Bloodlines - Touch Not the Cat, a genealogy mystery novel
The story is beautifully paced, moving deftly towards the climax that we have been anticipating since Cathy arrived in the castle.This delightful sortie into genealogy as, with Cathy, we experience the land of her ancestors: tartan, midges, highland games, even an explanation of that clan motto, 'Touch not the cat!'REVIEW 1  "The book is a good interesting solid read and pulls your interest along with the changing timescales and characters. They are well constructed and you find that you care about their lives and difficulties. The structure is good, clear and carefully worked out. The tension at the end of the book and the tensions between Cathy and David heightened the interest and leads naturally on to wanting to know more. Billy is a good foil traditional dour Scot to Cathy's brash American "can-do" bravado. So, the many angles at the end makes for an exciting read. The main characters are well rounded, e.g. Alexander,  in particular his relationship with Katherine. Cathy at a crossroads in her life and her "possession" by the undercurrents and tensions in the castle are particularly well written. Cathy, brittle so sensitive to otherness comes across well. The book flows well and in all a good enjoyable read."    -  Marjory Marshall, Grantown-on-Spey   REVIEW 2: "A thoroughly good read. The story struck a perfect balance of history, intrigue and mystery, keeping me interested and turning the pages well past my bedtime. The characters were brought to life through their personalities and I had genuine feelings about each of them. The details and descriptions of the places where the story takes place were so good, they were also brought to life for me, and although I have never visited them, (I want to now though), I felt they were made feel familiar and I think were I to visit, I would feel I had been there already. The switches between past and present were seamless and very clever  -  as a lover of historical and modern-day stories I was given the best of both worlds.  Libby Banyard, Dunfermline  I have just thoroughly enjoyed a real page-turner, co-written by Ingrid Schippers and Thomas McKerley. Bloodlines  -  Touch Not the Cat takes us to the heart of the Scottish Highlands where an American homicide detective, a member of the Macpherson clan, finds herself drawn into a mystery set in motion by her ancestors a hundred years earlier. Cathy is reluctant to go back to her roots at Ballindalloch Castle, the home of the Macphersons for over 450 years but instinct takes over and she comes face to face with the family mystery, the disappearance of the laird over a hundred years earlier. Flashbacks take us to the life and times of Alexander Stewart, the castle gamekeeper, ancestor of Catherine's partner. We share his love for an earlier Katherine Macpherson and witness the evil way he is separated from her by the laird, and suspected of involvement in the inexplicable disappearance of Gordon Macpherson, the laird. The story is beautifully paced, moving deftly towards the climax that we have been anticipating since Cathy arrived in the castle. A wealth of Scottish colour fills this delightful sortie into genealogy as, with Cathy, we experience the land of her ancestors: tartan, midges, highland games, even an explanation of that clan motto, 'Touch not the cat!'   -  Shirley Curran, a retired English Teacher at an International School in Geneva.