Book Review: Cat About Town

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.

Two paws way up!

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!