Review live on 3rd December 2020:

Oh what a year it’s been! I think we can all agree that 2020 can get in the bin, save for a few light spots – namely that so many cracking books have made their way into the world while we’ve all been locked down.

The Kensington Kidnap is the first in a new cosy crime series, by the writing partnership of Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre.

Epiphany Bloom (or Pip to her friends) is unemployed with rent to pay and with no sight of a job over the horizon. A series of mishaps and miscommunications (which is so on brand for Pip) leads to her impersonating an investigator and on the search for a missing celebrity teen.

Mortal peril lies in wait for Pip, but she has a three-legged cat who is relying on her to bring home the bacon!

I thought this book was tremendous fun! Pip very much put me in mind of Janet Evanovich’s erstwhile heroine, Stephanie Plum, in that she seems more than able to fail upwards. Despite a complete lack of experience in the job that she’s fallen into, she actually seems rather good at it.

Aside from this appealing main character, Pip has a willing army of helpers and I’d love to see more titles in the series featuring them more fully. The villains here are also very well done – they are incredibly modern in their outlook and methods and are not merely cartoon stereotypes of ‘wronguns’.

Don’t be misled here by the ‘cosy’ part of the genre – this book has a proper and thoroughly developed mystery plot. It is unfolded at a good pace and there are solid – warped but solid – reasons for the villains to act the way they have.

There’s some great but subtle commentary on a range of modern issues and I’d love to see this tone developed further in subsequent books.

It’s a very definite yes from me for Pip Bloom and her fledgling investigative career – I can’t wait to read more!

There wasn't a lot of information about this book when I requested it and I mistakenly thought it was a historical mystery. Boy was I wrong. Imagine my surprise when the main character is a whiny, twenty-something who thinks nothing of lying to get out of things, to avoid things and to get a job, who is used to having money and whines about it incessantly when it is taken away [I will say that parent's that raise their kids this way are doing society a huge disservice - WE are the ones that have to deal with your obnoxious offspring, who now have to work, but don't want to and complain about it all. the. time. And it is just awful], cannot pay rent, but can buy Hello! magazine and lattes, and thinks NOTHING of walking into a job where she is mistaken for someone else and is okay with no correcting them and thinking that she can both solve the mystery and do the job they have assigned to her. ALL of this happens before the book hits 10%. And at that point, I am done [I did go ahead and read the end and I may have sprained my eyes reading all that. HOW is it even remotely believable, I have no idea]. I am sorry that I cannot finish it, because I do not like not finishing books. Unfortunately, this MC and the whole premise is just too much for me to deal with [I have very little tolerance for characters such as she] and I just cannot make myself read a whole book of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Kensington Kidnap is the first instalment in the quirky Epiphany ”Pip" Bloom Mysteries series, set in London's affluent West End. We are introduced to Pip, the epitome of a trust fund kid, who has never strived too hard to succeed because mummy will always bail her out when necessary. But now her mother has cut off her money supply forcing her to stand on her own two feet. She visits an employment agency and finds a job filing paperwork for Private Investigators at Boston Investigations. However, on her first day on the job, in a case of mistaken identity, it appears they believe her to be Ms Du Bois, a child psychology expert who specialises in finding missing children. She soon finds herself in the middle of an urgent and important meeting regarding missing teenager Matty Price, the American son of prominent Hollywood actress Madison and her husband and renowned author Ben. After finding an envelope stuffed with cash and a file of information on the case to consult, she decides instead of setting the record straight to assume Ms Du Bois role, thinking it to be a great opportunity to prove her worth to her bitterly disappointed mother.

