On this Mysterious Monday, we bring you our review of a
page-turning series debut by Cate Conte, whom you may also know as Liz Mugavero,
author of the Pawsitively Organic mysteries. The new series, Cat Café mysteries,
begins with Cat About Town, a book
with an excellent cat, a solid mystery, and some pretty good laughs.
The plot
First, I have to tell you that the description of the book on Amazon is not quite accurate. Wethinks whoever wrote it was more interested
in slipping in cutesies like “frisky,” “purrfect,” and “cat’s pajamas” than in
finding out what is actually in the book. Second, I will tell you that what is
actually in the book is a lot more interesting than the description would
indicate.
And now we begin, with one Maddie James, who has come home to
New England and the small, touristy Daybreak Island to mourn the death of her
grandmother. Maddie has a life on the other side of the country now, in San
Francisco, where she and a business partner own a successful juice bar. So she’ll
be on the island for just a little while. Only, she meets this cat, and then
she finds out her grandfather is in some kind of trouble, and then she and he
become suspects in a murder…
But I should back up a bit.
Maddie’s grandfather was once the chief of police. Now he’s
retired, and times are not so easy. The old house needs major repairs that he
can’t afford. A slimeball named Frank O’Malley wants to buy the house—or
rather, wants to force Grandpa to sell. Maddie, good granddaughter that she is,
gets riled up about this and arranges a lunch meeting with Frank, during which
she says some angry things to him. Next thing you know, her new cat runs off
among the tents of the town’s annual Food Stroll while the vendors are still
setting up. Maddie chases after him, and he leads her into one particular tent
… and right to Frank O’Malley’s extremely dead body.
Not bad for a cat who doesn’t even have a name yet, right?
(See “The Cat,” below, for more on this.)
Anyway, finding the body of a person you had sort of a
little bit threatened earlier is one sure way to make yourself a murder
suspect. That is what Maddie becomes, putting her in close contact with her old
flame Craig, who is now on the police force. Perhaps not the best way to
rekindle an old romance. Having another hot guy potentially in the picture (one
who loves animals, is in a band, is hot—oh, did I mention that one already?)
also complicates things. Plus the fact that Maddie doesn’t even plan on sticking
around. She’ll be back to San Fran as soon as all this mess is cleared up,
right? The fact that someone keeps leaving her articles about cat cafés is just
some weird, random thing, right?
The Cat
The cat is an orange tabby whom Maddie first meets in the
cemetery during her grandmother’s funeral. He seems to be seeking Maddie out,
as though knowing she will care for him. She does not name him right away,
choosing instead to call him Orange Guy. (“Orange Guy”? Really, Maddie? That’s
like calling me “Splotchy Girl.” Not a good name for a cat of quality.) But she
does eventually name him JJ (better—much better). JJ actually becomes something
of a celebrity, as he is called a “hero cat” for finding the body, thus
alerting authorities to the murder. JJ takes right away to walking on a harness
and leash, and he becomes a wonderful companion for Maddie. We love how,
instead of having the robust meow one might expect, JJ squeaks. How endearing!
(The orange cat whom JJ is based on was
interviewed by our friend Mudpie. Check it out if you haven’t already!)
Our verdict
We have tried really hard, and we cannot think of anything about
Cat About Town that we did not like. Maddie is a fun character to get to know, and we fell in love with JJ right away (that squeak!). The mystery kept us guessing with plenty of potentially guilty people, and the book’s climax is appropriately thrilling. We can’t wait to see how the cat café turns out in future installments.
A
note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up.
One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great read. She never gives three
or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!
We
received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. We
wouldn’t tell you it was good unless we really liked it!
The
link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the book through this
link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!