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Nine Lives and Alibis by Cate Conte

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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I stayed up late last night to finish reading Nine Lives and Alibis by Cate Conte. It's the seventh in her "Cat Café" series of cozy cat mysteries. The main character is Madalyn "Maddie" James, who owns and operates the cat café on Daybreak Island.

Maddie and everyone else on Daybreak Island is getting ready to host a two-week long Halloween Fest. Maddie has arranged a cat costume parade to showcase the cats available for adoption in her café, JJ's House of Purrs. The Island's biggest coup was landing renowned psychic medium, Balfour, as the featured guest. Maddie's friend, Becky (the editor of the local paper), is excited about Balfour; she intends to ask if he has any insight into two cold cases: one, a murder of a guest at the Lighthouse Inn, the other the mysterious disappearance of a woman who worked at the inn. Not everyone is thrilled about Balfour's arrival. Some think it will turn the festival into a woo-woo circus, and Jacob, the owner of the allegedly haunted inn, doesn't want to play up the inn's notoriety in that way. Not long after he arrives, Balfour is found dead at the foot of the cliffs the lighthouse is perched on, and his beloved cat, Balfour Jr, has vanished. Maddie is convinced that the current crime is connected to the past ones, and with the help of her friends and allies, she sets out to prove it.

Wonderful story, although I wish I'd read it in October. LOL! The author portrays her characters well, from the familiar to the new ones. The plot clipped along at a good pace and unfolded in a sensible fashion. It kept me engrossed in the story. I found the villain easy to guess early on; however, I was only partially correct. Heh. One part of the book left me scratching my head:
( SPOILER )

Favorite lines:
♦ I loved looking at the ocean. It would never get old.
♦ Was everyone talking about how I got punched in the face when we had a dead guest of honor on our hands?

"Breath" line: I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until I went to speak again.

Very good book overall. Four stars.

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.

The Tell Tail Heart: A Cat Cafe Mystery by Cate Conte

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Stayed up late last night to finish reading The Tell Tail Heart, which is the third installment in the "Cat Cafe" mystery series by Cate Conte. Main character is Maddie James, who has recently opened a cat cafe on Daybreak Island.

Now that the tourist season is over, Maddie is taking advantage of the slow time to do some construction work on the home where her cafe is located. Her only regular customer at this point is a famous writer who comes in each day to hang with the cats and work on his latest project. Maddie's relationship with dog groomer Lucas is going well, and she's happy that her sister seems to be finding her own niche after a messy divorce. However, Maddie's rosy world starts to crumble when a strange woman appears at the cat cafe, claiming Maddie's cat JJ belongs to her. Not long after, the author is found murdered, and Lucas must leave the island for a convention on the mainland. Maddie is convinced the odd woman is somehow involved in the murder, but as she does her own investigating, she learns that people she's known all her life are keeping secrets of their own.

Not my favorite in this series. Maddie's behavior got a tad tantrum-y and childish at times. I don't like that the author can't seem to decide if Maddie will pair up with Lucas or Craig, her ex. Most of JJ's screen time was spent sleeping, which, ya know, cats, but it would have been nice to see him be more involved.

Favorite line: I knew cat people. We were all a little crazy.

I'd give this 3 1/2 stars if I could. Vexing enough for me to bump it down to a three.

Last night, I finished reading Cat About Town, which is the first book in author Cate Conte's "Cat Cafe" mystery series.

Maddie James has returned home to Massachusetts. She's left her life and her business behind in San Francisco to spend some time with her grandfather after her grandmother's death. Maddie hadn't planned to stay long, but when she learns that a local businessman wants to buy her grandpa's house and isn't taking no for an answer, Maddie decides to stay to help. She meets with the man and warns him to stay away from her grandfather.

In the meantime, a stray orange cat has adopted Maddie, and when she takes him downtown that evening, the cat finds the dead body of the bullying businessman. Now Maddie finds herself, as well as her grandfather, in the sights of the local police, including her ex-boyfriend, Craig. Determined to prove her grandfather is not a killer, Maddie begins asking questions around town, during which she learns some interesting facts about the victim. She also meets Lucas, a dog groomer/musician, whom she develops an interest in. That makes it awkward when Craig asks her out on a date, too.

Maddie finds herself juggling two interested men, a murder investigation, and a new cat, which is about the time another murder takes place in the neighboring town.

The story was interesting, but parts of it disappointed me. For one thing, the title of the series would indicate it's set around a cat cafe, but that aspect doesn't even come into play until quite late. For another, no real motive was given for the second murder. It was just an "oh, by the way..." solution. Also, Maddie was getting frustrated with her grandfather, because he kept leaving without letting her know where he would be, and when she asked, he admitted he'd taken a part-time job, but he wouldn't tell her anything more about it. Turns out, the job wasn't something that I could see any reason for him to act all dodgy about. Finally, there was evidence that someone had tampered with the well at Maddie's grandfather's house, but there was no resolution there as to who or how or why. Bewildering. I did enjoy the story, but I'm noticing that, more and more, our intrepid female amateur sleuths have two love interests to choose from, rather than just one. I'm not sure I like that trope. It comes across as confusing and awkward. One love interest at a time, please!

Favorite lines:
♦ Cats were my weakness.
♦ "Those who love cats have a special place in heaven."
I hope so!

Waffling over a score here. I'd like to give it a 3 1/2, but for now, I'm going to give it a 3:

***