CLAWS OUT by Cate Conte

Daybreak Island, New England, is home to Maddie James and her cat café, JJ’s House of Purrs. In this murder mystery, the action moves to the mainland for a book convention with CLAWS OUT.

A cat literary festival is being held in Provincetown, and driving a newly acquired and renovated food truck seems like a great way to get publicity and maybe get some cats adopted from the rescue centre. Maddie and a bunch of her relatives and friends, including her business partner Ethan, Grandpa Leo, sister Sam and volunteer Harry, set out happily. The cat café truck loads on the ferry and takes a few hours to make the journey. Personally, I don’t think I would bring ten cats to a big festival in another town. They might be afraid, and they might escape. Just saying. Anyway, no cats will be given away directly at the festival, but people can spend time with them while eating the delicious food.

Two apparently well-known romance authors, Jasmine Prescott and Vivi St. Clair, who include cats in their romance books, are appearing and doing the usual book signings. They seem approachable and they love JJ, Maddie’s lovely pet ginger cat who walks on a harness and lead. A fun touch is that a Pirate Club hotel has been booked, which is cat- friendly, and there will be a pirate ball. Unfortunately, all does not go smoothly.

While I felt interested in the action while reading, I have to say this is the least atmospheric of the Cat Café Mystery series to date, because a lot of the latter half consists of conversations, good or bad- tempered. The truck is busy serving food, and this curtails the cast from taking in the convention. An untimely death on the pier casts a shadow over everything, and when one of her friends is named a suspect in the death, Maddie feels obligated to investigate.

Among the fun items is a fantastical mystery author who includes cats in his spooky books, so never stop looking for these nuggets. I think cat literature could be a good theme for a book festival, with lots of potential for selling t-shirts, bookmarks and crafts as well as books. The real question is whether Maddie and her intrepid team would ever dare attend one again. CLAWS OUT by Cate Conte is best read as part of the series, because of the spread of familiar characters, but the new location means it could be taken as a standalone.

The ninth 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.

After a long, snowy winter on Daybreak Island, Maddie and her cat cafe crew are finally ready to embrace the spring, though life is anything but calm. With Val and Ethan\'s wedding taking center stage, Maddie finds herself juggling wedding plans alongside a new and unexpected venture—a generous donation has made her the co-owner of a traveling cat cafe truck. To kick off the new chapter, she seizes the chance to take the truck on its inaugural trip to a cat literary festival in Provincetown, accompanied by her family and some of the shelter crew.

The festival is organized by the renowned cat-romance author Jasmine Prescott, who also runs a beloved cat rescue foundation on Cape Cod. But when Jasmine\'s longtime friend and fellow author Vivi St. Clair arrives with a boatload full of drama—everything from a dangerous ex-husband to an unwanted Netflix crew—tensions run high. At first, it seems like just another dose of celebrity chaos—until Vivi is found murdered. As new evidence ties Maddie and her cat cafe into the investigation, Maddie must dig deeper into the tangled web of secrets, rivalries, and feline-friendly drama to uncover the truth. The question is: what’s the connection between the cat cafe and Vivi’s untimely death?