A missing woman. A cold case. A dark secret, buried deep beneath the Yorkshire Dales. I’m delighted that The Fells, the first in my Detectives Donovan and Young series, is now available to pre-order. The books are rooted in the unique landscape of the Yorkshire Dales, a place of hills and valleys, waterfalls and rivers, drystone walls and ruined barns, deep, dark caves and windswept limestone pavements. Farming and lead mining have shaped these remote hills throughout history. The area is renowned for walking, caving and fell-running, and Wensleydale cheese! Its spectacular natural beauty make ..read more

It’s been a while since I’ve posted some recommendations but I’ve read SO many excellent books – with thanks to Manchester City Libraries who keep me supplied and have a brilliant reservation system. Here are a fraction of the titles I’ve loved recently. Hope you find something you like. Happy Reading! All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman Still Life by Sarah Winman Other Women by Emma Flint The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff The Slowworm’s Song by Andrew Miller Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford ..read more

THE LOST GIRLS OF ST ANN’S has succeeded beyond all my wildest dreams. Achieving bestseller status #1 in the Kindle Adoption category, reaching #2 in Sagas and spending weeks in the Kindle Top 100 bestsellers list! Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has bought a copy. THE LOST GIRLS OF ST ANN’S is a novel very close to my heart (and a change from my crime fiction). The book is rooted in my experience as an adoptee but I also wanted to reflect the many different stories I’ve heard from other adoptees, birth and adoptive parents. And to capture the loss that remains for everyone at the heart of a ..read more

                I’m so pleased that Joffe books are publishing THE LOST GIRLS OF ST ANN’S, previously TRIO. It’s a novel very close to my heart (and a change from my crime fiction). The book, a family saga, is rooted in my experience as an adoptee but I also wanted to reflect the range of stories I’ve heard from other adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents and also to capture the loss that remains for everyone at the heart of adoption. I’m hoping this fresh edition will reach a whole new readership. Manchester, 1960. When you’re young, unmarried a ..read more

I am delighted to be launching a new series with Joffe Books. SHADOW OF THE HILLS will be the first outing for DI Leo Donovan and DC Shan Young, based in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Kate Lyall Grant – commissioning editor at Joffe says, ‘With its stunning Yorkshire Dales setting and intricately crafted plot, SHADOW OF THE HILLS had me gripped from the outset. Cath has created a memorable new detective duo in veteran cop Leo Donovan and his pregnant rookie partner Shan Young who is tackling her very first case.’ When remains are discovered by a potholer, deep underground, they’re suspected t ..read more

Here’s another batch of books that I found compelling and memorable. Maybe you’ll find something you like here too. Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone The Promise by Damon Galgut Our Missing Hearts Celeste Ng Strange Sally Diamond by  Liz Nugent Leeward by Katie Daysh The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown ..read more

It’s almost six months since I posted some recommendations – though I have mentioned a few of these books on Twitter. Check them out, there’s a broad variety here, and I hope you’ll find something you like The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg The Trees by Percival Everett The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain Metronome by Tom Watson The Maid by Nita Prowse Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford The Forcing by Paul Hardisty Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid The New Wilderness by Diane Cook The Pe ..read more

Undercover: Close To Home, my three-part thriller aired in June on BBC Radio 4. And is now available on BBC Sounds. Grace Monroe goes undercover as a live-in nanny at the home of Ben Curtis whose wife Lydia has been missing for a year. Described as ‘Excellent, high-octane, human drama’ by the Radio Times, I’ve been delighted with the reception it’s had. Massive thanks to the cast, director Nadia Molinari and the sound production team. Happy listening ..read more

Undercover: Close To Home, my three-part thriller for BBC Radio Drama starts at 2.15 pm on June 8th on BBC Radio 4, with episodes aired weekly. And is available after on BBC Sounds. Grace Monroe goes undercover as a live-in nanny at the home of Ben Curtis whose wife Lydia has been missing for a year. Making herself indispensable in the intimacy of the family home, Grace hunts for clues as to what befell the mother of two. It’s a game of cat and mouse with Grace prepared to do whatever she must to win Ben’s trust. Being involved in the recording was a brilliant experience, such a thrill watchi ..read more

I’ve written a number of radio dramas over the past fifteen years, most of them crime or mystery series. You can see the full list on my TV and Radio page. And during the last year I’ve been working on Undercover: Close To Home, a new three-part thriller for BBC Radio Drama. While the original idea for the story has stayed the same, the scripts have been through many rewrites with changes to the beginning, the ending and much of the middle! As well as alterations to the weight given to some of the characters and developments in the themes. There’s a lovely intimacy in scripting for radio, with ..read more