Welcome to Daybreak Island, Massachusetts! This place has been my home for my entire life, and let me tell you, there is no better place to live. I can’t wait to show you around.
This is one of the prettiest coastal areas in the country. I may be biased, but I don’t think so. From pretty much anywhere on the island, you’re surrounded by water as far as you can see. If you love the ocean, there’s really no better place to be. Of course, the island has changed a lot over the years, but I’m not one of those old guys who grumbles and grouches about change being bad. I’m smart enough to know that when things stop changing, they die. So I’m grateful to have my granddaughters here, actively being part of that change.
We live in Daybreak Harbor, the biggest town on the island. We have the major ferry port here, so visitors usually start and end in our town. And we’re lucky enough to live right near the ferry. I get to keep an eye on a lot of the action, which makes me happy. As the former police chief, I like to know what’s going on and who’s doing what.
My house, which felt small after my wife died, has been transformed thanks to my granddaughter Maddie. Now it’s a cat cafe. Well, part of it, although some days it feels like we may have to move out to make room for all the cats! I’m kidding -I love having JJ’s House of Purrs onsite, and I love having my home so full of family. And cats. We have a lot of cats and kittens, so make sure you stop by when you’re in town!
We work with the local animal control officer to get the cats adopted out. The cat cafe is THE place to go for the best coffee in town, even if you don’t like cats (although who doesn’t like cats??). Anyway, we’ve become a real hot spot in town.
Down the street next to the ferry is the Lobstah Shack, one of our favorite seafood places. Damian, the owner, likes to bring over his fish scraps for the cats - although JJ, Maddie’s cat, eats most of them because he demands the royal treatment.
It’s only a mile or so to get downtown, which is full of restaurants, shops, hotels, and so much to do it’s hard to keep track of it all. We even have a haunted hotel—and yes, it really is haunted. A psychic medium told us so. Sure, he ended up dead, but that really wasn’t related to the ghost, so not to worry. The ghosts are usually friendly.
Famous people visit our island every year, too. Most of them leave alive. That mystery writer? He was an unusual case. That almost never happens.
Almost.
Then there’s the police station. I mean, I have to point that out because as the former police chief, it's where I spent most of my time. Maddie spends a lot of her time there now - not because she’s in trouble, thank goodness, but because she’s been involved in some of the, er, incidences we’ve had on the island. (Don’t let it keep you from visiting. We are nice people, mostly.)
She’s really good at detective work, which makes sense since I’m her grandpa. I’ve still got my fingers in the pie - now I’m a private eye. When it’s in your blood, it’s in your blood.
Anyway, Maddie gets all worried about the few murders we’ve had in the last couple years. She’s so cute. She has no idea of the things that have happened on this island. I mean, for the most part, it’s a very safe community. But we’ve had our crimes.
Because not everyone on Daybreak is exactly who they appear to be - something we’ve certainly been reminded of in recent years. Everyone has their secrets, after all. I just happen to know more of them than people think, which puts me in a unique position on the island. When something happens, I usually have a clue or two about which direction to turn.
Maddie, though, likes to believe the best of everyone. That doesn’t mean she looks past anyone who needs looking at. Not at all. It just means she’s thoughtful and deliberate when she’s looking for a solution. And that makes her a darn good investigator.
Maybe she’ll take over my PI business someday. She’s had some great training.
And I suspect she’ll have more.
Cat Cafe Mystery #8
The eighth installment in a charming cozy mystery series set on an island off the New England coast and featuring the cat cafe owner Maddie and her cat JJ.
Beware the cats of Christmas past…
It’s the holiday season on Daybreak Island, and Maddie James is looking forward to stepping out of the limelight, watching the island’s Christmas decoration competition from afar, spending time with her boyfriend and family, running tours for visitors as part of the festivities and spreading holiday cheer through cute cats in jingle bell collars.
But trouble hits close to home when word gets out that Donna Carey, the publisher of the island’s only daily newspaper where Maddie’s best friend Becky is editor, may be selling the business. Becky is a diehard journalist and to her, selling the only newspaper on the island is a fate worse than death. She publicly opposes the potential sale, wreaking havoc on her relationship with her big boss.
Maddie is sympathetic, but she has her own problems - like getting pulled into a role on the Christmas event committee despite her best efforts to stay far removed, and solving the case of a mysterious cat breeder trying to sell expensive designer cats as holiday gifts on the island. But then Donna winds up dead—electrocuted by her own Christmas decorations—and it appears to be more than an accident. To make matters worse, Becky becomes suspect number one. Maddie is thrown into another murder investigation in order to save her best friend from a Christmas behind bars.
Mystery Woman Sleuth | Mystery Cozy [St. Martin's Paperbacks, On Sale: August 20, 2024, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250883971 / eISBN: 9781250883988]
CATE CONTE serves on the Sisters in Crime New England board; she is also a member of Sisters in Crime, National Mystery Writers of America, and the Cat Writers' Association. She currently lives in Connecticut with her cats and one dog.
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