ARC Review: Shock and Paw by Cate Conte

Shock and Paw
Author: Cate Conte
Series: Cat Care Mystery Series (Book 8)
Publication: St. Martin's Paperbacks (August 20, 2024)

Description: 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.

My Thoughts: It's Christmas time on Daybreak Island. Maddie James is content with working at her cat cafe and keeping out of all the planned activities even though she can see that many of them are in need of her organizational skills. However, when a stray cat found behind a dumpster is stolen from Maddie's third floor guest room, she finds herself involved in the catnapping.

Maddie's best friend Becky has come to her with concerns about her job at the local newspaper. The long-run family business is in danger of being sold by Donna who has run it for years. When Donna is found dead by Becky with Christmas lights wrapped around her throat, Maddie wants to clear her friend's name. 

There are other suspects. The new head of the chamber of commerce has encouraged contracts to less than able contractors including Todd who is supposed to be doing electrical work for those who need help stringing lights and setting up their holiday displays. He has been getting lots of complaints and the local electrician has had to fix up his projects.

Also, it appears that there might be a group selling designer cats for enormous prices running on the island too. Donna had been looking into the crimes before her death.

This was a nice cozy mystery, eighth in a series, set on an island. There were a lot of characters, most likely introduced in earlier episodes, to keep track of. I like Maddie's curiosity and her love for cats. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.