A charming and intriguing addition to a delightful series. The cat groomer/boarder has her hands full of cat owner mysteries to solve. Some fun jazz and other references keep the tale flowing and interesting.

This is my first book by this author and I'm not sure how I feel about her writing style but I won't "write" her off yet. I'll try another of her books soon. It is an interesting and entertaining book that I'm sure many will thoroughly enjoy.

I received an ebook ARC from NetGalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

Cassie finds herself involved in two (!) different murders in this latest installment (fine as a standalone) which highlights cats. Cassie, a groomer, agrees to board Leya, owned by the wealthy Gillian Foster, and to help remove some of the cats being hoarded by the Tillmans, an elderly couple with medical issues. When Bernice Tillman is found dead, law enforcement suspects the couple's hoarding is at fault (or maybe even the cats) but Cassie doesn't agree. Nor does she agree with the suspect list when something happens at the Fosters. These two cases don't intersect, except where Cassie is concerned but both of them work as mysteries that keep you guessing. I like Cassie, as well as her love interest Mark (who seems a bit too involved with his music lately) and her assistant Sarah. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good cozy read for fans of the genre.

Cat groomer Cassie McGlone and her assistant find dealing with demanding cat owner Gillian Foster a challenge. At the same time, Sarah recruits Cassie to help her with an older couple Chester and Bernice Tillman, who are ailing hoarders with too many cats, inside and outside.

As Sarah and Cassie begin work with the couple to clean out their house, Chester finds Bernice dead one morning and recalls hearing strange sounds during the night. He also complains that valuable collectibles seem to be missing. Gillian’s cat Leya boards at Cassie’s Comfy Cat while Gillian’s house is undergoing renovations.
Unfortunately, on the day Cassie returns Leya, she finds a fire starting in the house but no sign of Gillian. Firefighters find Gillian’s body in the basement after putting the fire out.

Cassie, Sarah, and Cassie’s best friend, Dawn, start looking for clues in two possible murders along with suspected burglaries. Eileen Watkins writes a fine feline cozy.
Claw & Disorder is the fifth in her series. Engaging and entertaining feline fun.

Sadder than the previous book in the series.

Wonderful language and well written, though I did not like this book as much as I liked the previous book.

Content warning: A bit of animal abuse.

CLAW & DISORDER by Eileen Watkins
The Fifth Cat Groomer Mystery

It's nice when people think so highly of your services that they recommend you to others. But for cat groomer Cassie McGlone two recent recommendations land her right in the litter box! Cassie's first referral leads her to wealthy Gillian Foster who needs to board her purebred Himalayan. Dealing with this exacting woman is kitten play when compared to the second referral. Cassie is asked to help an elderly couple in a ramshackle home who are hoarders. With the husband, Chester, seeming to be suffering from dementia and his wife having multiple medical issues they are unable to properly care for the multiple cats living with them. Hoping to convince them to relinquish at least some of the cats, Cassie is saddened to hear that the wife suddenly died. While the police suspect that she may have been smothered by her husband or the cats, Cassie is doubtful. Will she be able to prove the innocence of both Chester and the cats?

Cassie McGlone navigates two disparate worlds in the fifth Cat Groomer mystery. From a wealthy, dysfunctional family to a loving couple struggling with hoarding and other health issues Cassie finds herself as a confidant as people involved keep her abreast of what's happening. While her boyfriend cautions her not to get too involved, Cassie's friendliness as well as her curiosity keeps her in the middle of everything!

While the two storylines didn't intersect, their themes were similar and I appreciated how Cassie dealt with two very different sets of people. I appreciate how the hoarding issue was handled, with care and compassion as opposed to exploitation and derision. I got a not so pleasant vibe from Mark in CLAW & DISORDER. I love his new hobby as well as his reaction to the sultry songstress of the group, but perhaps its his warnings to Cassie that gave me a wonky vibe. While he's not wrong, something is off. Meanwhile I love Sarah even more.

CLAW & DISORDER is a mystery of perceptions. Interesting characters, both human and feline, who really care, but don't take any guff either, live in these pages and I love spending time with them.