All previous attempts to contact Matty have failed and it is a concern that as a teenager he has not been seen on social media either. Could this indicate he is no longer with us? Pip has a few leads to follow but they don't seem too promising. If determination to find the boy could make up for her lack of investigative experience then she would be well on way to finding and locating him. Can she discover his location, return him to his distressed family and abandon her label as a liability in the process? I thoroughly enjoyed this compelling crime caper and found myself intrigued from the outset. It starts in a peculiar fashion with Pip effectively pretending to be someone she's not and initially I wasn't sure about her as either a character or protagonist as she seemed lazy, irresponsible and living off her parents' trust fund, which doesn't make her very endearing, but I soon realised that her mishaps and issues were meant to comedic and the combination between how amusingly accident prone she was and the captivating mystery was not only original but the perfect piece of cosy winter escapism too. Highly recommended.

The Kensington Kidnap by Katie Gayle is a wonderful book, and hopefully this is the start of a series. Epiphany, Pip, is broke and looking for a job, when she goes to a clerical job interview, they mistake her for a missing persons expert. Pip couldn't turn down money, so now she must find a missing teenager son of two celebrities. This book is funny, with twists and turns that keep you reading and guessing. I read this book in one day, because I could not put it down. I strongly recommended this book and series for cozy mystery book fans.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for my copy of this book which I have voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.

This is a cosy mystery with the accident prone Epiphany (Pip) Bloom as the main character. Pip has had a series of disastrous, short-lived jobs and is used to being bailed out of difficulties by her Mum . . . . but Mum has put her foot down and closed her purse so Pip needs a job to enable her to pay her rent.

When Pip goes to work filing at a Private Investigators she is immediately taken into a meeting where they assume she's someone else and discuss the disappearance of Matty Price, the son of two celebrities. She doesn't correct their assumptions of her identity and instead sets off to endeavour to discover where Matty is . . . . and even more fun starts!

This is a story with a wide range of characters, plenty of laugh out loud incidents, a serious investigation and life threatening scenario as Pip helps uncover much more than she'd ever anticipated. I'm very happy this is the start of a new series and I look forward to reading more of Pip's (mis)adventures in future - I can't wait to read how she gets on with her boxing lessons as well as her new job!

Epiphany “Pip” Bloom is trying to find a way to earn money to pay her handsome landlord Tim. Most of her previous ventures ended in calamity, so when Pip signs up with a temp agency, she accidentally gets hired for a different job than what she was sent for. Pip is now unofficially a private eye, with her first case finding the son of a famous actress and her writer husband. Pip is a quirky and funny character, and the mystery itself is filled with quirky people. I enjoyed it and look forward to the second book in the new series. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Fun. Witty. Wonderful. A lively, lovely feel good read. I absolutely raced through this brilliant story. Loved Pip and Most and enjoyed Pip's exchanges with Mother. Wonderful escapism during these troubled times. Highly recommended.

Pip is about to lose her apartment and has just lied to her roommate with a promise to pay two months' rent immediately. The problem is she doesn't actually have the money to pay, and she doesn't have a job, or any prospects at a job, and her mother won't give her any more money. So, really, what is a girl to do but grovel at the temp agency and promise to do better this time. Pip really means what she says, she will do better, and it wasn't her fault that the company thought she was a PI and not a temporary office worker, And it wasn't her fault they gave her a folder of personal information about the very famous Matty Price, or an envelope full of money. Ok, maybe it was her fault that she lied to the real PI about taking her job, and maybe it was her fault that she kept lying to her new boss about being a PI, but Pip absolutely intends to figure out what happened to Matty.

Pip is quite an interesting character, full of motivation and peppered with a lot of really good luck, when she sets her mind to something there's no telling what she might be able to accomplish. I really enjoyed Pip's story with her roommate/landlord and I would love to see more of them together. However, despite this being the first book in the series I often felt like I was missing something that came in a book before, especially when it came to the relationship between Pip, Flis, and their mom. The relationship is explained a little, but still left me confused. Hopefully, this can be further explained in forthcoming books in the series. Overall I thought it was a really interesting take on a mystery series with a really fun MC to follow along the way. I hope to read more books from this series in the future.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Bookouture for a digital review copy

Having read the synopsis to the book, I hoped the book would live up to the ‘hype’. I’m pleased to say it does. Pip is a fun character, with a heart of gold but also a magnet for disasters. All the way through the story, we find out why she never holds job down for very long. I loved the way these ‘excuses’ were subtly dropped into the story, and they made this reader smile.

