Claws Out
Fionnuala McGoldrick finds herself more than pleasantly surprised by this Irish thriller.

I have to be honest and say that when I first picked up this book I was slightly dismayed. The cover depicted feet - encased in high heeled shoes - standing between police tape and my first reaction was to say ‘Oh no, I hate gory crime novels’. However, once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. Far from being the graphic, horrific novel I first envisaged, I found it to be thoroughly intriguing - with a well written plot and humorous interludes.

Emma Boylan is a feisty investigative journalist working for a leading Dublin paper. She was married for ten years, before embarking on an affair with Detective Inspector Jim Connolly. Her actions, in this regard, cause a domino effect and what starts out as a scheme for revenge by Connolly’s ex-wife turns into a manhunt when people start dying in unusual circumstances.

Connolly is charged with two murders. One of the victims is his ex-wife, the other, her housekeeper. Iseult Connolly’s original plan was only to accuse her husband of the aggravated rape of her housekeeper; a charge which was to be backed up by the ‘First Friday Club’ which she was part of. The club meet on the first Friday of every month and its members are the crème de la crème of Dublin’s female high society. The sole purpose of their meetings is to use their time and resources, as rich women of leisure, to exact revenge on anyone who has annoyed them. Jim Connolly was to be their next ‘victim’, but somehow their plan to humiliate Connolly - by losing him his job and reputation - goes horribly wrong when Iseult is found dead, along with her housekeeper, Nuala Buckley. Someone has obviously infiltrated their network and is using the situation for their own benefit. Another death, a kidnapping and a suspected blackmail add to the mystery, but it seems clear that someone is out to frame Connolly and harm Emma in the process. This becomes even more apparent when Emma is attacked.

Boylan uses all her skills as a journalist to try and get as much information as she can to extricate her lover - the now disgraced Connolly - from behind bars The women of ‘The First Friday Club’ seem to know more than they are telling and some of Detective Connolly’s police friends don’t seem as wholesome or honest as they should be. But is Emma looking to the wrong people for answers?

This book is absolutely fantastic and I would love to see it televised or made into a film. The storyline is so full of twists and turns that any viewer would be glued to the screen. The ending is completely unexpected - as is the way with most worthwhile books of this genre - and has you begging for more. I was particularly impressed with the male author’s understanding of the female psyche. I had never heard of K.T. McCaffrey before this but am now a definite fan of both him and his brilliant writing. It may be a cliché, but I for one will never again make the mistake of judging the book solely by its cover
Reproduced from Verbal Magazine, Northern Ireland.

The Cat Trap - Review by Myles McWeeney
Irish Independent Sat 5th April
Weekend Review Section

In the latest of the excellent series featuring Dublin journalist Emma Boylan, Emma is facing a sea-change in her life. She's left her husband and moved in with her lover, DI Jim Connolly, and is considering leaving the Post to become media manager for Ireland's latest political party, The Social Alliance Party.

But when Connolly is arrested for the murder of his estranged wife Iseult and a friend, Emma is thrown into a desperate search for the real culprits, who she knows must have some link to the privileged world Iseult inhabited, a world of trophy wives who feel short-changed by their pampered lives.

Emma's quest for the truth is hampered by the fact that some of Jim Connolly's colleagues resent him, and are not interested in clearing his name. She knows he's being framed, but the who and the why of it lead her into a closed world occupied by glamorous but glossily sinister women. It's only when she herself is attacked that the authorities act and Emma manages to clear her lover.

KT McCaffrey maintains the suspense throughout, and casts a cold eye on the gloss of modern Ireland.

Rubbing Against Shapely Legs
A body no sooner hits the Dublin streets, it seems, than the scene is thick with vigilante mamas, former feds, enigmatic detective sergeants and hard-drinking private eyes. There is even a tea lady making a buck or two off the crowd. All that's been missing is a reporter to cover the story for the papers- if she can elbow Ireland's aspiring crime writers aside and get close enough to see.

Enter Emma Boylan, investigative journalist for the fictitious Post. K.T. McCaffrey's Boylan marks her sixth sexy adventure in The Cat Trap. This time the dead body discovered in an affluent Dublin mansion is the ex-wife of Boylan's boyfriend, Detective Inspector Jim Connolly. This time (as with all the best mysteries) it's personal.
The Cat Trap rubs against the shapely, übërpösh legs of DI Connolly's ex-wife, Iseult Connolly, and her glamorous circle. It's a sordid tale of amorality among the Irish capital's bitchy super-rich.

Diana had an especially warm welcome for Iseult Connolly and took the opportunity to whisper how gorgeous her new escort looked. As a frequent visitor to the Elliott's Costa del Sol home, Iseult habitually turned up with a handsome beau in tow. Diana, a stickler for protocol, had included Iseult's detective husband on the invitation but, as expected, he would not show. In his absence Iseult liked to pick a partner more in tune with the glamour and razzmatazz that went hand in hand with such high-toned bashes. Later in the evening Diana would quiz Iseult for a rundown on her latest paramour's prowess. Descriptions employed by Iseult to measure her lover's performance borrowed heavily from equine speak: Alisdair, she would declare, was worthy of the Blue Riband. Mark was a good three-day event rider. Trevor was hung like a young stallion and quick to his oats. James reacted well to the whip. Charles was good in the saddle and had stamina to take her all the way to the final puissance. And so it would go.
(pages 102-3)

After poor cuckold Connolly is locked in Cloverhill Prison, it's up to Emma Boylan to clear his name. Harried by Connolly's vindictive former colleagues, Emma soldiers on with the help of an occasional colorful ally. Will people who wouldn't even look at a policeman open up and speak to a reporter? Will Emma's journalistic contacts open the right doors? Will she be able to reveal the ugliness that the wealthy use all their power to hide?

Though the Emma chapters (either the Connolly thread or her own exploration of the world of Irish politics) were entertaining, I found McCaffrey most engaging when walking Dublin in the designer shoes of Iseult Connolly's cocaine-snorting circle. Pick up a copy of The Cat Trap and sample its prologue for vividly described Dilettante vengeance. With rich husbands providing power and immunity, what could possibly stop these bored beauties from avenging their countless envies, inadequacies and grudges?
One criticism is that crime fic fans have crossed The Cat Trap's territory before. Temple Bar's trendy restaurants, a prison visitng area, the heroine's apartment with possible baddie lurking in ambush.... Been there, drank that. The novel visits new locales as well, though I'd love to have seen the secret non-posh places frequented by those with the power to go anywhere.
Reproduced by Kind Permission from Critical Mick .