A Cat’s Cradle Blog Book Tour

Coffee and Thorn, thanks for allowing me to be a part of Carly Rheilan’s blog book tour: ” A Cat’s Cradle.”

Book Information

• Title: A Cat’s Cradle
• Author: Carly Rheilan
• Genre: Crime, Psychological Drama
• Print length: 247 pages (100K words)
• Age range: This is an adult book
• Trigger warnings: murder of a child before the action of the story; rape of a child
• Amazon Rating: forthcoming publication; not yet rated

BLURB

Nobody is innocent, nobody tells the truth…

Perhaps, in the darkness, Ralph thinks of the other child, the child whom he killed all those years ago. But he will not say so: he has served his time. After all, he was little more than a child himself when he went to prison for it. He is older now, and the world has moved on.

Only his ailing mother—who wishes he had been hanged—knows that he is out. She will not speak of him. Nobody wants him.

Nobody except Mary, a little girl from outside the village, who meets him one afternoon after chasing his mother’s cat. Perhaps he thinks of the other child then, but there is really no connection. The other child had been beautiful, which Mary wasn’t. The other child wanted everything, but Mary wants nothing except his friendship.

Everyone needs a friend. What could be the harm in that?

PRAISE FOR CARLY RHEILAN’S WORK

This novel is awaiting publication, so there are no reviews yet. Her previous novels have been enthusiastically received.

“Asylum”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is one of the most powerful and original novels that I’ve read in years. The dark subject matter is one which is never far behind a headline in our daily news but remains largely taboo. Emotionally, Asylum is a brutally dark experience, but there are moments of unfettered joy which brought this cynical and gruff reader to tears I can normally rattle though a good read in a day or so, but this is one of those rare novels that you deliberately draw out – it really is that good – safe in the company of a Master storyteller whose authenticity shines. Amazon review

“BirthRights”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have just finished this book and am in awe. I don’t say this lightly. It is one of the best books I have read in years. Carly Rheilan takes the reader onto a journey into the minds of several people, linked by the profound emotional scar tissue of the protagonist. Everything rings true. The dialogue, the many perspectives the author juggles with ease, the complex storylines seamlessly woven together, and the daring exploration of difficult subjects such as the pitfalls of the medical establishment, treatments for mental illness, surrogacy, loss, and infertility, among others. I couldn’t put it down, and it will stay in my thoughts for a long time to come. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Amazon review

MY REVIEW

A Gripping Psychological Thriller

Ms. Rheilan’s “A Cat’s Cradle” is an intense and absorbing psychological thriller that delves into the unsettling relationship between Mary, a vulnerable young girl, and Ralph, a 31-year-old man with a deeply troubled past.

The story follows Mary, a child growing up in a chaotic household with an absent father and a mother overwhelmed by the demands of caring for four children. Amid this neglect, Mary unknowingly forms a dangerous bond with Ralph, whose past includes incarceration and a battle with predatory urges.

Ralph is painfully aware of his dark impulses. Yet, his internal struggle to protect Mary and resist his desires drives much of the novel’s tension. Ms. Rheilan masterfully portrays his inner conflict as he wrestles with the question: can he suppress his demons, for Mary’s sake?

“He was thirty-one… not a boy… He knew what he was doing. Perhaps because of what he was, and what he had done before, he did not count the cost as he might have done. But it did not mean that he did not choose. He had free will. And none of us sees the strings that tweak our legs and arms, making us dance.”

Throughout the novel, vivid symbolism brings to life themes of good vs. evil, innocence vs. corruption, and the possibility of redemption. The narrative raises a central haunting question: can Ralph truly atone for his past? A decisive moment suggests he might, but the moral complexity left me questioning the nature of redemption and forgiveness.

Ms. Rheilan excels in creating suspense, especially regarding Mary’s safety. As Ralph’s darker instincts inch closer to the surface, the tension mounts, gripping me as I feared for her well-being.

What stands out most is the disturbing emotional complexity of the characters. While Ralph’s predatory behavior is repellent, Ms. Rheilan’s skillful writing evokes unexpected empathy for his inner torment. This nuanced portrayal left me both unsettled and intrigued as conflicting feelings emerge for predator and prey.

“A Cat’s Cradle” confronts a difficult subject with a delicate balance, weaving a compelling and thought-provoking tale, lingering long after the last page. It forces readers to grapple with guilt, human frailty, and whether redemption is ever truly possible. A psychological thriller with extraordinary depth—a novel that demands reflection. This is a read I highly recommend, but not for the faint of heart.

AUTHOR’S BIO

Carly Rheilan was born in Malta and lives in the UK. She was educated in Oxford University (which she hated and left) and then at Brunel (a small-town technological university where she stayed for a PhD). As an academic and a psychiatric nurse, she has done research into criminal justice, taught in universities and worked for many years in the NHS. She has children of her own and has also fostered two children with mental health problems.

Her novels address issues at the edges of psychiatry, crime and personal trauma.

• Asylum tells the story of Cabdi, the survivor of an African massacre, and Mustaf, a trafficked child
• A Cat’s Cradle tells the story of a relationship between a child and a paedophile
• BirthRights is a story about a childless psychiatrist seeking a fraudulent motherhood

When not writing her own novels, Carly promotes the work of other indie authors through the book promotion company Coffee and Thorn. She also boxes (joyfully but badly), rages against the decline of left-wing politics in her unequal country (pointlessly), campaigns for the introduction of parole in Mississippi (without success), and fights a solitary battle against acres of nettles in a community garden (so far the nettles are winning). But most of all, she loves to spend time with her family, who forgive her failures and make her happy.

Purchase Book Here

• Amazon
• Goodreads

Happy Reading!