I’m hoping this will be the first of a series. Pip has been given the job to find a missing teenager due to a mix up, and she is determined to solve the case. With the help of her gorgeous landlord, her parenting blogger sister and some new friends, she starts to work out where Matty may be hiding or being held.

This story flowed so well, as Pip got herself further into the investigations and discovers that she isn’t the only person pretending to be someone else. I’m thrilled to have discovered another new fantastic author to follow in 2020, and look forward to reading more in the future.

4.5 stars

Pip must get a job- her mother has cut off her credit cards, she owes rent, and she has to feed her three legged cat. A temp job seems like a good idea but when she arrives at the PI office, she's assigned not to file but to find Matty Price, the teen son of celebrities who has gone missing. Now most of us would tell the boss that we don't have experience doing this sort of thing but not Pip- she powers through. And into a mess! Pip discovers that the grass isn't greener for kids like Matty, whose parents and their friends are not the best role models. This is more or less a cozy- it's a light read with a heroine who will grow on you. And she has a cat. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's a fun read and I'm looking forward to the next one.

This cozy mystery definitely became more enjoyable as a read. The lead character is very quirky and developed more depth as the story progressed, She moved from being more than a little lost to finding some meaning in her work.

Some of the elements of the story at the beginning seemed just a little of a stretch and Pip's ability to make choices that got her into trouble feels like its a talent in itself. I did laugh out loud, roll my eyes and just wonder how it would all end.

There are the usual red herrings and plot twists of this cozy mystery genre, no surprises there! My sense though is that is a very promising start to a series and one I will watch out for in the future.

My thanks to #Netgalley, the author and the publisher, Bookouture for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pip is short on money after her allowance was cut by mommy, and not able to hold on to jobs due to her freak accidents. One such incident showed her kindness. Basically, she is a walking disaster. Her agency sent her to an investigation firm, who mistook her for an experienced psychological coach. Instead of correcting the mistake, Pip takes over their current case of missing Matty Price, teenage son of a TV celebrity Madison, who is currently in London for her film shooting. Pip couldn’t let go of the opportunity of meeting a celebrity.

At first, didn’t warm to Pip for her duplicity. But my opinion of her changed as she started to investigate. As she is an amateur detective, she tries to channel Miss Marple, but fails spectacularly and resorts to her instincts and comes up with her own methods. Her inner thoughts during interrogations were hilarious, and made me guffaw like a wacko.

Connected to Pip over her love of Christie’s mysteries. Loved seeing Queen of Crime references and her detectives. I burst out laughing while reading about Fliss - quirky sister of Pip, her transposing of words, clean eating malarkey, and crazy stuff she blogs about. Pip’s speculations were wild, amazed at her mindset. Hope to see Pip taking Fliss on her investigative adventures in future books.

Small grumbles of mine were, the inception of detective Pip could have been better. Investigative firm is hiring an employee without checks, letting a psychological coach solely investigate seemed dubious to me. But I can see why Gayle has taken this approach because its suited Pip’s weird persona. Some of the environmental drivel could be condensed as I was bored of it.
The cracking ending had me in stitches.

Overall, I would recommend you to go on this delightful, amusing, cozy, and wild adventure with a witty detective. I eagerly await for the next adventure

Thank you Bookoture for kindly giving me a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry to say I really struggled to get into this book, even though the main character was a fellow cat lover, I just didn't take to her. As this was a cosy book not liking the main character was a flaw too far for me and I just didn't enjoy it.,I found it all a bit silly, and can only hope other readers may enjoy it more.

Epiphany Bloom has no job, no prospect of one on the horizon, with rent and cat food to pay for. Things happen to Pip, as she prefers to be known, and her bridges are forever being burned. She doesn't however, ever delete a contact and so, when all seems lost, there is usually someone she can turn to.

