Shock And Paw
A Cat Cafe Mystery, Book 8
Cate Conte
5 Stars

Synopsis:

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. (Amazon)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Maddie has a lot going on in her life: running the cat cafe, spending time with her boyfriend and running some tours for visitors. But when someone is killed, she will once again have to figure out who the killer is. This time her best friend, Becky, is accused of the crime but Maddie knows she is innocent.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. The writing style flows smoothly and it defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The mystery is well plotted and there were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I was glad to spend some time with Maddie and her friends to see what they have been up to.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

It's nearly Christmas in Daybreak Harbor Island and tempers are flying as are the Christmas decorations for this year's contest. Grandpa Leo takes a winger shock while messing with his lights, Animal control officer Katrina Denning is up in arms over a poster advertising designer cats!! And Donna Carey thinking of selling the local paper!! What no way. But when Donna ends up a victim of an electrical shock things take a wild turn. What has one event got to do with the others? Is the new town hired electrician behind all the craziness? Did he dislike Donna enough to put her out of commission? Will Maddie James be able to figure out what is going on? Or will she become the next " electric eel"?

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

Shock and Paw invites us back to JJ’s House of Purrs cat café on Daybreak Island. Christmas is less than two weeks away. Maddie and Grandpa Leo are partners in the café, along with Ethan, her long-time business partner. The mascot is JJ, the one-of-a-kind orange tabby who adopted Maddie shortly after she moved back from the west coast.

The cat café continues to grow, due in part to news articles that lead people from the mainland to adopt or visit its residents. Most of the cats are from Katrina, Maddie’s friend and the local Animal Control Officer.

Daybreak Harbor, their community on the island, begins its annual Christmas festivities this weekend that will bring many tourists. Grandpa Leo is participating in the Christmas light decoration contest, as he does every year. He has won numerous times, and has a more complex plan this year. There is a substantial cash prize this year, so there are many more contestants.

Maddie’s plans for Christmas are simple. Most holidays, she helps her mom’s committees so this one is only for time with her family, her boyfriend, Lucas, and friends. Caring for and adopting out cats and kittens is always a certainty.

Katrina brought Maddie a cat that had been in the shelter and was terrified, especially of barking dogs. She also brought in a flyer that was hanging outside, advertising unique cats that combine at least two breeds for an ultra-fancy cat appearance. Breeders of these kinds of cast often charge tens of thousands of dollars, many of which have been abused. Maddie named the cat Frederick and put him inside the house. Sam, one of Maddie’s sisters, and Katrina made a plan to meet the fancy cat/ kitten seller.

Grandpa Leo was injured from falling off his ladder after being shocked by a string of lights. Frederick was stolen, the thief leaving a threatening note for them to stop looking into the special cats.

A beloved community member was then murdered. Maddie’s best friend, Becky, works at the family-owned island newspaper. Donna was the big boss and the owner of the paper, carrying on the work begun by her ancestors. Becky, as the managing editor, has her dream job. Becky and Maddie accidentally overheard that Donna received an offer for the paper. Devastated, Becky tried to change her mind but Donna has plans for a new, special venture, Cat’s Meow, a media company about cats. Donna had been investigating a critical situation related to cats, but couldn’t yet reveal it. She wanted Becky’s skills in her new company, but Becky, not realizing the depth or importance of the work, didn’t want to stop being a serious journalist.

Donna was lying dead in her yard when Becky stopped by her house. The police saw Becky as the prime suspect because of her “strong motive”. In the handful of days before the Christmas festival opening night, Maddie’s simple holiday included solving Donna’s murder, helping with unassigned festival needs, and finding the stolen cat.

The author has crafted a great set of townspeople, many of whom are delightful. I appreciate and enjoy Maddie’s family, friends, and her volunteers at the café. One of my favorite descriptions is “…pretty much everyone on the island was quirky in their own way. It was part of the charm.” We get to see some of the quirks and accept them as part of each person’s makeup.

The author has outdone herself with this novel! No matter how I put the clues together, all I found were red herrings. I didn’t realize that people in the business of the news often get threats from those who disagree with them on an issue or an article! I was completely surprised at the bad guy, as it was someone I had not even considered. Regarding the rest of the challenges, such as finding Frederick and infiltrating the sale of special cat breeds, each was resolved in a satisfactory manner. I highly recommend this newest novel in the series!

Shock and Paw is book #8 in the Cat Cafe Mystery series by Cate Conte.

This was a nice escape from the summer heat and humidity. It’s Christmas time on Daybreak Island. Maddie is doing her best to find home for the rescue kitties and enjoy the season but when there is a murder and a cat-napping, she is pushed into investigation mode. This is a fun, relaxing read. I recommend this book and series.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cate Conte, and St. Martin's Paperbacks for providing this advance readers copy of the book. Below is my honest review.