This is a very good series if you like cats. The cats are just cats and in each book you are introduced to a different breed since the main character runs a cat grooming/boarding business. Once mystery kept me guessing, the other one I was able to figure out who the bad character was, but it was still interesting.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you like cozy mystery's that include cats in the story, you will love this book. It was a fast fun read that will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more books by this author. Thank you Kensington Books via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

For the cat lover’s out there, this story is sure to appeal to y’all. Cassie McGlone owns Cassie’s Comfy Cat, a cats-only groomer and boarding business in Chadwick, NJ. Her boyfriend is a local veterinarian and guitarist, Mark Coccia. Cassie’s assistant, Sarah, has also been helping her church members look in on an older couple who are cat hoarders (Chester and Bernice Tillman) while trying to persuade them to clean out and give away lots of the items they’ve accumulated over the years; plus a few cats. The home would then be more safe and sanitary for couple who’s health is precarious. Furthermore, at the shop, a woman, Gillian Foster, brings her beautiful Himalayan cat, Lena, in to be boarded while her home is undergoing renovations.

Two crime scenes are now set up in this thought-invoking plot. One at the Tillman’s—who on earth would want to harm this aging couple? And, the second at the Foster home—which clearly houses a very unhappy family of three. The claws and disorder in this lively tale will keep reader’s entertained for hours! I highly recommend this story and the previous stories in the Cat Groomer series.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

"Claw & Disorder" is a cat-themed cozy mystery. It's the fifth book in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this story, and this book didn't spoil the previous ones.

This was a clue-based puzzle mystery. Cassie asked questions and passed on possible clues and scenarios to the detective, who followed up on them. Neither of the mysteries were that difficult to guess, but they were more difficult to prove. The main characters were likable, interesting people who reacted realistically to events. When Cassie was not caring for the cats or solving mysteries, she spent time with her boyfriend and a new hobby of his...along with fending off an aggressive woman interested in him.

There were no sex scenes. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable cat-related mystery.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is interesting and the characters are great. I really liked how they helped Chester keep his cats and saved the day by catching the bad guys. #ClawDisorder #NetGalley

I am a cat owner so of course I enjoy the cozy mysteries that feature cats. This series is a a good read and this book does not disappoint. It is a good, consistent mystery that has no dips or fumbles. I like the cat features but wonder sometimes if the author has every seen that many different breeds of cats or just used Google a lot. There are actually two mysteries happening concurrently and they are not related to each other. What are the chances! Anyway, the conclusion to one is satisfying, the other is a bit nebulous so not quite so much. All in all a good afternoon read.

Cozy mystery books that feature cats are always in to be read pile. Cats are such unique creatures and they always bring humor to the story.
In this book, there are plenty of cats featured, from a pampered princess to a home filled with them, and both have families who seem to be spinning out of control.
Cassie is the main character, and while I have no problem with her portrayal, I just can’t click with her. Usually by now I have a good connection with the protagonist, but so far I haven’t been able to find that connection.
Still a good story and easy to follow.

Claw and Disorder by Eileen Watkins (Cat Groomer Mystery #5)

This is the fifth book in a wonderful series about Cassie McGlone and the mysteries she solves that always have a cat in the mix. In this book there are many cats involved, but two main stories. The Foster Family and their Himalayan cat, Leya provide one mystery. Gillian Foster is renovating her historical home and needs to board Leya so that she doesn't get overly upset with the activity. Family drama abounds with the Fosters and there is a suspicious death.

The second mystery involves a elderly couple that had a lot of cats and a hoarding issue. Chester and Bernice Tillman live a nearby town and have health problems exacerbated by a hoarding problem and too many cats. Sarah, Cassie's assistant is helping the couple clean up and asks Cassie to convince the couple to give up some of the cats so that Bernice's asthma would abate. There is a suspicious death at the Tillman's and Chester is alleging that there are missing items from his home. The local police is dismissing his complaint due to his age and health.

The mystery kept my attention and I read it in one sitting. I enjoyed this book very much. This series is always a fun read and not only do I learn a lot about cats, I enjoy watching the relationship between Cassie and her boyfriend, Mark grow and change. I look forward to the next one in this series.

Thank yo Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.