Book 62, 2022
Claws for Alarm by Cate Conte
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I finished reading Claws for Alarm by Cate Conte this morning. This is the fifth installment in the author's "Cat Cafe" mystery series with main character Madalyn "Maddie" James.
Maddie's cat cafe, JJ's House of Purrs, is starting to gain recognition beyond their local environs. In fact, Maddie is contacted by Jillian Allen, the director of Shoreline Animal Rescue League, an association known for its fundraising, to host a fundraiser for the cat cafe. Jillian promises to get celebrity Peyton Chandler on board, along with Peyton's equally famous rescue cat, Rhiannon. Maddie is excited for the opportunity, and she gets her sister Val, an event planner, involved as well. However, when Maddie and Val go to meet with Jillian, they find the woman strangled with one of Rhiannon's branded leashes. When one of Maddie's volunteers, who was seen arguing with Jillian, is arrested, Maddie sets out to prove that Mish is innocent. After Peyton's romantic co-star, both onscreen and off, is also attacked, the race is on to find a killer before he or she can strike again, or worse...get away with murder.
Let me get this off my chest first: the blurb on the back of the book indicated the name of the director of the animal rescue league was Laverne Gardner. I was confused when I first began reading, wondering when Laverne was going to put in an appearance. I have no idea how we went from Laverne to Jillian, but whatever. The blurb on the book also noted that Val was the one to find the murder victim, but it was Maddie. Maddening!
That being said, the story was engaging and had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. It seemed like each time Maddie was making some headway in sifting through suspects and motives and clues, something else would pop up, such as secret relationships and family drama. I was pleased to see the community pull together to support the cat cafe, even after the misfortune surrounding the fundraiser.
Favorite lines:
♦ She looked like Val had just told her they were going to have severed heads as a main course.
♦ The ocean always restored my energy.
Good book, four stars.