It's deep winter and time to light the fire, pull up a blanket and curl up with your cat. But has it occurred to you that your feline companion might be licking blood from its paws?

Slink through shadows and brush with death in these three classic cat-themed mystery tales from beloved crime authors Catherine Aird, Edmund Crispin, Patricia Highsmith and Ellis Peters.

A Case of the Claws brings a thrilling winter chill to the festive season and asks: are these furry friends the guardians of our secrets or omens of misfortune?

When Mike Wakefield's business partner absconded with their printing firm's money, Mike and his wife Stephanie feared bankruptcy. Detective Inspector Sloan is at first tasked with what appears to be a cut-and-dry case of embezzlement, but that is before unsettling events - tyres slashed, bricks through windows - make it clear that someone is really gunning for him. However, Mike Wakefield was determined to finish a print job that had been in hand for a while in time for a launch party at the grand setting of Ornum House. All goes according to plan until one of Mike's employees was found dead . And he wasn't the only casualty. DI Sloan and DC Crosby have a tangled set of motives and some devious chicanery to unpick to discover a killer.