 200-year-old waterfront home. She soon discovers that the house comes with a multitude of her aunt's cats as part of the bequest. As Gerry fends off the greedy, jealous relatives and the mysterious part-time house keeper, she gradually comes to realize that her aunt may have been murdered. Cats, teacups, horticulture and art come together to help Gerry solve the mystery.

About the author

Born in Montreal and raised in Hudson, Quebec, Louise Carson studied music in Montreal and Toronto, played jazz piano and sang in the chorus of the Canadian Opera Company. She has published eighteen books: three collections of poetry -- A Clearing, Dog Poems, and The Truck Driver Treated for Shock; three stand-alone works of fiction -- Mermaid Road, Executor, and The Last Unsuitable Man; The Chronicles of Deasil Widdy trilogy -- In Which (shortlisted for the 2019 QWF price for Children's literature and the 2019 ReLit Award), Measured, and Third Circle; as well as the stand-alone prequel to the Deasil Widdy books -- Rope: A Tale Told in Prose and Verse; and her Maples Mystery series -- The Cat Among Us, The Cat Vanishes, The Cat Between, The Cat Possessed, A Clutter of Cats, The Cat Looked Back, The Cat Crosses a Line, and The Cat Laughs.

Her poems have appeared in literary magazines, chapbooks and anthologies, including The Best Canadian Poetry 2013, 2021 and 2024. She's been shortlisted in FreeFall magazine's annual contest three times and won a Manitoba Magazine Award. She has presented her work in many public forums in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Saskatoon, Kingston and New York City. Carson lives with two cats in St-Lazare, Quebec, where she writes and either shovels snow or gardens, depending on the season.

Excerpt

"And to my niece, Geraldine Coneybear, I leave my house, The Maples, and all the contents therein, except those previously mentioned, as well as the sum of fifty thousand dollars to assist her in its maintenance."

Gerry jerked upright. Andrew was shaking her hand as the other relatives crowded around. "Wow, Gerry! Fantastic! Good for you."

"Yes, Gerry. Lucky you." Margaret, Andrew's older sister, named for their aunt, loomed, her three glum-looking sons flanking her. Gerry had no more than a second to get the impression of grinding teeth before her Aunt Mary, Maggie's sister and Margaret's mother, replaced her.

"Gerry!" She threw her arms around her niece then held her at arm's length. "More like Deborah every day! She was so glamorous, your mother. That red hair and creamy skin. And that fabulous figure." Here she raked Gerry head to toe with a critical glance.

Her husband, Geoff looked embarrassed, but then, Gerry reflected, he'd had a lot of practice. "How are you, Gerry? Good to see you." He pecked her on the cheek. "Are you surprised to be Maggie's heir?"

"Totally, Uncle Geoff," Gerry replied, rubbing at the lipstick she knew Aunt Mary had pressed onto the side of her nose. She leaned forward and quietly asked, "Did I get it all?"

Unfortunately, her query coincided with a lull in the general conversation.

"Weren't you paying attention, Gerry?" Margaret said coldly. "You get it all. Everything. The house, land, furniture, the paintings." She seemed to choke on this last word, and everyone stood still, very embarrassed.

Gerry, now fumbling for a tissue in her pocket, replied, "I meant the lipstick Auntie left on my nose. Have I removed all of it?"

Reviews

“The Cat Among Us is a book I would describe as “cozy” in the sense that where it takes place is picturesque and the cooking that is described in the story gives you a warm feeling. The story really highlights…” >>

— Sarah.DeeReads

“Author Louise Carson has a cozy that hasn’t been drizzled with maple syrup. The murder is off stage but the motive is neatly woven into an entertaining story laced with small town family foibles, revealing commentary about art and well…” >>

— Don Graves Hamilton Spectator, Goodreads

“Gerry Coneybear is spending her first Christmas at the Maples, with no one but the 23 cats her aunt left her to help her celebrate in this third Maples Mystery. The discovery of a 100-year-old skeleton in her wood shed…” >>

— Prairie Books NOW

““If, as the poet T. S. Eliot once suggested, April is the cruellest month, then surely the dark and foreboding month of November must be the bleakest.

But as it happens, November is also the month when…” >>

— Bill Young Montreal Gazette

“After the death of her Aunt Maggie, Gerry Coneybear can’t believe she inherited her aunt’s home. Gerry wants to sell it as she has her own life in Toronto, but the lawyer tells her she can’t do that. Her aunt…” >>

— Yvonne Socrates' Book Reviews