Cat In The Flock: Dreamslippers Book 1 by Lisa Brunette

Ever wonder what other people dream about? Cathedral Grace McCormick ("Cat") does not, because she already knows.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

 Cat and her grandmother, Granny Grace, have an ability called "dreamslipping" that allows them to enter other people's dreams. Instead of denying her abilities, Granny Grace honed them and established a private investigator firm in Seattle. As Granny Grace's reputation for solving mysteries grew, she became an influential member of the P.I. community; a legacy which she now wants Cat to take over.

Cat accepts Granny Grace's offer to join the firm and undergo training to hone her own abilities. During her flight to Seattle, Cat inadvertently enters the dream of one of the passengers and later discovers that the dream holds the key to solving her first case as a private investigator.

 Cat In The Flock: Dreamslippers Book 1 by Lisa Brunette is a unique and compelling detective story that has an interesting take on dream interpretation. Cat must not only pay attention to physical clues, but she has to interpret other people's dreams from a first-person and third-person perspective to solve mysteries. I found this premise fascinating and was captivated by the strong and realistic female protagonists from the first page.

Brunette's portrayals of Cat and Granny Grace are nothing short of genius. Both characters are strong, vulnerable, flawed, and genuine; I found it easy to suspend my disbelief of Granny Grace's and Cat's abilities because the characters seemed so real. It would have been so easy for Brunette to make Cat and Granny Grace larger than life, but she chose to make them down-to-earth and practical.

I was impressed by how Brunette introduced male characters in the book, particularly Cat's love interest who is an Army Ranger. As a wife of a vet, I appreciated how Brunette portrayed the "knight in shining armor" complex that some servicemen have, and I really appreciated how he ended up taking on a supporting role in the investigation rather than taking over the investigation. I know from experience that it can be difficult to accurately describe this personality type without making the man seem overbearing, jealous, or controlling.

I have also read many stories in which men with this personality type end up overshadowing the females' roles in the story. I will admit to a brief moment of panic when he entered the story, but the panic was short lived because Brunette did a brilliant job of quickly establishing his role in the story as supportive.

It is not every day when I become so involved with the characters in a book that I view them as friends. I found that the further I delved into the storyline, the more attached I became to these two strong and genuine women. If I had a physical copy of Cat In The Flock, it would be on the top shelf of my bookcase; the shelf that I reserve for old friends that I enjoy revisiting frequently.

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To find out more about Lisa Brunette and the Cat In The Flock series, visit her website; it contains excerpts from Cat In The Flock: Dreamslippers Book 1, a sneak peek at Framed and Burning: Dreamslippers Book 2, stories about her journey as an author, and where you can grab a copy of Cat In The Flock.

Update on 7/21/15: I just discovered that you can pick up a free copy of Cat In The Flock from Smashwords if you use the code SW100 at checkout. This offer expires on 7/31/15, so grab it before it's too late!

Enjoy!