ARC Review: Claws Out by Cate Conte

Claws Out
Author: Cate Conte
Series: A Cat Cafe Mystery (Book 9)
Publication: St. Martins Paperback (August 26, 2025)

Description: 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?

My Thoughts: This cozy mystery is the ninth book in the Cat Cafe series. Maddie and her Cat Cafe crew were gifted with a mobile cat cafe and take it on its first outing to a literary festival in nearby Provincetown. 

Noted cat-romance author Jasmine Prescott is the host of the fund raiser for the cat shelters she sponsors. And special guest Vivi St. Clair is also making an appearance. Not being a reader of that genre herself, Maddie depends on her young sister Sam to know who's who and to do all the fan-girling. 

Also along on the trip are Maddie's sister Val and her fiancé Ethan who are bickering and showing stress with their wedding coming up soon. 

As Maddie deals with tension between Val and Ethan, she also finds herself involved in a murder investigation when Vivi is found stabbed to death on the pier. Vivi had all sorts of drama surrounding her including a mobster ex-husband, a stalker, and an intrusive Netflix film crew. 

But Maddie isn't alone in her quest for answers, she has her grandfather who's a police chief turned private investigator and Harry who is also a retired police officer. Only Harry goes missing which adds even more stress to the investigation. 

This was another fun episode in this long-running series. Most of the series regulars appear with roles of varying importance in this episode. Fans of the series will enjoy this latest edition. 

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