After a case of mistaken identity Pip finds herself the expert in a missing persons case concerning Matty, the son of two A listers she has only ever read about in the celebrity magazines she loves. With the help of her flatmate Tim, sister Flis and others picked up along the way Pip finds herself plunged into something far more sinister and complicated than she could have imagined. Now the only questions are can she find Matty and survive to tell the tale?

I so wanted to like this book, the premise was great, but I was ready to disown Pip by the end of the first page and it didn't get any better. As she is the main protagonist this was a problem. The actual case being investigated blossomed into way more than it seemed it would at first glance but unfortunately, for me at least, it wasn't enough to save the book which was a bit of a struggle tbh.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. A lot of people will love this but it wasn't for me.

Apologies but impossible to rwad because of the over use of ‘mummy’ countless times on a lot of pages,also the story is too unbelievable that no one would query who she was, would have tried for more than 10% if not for the mumny’ overuse though

Pip is broke and needs a job. When arriving to a job interview, the arrogant boss assumes she is a different person, a missing persons expert and she doesn’t correct him. So here she is, an expert looking for the teen son of a celebrity, with 0 experience. Let the private investigator lessons 101 begin.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery, the first in the new series. Cozy mysteries are so much better in the fall for some reason! I thought the investigation, new developments that unfolded and the plot twists were nicely done!

Thanks to Netgalley for my advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Firstly, I want to say thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture to give me the opportunity to review this book.

I want to say that the book is so interesting and has the perfect balance of comedy and mystery.

Our main character, Epiphany, that all people call Pip, is a wonderful woman, but her life's a mess in the beginning of the book. She needs to find a job, for this reason call a friend to find one. When she goes to the job, they wait for another person, Ms du Bois. Pip decides to impersonate this person and find the missing boy, Matty Prince.


All of the characters from this book are amazing, hilarious and real. Yes, you feel that these people can be your neighbour. Pip and Flis, her sister, are the perfect couple and have a really good relationship, not perfect but real.

Pip is a good investigator. She makes a lot of things that are illegal or in the wrong way, but she has something that makes you want to read more and more. Both companions, Tim (her flatmate) and Jimmy (an owner of a gym) are important to the plot, because they help Pip in different situations and they are a key to solving the case. As well, Flis is so important too, because her job as blogger is crucial to give Pip a perfect cover to introduce in the "world" where the missing boy could be involved.

I love the writing too, because it is free-flowing and gives you little clues to keep your attention. Also, the chapters are not long, neither short, they have the perfect extension to read 3 or 4 without losing the concentration.Other thing that I want to emphasize is the topics that the book talks about, plastic contamination and the veggie life, both are well represented with the perfect point of comedy.

To sum up, this is the perfect book to read a cosy mystery with a little bit of humor, wonderful characters, an interesting and intriguing plot and a thrilling conclusion.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

At the start I wasn't overly keen on Pip, everything that could go wrong for her had and she just seemed a bit daft. However, I am so glad I persevered! A great adventure, an easy, comfortable read and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to more adventures from Epiphany Bloom.

Very excited to learn that this is the first of a new series by this author (on further investigation this is a joint effort by two authors, Kate and Gail) and is a fantastic start to a new cozy mystery set in modern day London.

Epiphany (Pip) Bloom is a loveable character who at the start of the book we learn has lurched from one bad job experience to another. She lands a temp job at a detective agency for some basic filing, however they mistake her for a psychologist who was going to help find a missing teen, son of an American celeb.

Pip deceives she will try and find the teenager and along with her blogger sister, flatmate computer hacker and new potential love interest she does just that.

Along the way she has many adventures and the book characters are likeable and the plot is amusing and well written.

I am very much looking forward to reading more in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A quick and comfortable read involving a missing celebrity kid, environment group and an accidental PI. The plot and the suspense do not put much of a strain on the reader and the wry humour is enjoyable. The authors have achieved what they set out to do.