One of the. most miserable parts of the pandemic is that I miss my friends! Ace author Cathy Ace – see what I did there? – perhaps tops among them! Smart, funny, and wise about the writing and publishing, Cathy is someone I always look for first thing when I surface at a mystery convention like Bouchercon. Someday soon… and luckily until then WE HAVE ANOTHER CATHY ACE BOOK! Cathy’s award-winning traditional mysteries – think smart puzzles with a bit of an edge – are always cause for celebration. So today let’s raise a glass to her brilliant newThe Corpse with the Granite Heart!

“…of bloody deeds and death…” 

(Source: King Richard III, Act 5, Scene 3, William Shakespeare)

Thanks to Clea Simon for allowing me to drop by today – most kind. If I had a cap, I would doff it, which might sound a bit odd, but you’ll have to forgive me…I have Shakespeare on my mind at the moment, so there’s a lot of “thou”-ing and “doffing” going on around here these days.

I’ve had a bit of a thing for Mr. Shakespeare’s work since the times in school when we’d read his plays and sonnets aloud in class. I still read his plays aloud now, at home, in the quiet of my office: I love the way his words feel as they as spoken. So – for the eleventh Cait Morgan Mystery, The Corpse with the Granite heart – I’ve taken the opportunity to share some of that love with my readers. 

One of the most wonderful things about being a writer is having the chance to share a passion; in this book you’ll discover I don’t just have a thing about the Great Bard, but that one of Cait Morgan’s favourite artists is Hans Holbein the Younger (because he’s one of my favourites, too…funny that, eh?!). In this book, Cait and Bud are visiting London, England, which means I sent them to some of my favourite galleries and restaurants – as well as forcing them to face up to a tragedy of truly Shakespearean proportions (this is Cait’s highest body-count yet!) as well as an especially nasty piece of work as the antagonist of the tale. 

Now, if this isn’t sounding terribly “cozy”, it’s not meant to. You see, despite the fact that Cait would probably win a gold medal (for Wales, of course!) if tea-drinking were an Olympic sport, these books are true “traditional mysteries” as opposed to the cozier version of the puzzle-plot mystery that’s out there. What does that mean? Well, you get the shape of a “Golden Age” novel, and a real Whodunnit to solve, but there aren’t a lot of “cozy” aspects. No, this is a story about how the toxicity of a recently deceased Shakespeare aficionado reached beyond the grave to poison his three children, and impact many others too. And not in a good way. 

As a writer who tackles the topic of murder head-on, I choose – in the Cait Morgan Mysteries – to do that from the point of view of a woman who is a professor of criminal psychology…so certainly a person familiar with the dreadful things human beings are capable of doing. But – and this is where I hope to maybe win you over – she does it with a passion for justice driving her on, a loving husband beside her who’s able to bring the experience of his lifetime in law enforcement to bear on every case, and a unique inability to see herself for who she is…bright, yes, but quite bossy, and a bit blinkered when considering her own fallibilities and shortcomings.

If you like spotting Shakespearean allusions, considering the wider application of art appreciation, solving a series of puzzling crimes, and fancy a jaunt to some wonderful London locations, where the Christmas decorations are already in place, then this is the book for you. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you fancy the idea of giving this book a try…while you plot your own decorating plans for the Holidays. 

Author of the traditional Cait Morgan Mysteries, the cozy WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, and the psychological suspense novel The Wrong Boy, Cathy Ace was born and raised in Wales, but now lives in Canada. A Bony Blithe, IPPY, and IBA award winner, she’s also been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award. Her Cait Morgan Mysteries, and The Wrong Boy, have been optioned for TV, and she’s currently working on editing the script (which, no, she didn’t write…not her skill set!) for the movie of The Corpse with the Silver Tongue. 

Ltd. 

Or on Kobo at https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-corpse-with-the-granite-heart

ISBN paperback: 978-1-990550-00-3

ISBN digital: 978-1-9992230-9-0

Find Cathy on FB: https://www.facebook.com/Cathy-Ace-Author-318388861616661
At her website: http://www.cathyace.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AceCathy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathyace1/