Mystery

3.5 Stars--rating shown may vary depending on review site.

This was on a sale rack at one of the local libraries. Like other reviewers, the cat on the cover caught my eye.

I'm not really sure how to categorize the plot. In some ways it reminds me of a Hallmark movie--main character comes home to attend her grandmother's funeral, intending to return to her business and life in California, but stays on because of her grandfather. There is a love interest angle (with 2 possibilities) but unlike the Hallmark movies, the book doesn't end with romance.

It's a murder mystery--I classified it on my shelves as a cozy mystery because of Maddie, but I'm not sure it 100% fits that category since one of Maddie's love interests is a police officer who is involved in the formal investigation, and Maddie's grandfather is a former chief-of-police. There's another mystery too--a mysterious benefactor.

JJ (the cat) is definitely the star of the book for me. I can just imagine him strutting around town in his harness and squeaking (rather than meowing). I like the idea of cat cafes--being able to visit, borrow, or interact with cats without all the responsibilities of ownership.

I'm still not clear if the benefactor expected the grandfather to run the cafe (he did try to support the local pet rescue places when he was in office) or was expecting Maddie to stay and run it. I thought Maddie would be talking to her business partner about buying her out rather than closing their business in California and moving to the NorthEast--unless Maddie only meant for him to visit her to help get the cat cafe up and running?? I guess future books in the series will tell. ( )

Maddie James returns to Daybreak Island off the Massachusetts coast for her grandmother's funeral. She grew up on the island but now lives in San Francisco where she owns a juice bar. Planning to only stay on the island a few days to visit with family and friends, Maddie is perplexed when she discovers a local businessman, Frank O'Malley, is trying to force her grandfather to sell his house, even resorting to threats. Rescuing a stray orange tabby cat helps distract her from O'Malley's nonsense for awhile....until the kitty discovers his dead body. Who murdered Frank O'Malley? And who keeps leaving information about cat cafes for Maddie to find? Does someone want her to stay on the island?

I adore the idea of cat cafes! So I knew I just had to read this book! Loved it! A great start to a new cozy series! Cat About Town has a nice mix of humor and mystery. The mystery is engaging, and not entirely predictable. I like Maddie James as a main character .... she is intelligent and has spunk. The side characters are nicely developed and interesting, adding some depth to the story. JJ, the lovely ginger rescue cat, is awesome, of course. I was a bit skeptical about a former stray and adult cat adjusting immediately to being on a leash though.....I think in reality most adult cats would balk at a leash and require some time to get used to it. But.....it is a cozy mystery.....and a cat on a leash is just darling. So...I'm willing to suspend reality and just relax.

I am a bit weary of the budding love triangle cozy trope though. Maddie has a couple local men showing interest in her in this first story......just hoping this doesn't become a major plot point. Too formula. And....I'll be honest....the MCs never seem to choose the one I like best in these situations....or they end up marrying some other character that pops in from out of the blue, leaving both men in the lurch. Bleck. Just skip the love triangle.....and focus on the kitty cafe, IMHO. :)

I enjoyed this light-hearted cozy mystery and look forward to more books in this series! The cover artwork is just darling!

Cate Conte is a pen name used by the author Liz Mugavero, author of the Pawsitively Organic Mystery series. For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://lizmugavero.com/wp/ ( )

Maddie James has arrived on the island where she grew up, to attend her grandmother’s funeral. She now lives in San Francisco and owns her own business, but has taken a leave of absence. However, when talking with her mother, she learns that her mom thinks her grandfather, Leo, might be getting forgetful about certain things and asks Maddie to keep an eye on him.

While at the graveyard she comes across an orange cat that seems to like her, and Maddie does her best to make friends and get the cat to come to her, but people keep interrupting and the cat skitters away. Also, while at the graveyard, a man approaches Leo and Maddie later learns that Frank O'Malley wants him to sell his home — the home her mother grew up in, where she lived until she was nine with her parents, and where her grandfather grew up. Maddie’s appalled, and Leo insists he doesn’t want to talk about it. But Maddie when Maddie learns that Frank went so far as to threaten Leo, she decides to speak with Frank herself and tell him that there’s no way her grandfather is going to sell and he needs to back off. While the talk didn’t go well, Maddie isn’t going to give up and have her grandfather lose his home.
Dejected, she goes to the cemetery again to visit her grandmother’s grave and the cat once appears, and this time he follows her home. After walking with him throughout the day, he's been named JJ; and she takes him with her to the food festival that evening. But JJ skitters away again, and she follows his tail to one of the tents and sees him under a table — when she raises the cloth to get him, she comes across the body of Frank O’Malley, who’s been stabbed. Now her grandfather is a suspect in the death, and Maddie is determined to stay and find out who killed Frank...and hopefully the killer won’t come after her, too...

This is the first in a new series, and like all new ones, I'm always a bit skeptical of what might be inside the pages. But I was pleasantly surprised in the fact that this book is actually very good. The plot is delightful, I love JJ's personality, and also the fact that Maddie doesn't allow him outside alone. (I don't even believe in cats being outside at all, but I do understand that JJ is crucial to the story so it wouldn't make much sense otherwise; and the fact that Maddie has him on a leash when he's with her mitigates it for me). I like Maddie, since she's not broke, didn't come running home with her tail between her legs, and actually has intelligence. This book would have been five stars for me but for two things: I really did feel that the way Maddie was asking questions was intrusive to other people. I get that she was trying to find answers, but she was pretty much cornering people and demanding them at times. That bothered me.

The second is the obligatory love triangle. While there isn't one yet, I will say (as I've always said) that I absolutely detest them. Let's put it this way: if it were a man and he was stringing along two women, you'd think he was a dog, or worse. So why is it okay when a woman does it? Now, as I've said, there's really no love triangle going on. But the potential is there, and I, for one, hope it doesn't come to fruition. A book can be just as interesting without two guys hating each other and trying to outdo each other. They don't need to put on their chain mail and joust for fair maiden in this century.

That being said, I was pleased with the rest of the book. It was written well, the plot was interesting, Maddie and her family definitely has potential, and I like the secondary characters as well. I do love the idea that she's going to open a cat café, which makes all the more enticing to read the next in the series. As an owner of several cats, this series appeals to me; the author is a pleasure to read, being able to create definitive characters and descriptions of the area; and I will continue on with the series. Recommended. ( )

This is the first novel that I have read by Cate Conte (pseudonym of Liz Mugavero) and I thoroughly enjoyed it as the opening of a new series starring Maddie James, amateur sleuth, and her new rescue feline friend, JJ (initially referenced as Orange Guy).

The setting is fictitious Daybreak Island, off the coast of Massachusetts patterned by the author's visit to Martha's Vineyard. Having visited Martha's Vineyard in the midst of tourist season and off-season it was easy to become absorbed in the story and the descriptive nuances of seasonal business were captured very well.

My only disappointment was the illustration of JJ on the cover. I wish illustrators would read the novels or someone that read the novel would be more direct with the illustrator. JJ's harness and leash are not simply red in the novel but "skull-and-crossbones design in red and black." It would have added to the delight if this was illustrated on the cover design. ( )