When you don't have a dead body until the 50% mark then it's not much of a mystery. Taking that long to set up the big event was tedious and not enjoyable. I had to stop myself from skipping around at first but later I did just that. I had lost interest and didn't care who-done-it. There wasn't much of the cafe or cats; JJ was an afterthought. In the first few chapters there were instances of repeating information a couple of times, it was like listening to an elderly relative tell the same story every family reunion. Maddie spent a lot of time going from one place to another and then to another, with nothing getting finished, it's exhausting. The Christmas events were a mess and I found it hard to believe that that many people could have done so little work. I didn't see the twist coming, all the people involved hadn't had much interaction. I will say that death by Christmas lights was an interesting way to kill off Donna.

#NetGalley #CateConte #ShockandPaw #CatCafeMysterySeries #St.Martin'sPaperbacks #mystery #murdermystery

As someone who has read previous books in this series, I found that this was consistent with established characters and setting. I was disappointed the murder was not revealed until half way through the book, when it would have been more interesting to read it in first quarter of the story. Also, not enough about happenings in cat cafe. Great title of book.. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Shockandpaw for advanced digital copy.

Maddie James had a busy autumn. She is the co-owner of Daybreak Island’s cat café, JJ’s House of Purrs. She runs the cat half, and her business partner Ethan runs the coffee shop half. They’ve found a lot of success, despite the island being small and the tourists mostly come during the warmer months. But they had a big celebration for Halloween, that Maddie had helped put together, and they were wanting to bring more tourists over for Christmas too. There is a bazaar with local artisans and a big competition for the best Christmas lights.

Maddie had begged off from helping, since she had done so much at Halloween. She just wants to decorate their home and the café and enjoy the holiday with her family and friends. But when her grandfather falls off the ladder while fixing their lights, Maddie had to jump in and take more of the responsibility. And when she finds out that he had fallen off the ladder because he’d gotten shocked, Maddie is incensed. The electrician had been hired by the city council to help hang lights all over town, and he had clearly done a poor job.

Maddie takes over the decorating duties, buying trees and finding another electrician to fix the lights. And she jumps in to help organize the bazaar, since they were clearly in need of assistance. The Christmas festivities seem a little chaotic, but Maddie’s skills get them back on track pretty quickly. But when the town’s newspaper editor and partial owner, Donna, turned up dead, with Christmas lights wrapped around her, Maddie knows she’ll have to organize more than just some Christmas activities. She’ll have to work to find a killer, especially since her best friend Becky is a reporter for the paper and ends up on the police’s suspect list.

And if that’s not enough for Maddie to deal with, she has to try to keep her grandfather in the wheelchair until his ankle heals, and there are flyers up in town advertising “designer” cats that are hypo-allergenic and hyper-expensive. As the owner of a cat café where she rescues and rehomes cats, Maddie is strongly against cat breeders. She does understand that some people can’t take home the usual cats that show up at a rescue, but Maddie thinks this breeder is going too far. Donna had bought a cat from the breeder. She’d been arguing with the same electrician who had put up the lights that had shocked her grandfather. And there had been talk of the other owner wanting to sell the newspaper, which Donna was against.

There is no shortage of suspects in Donna’s death. But can Maddie figure out who the killer is before they kill again? And can she figure it out soon enough to rescue Christmas?

Shock and Paw is the eighth book in Cate Conte’s charming Cat Café Mystery Series, and this cat-centered series is full of furry friends and small town warmth. Maddie and her friends and family work together to keep the café up and running, to take care of the cats, and to support each other through life changes, business struggles, and a little bit of sleuthing when a murder gets too close. Although the real star of the series is JJ, the cat who rides through town like a local hero.

I really enjoy these mysteries, and Shock and Paw is no exception. I love the cats and the café, and the closeness of this town’s citizens keeps me coming back for more. These characters are kind and supportive, and they work together to fight the crime that infiltrates their town. This mystery is well-written and compelling, and did I mention that there are cats? Love the cats!

Egalleys for Shock and Paw were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

As the Christmas Extravaganza draws near, the residents of Daybreak Harbor are feeling the pressure from both the festivities and the Christmas lights contest. Maddie, renowned for her organizational skills, has decided to sit this one out, dedicating her time to her cat rescue and cat café instead. However, she soon finds herself roped into tidying up the chaotic preparations. To complicate matters, two of her friends are dealing with significant issues.

The first half of this book skillfully sets up the murder mystery, weaving together multiple characters and keeping me constantly guessing about the who and the what. Although, the twists and turns at the end were completely unexpected and took me by surprise. "Shock and Paw," the eighth book in the Cat Cafe Mystery series is a winner.

Shock and Paw by Cate Conte brings the holiday cheer with two crazy mysteries.

Is Donna Carey really selling the business? What is happening with this mysterious cat breeder?

Maddie James
Maddie James is getting ready to celebrate Christmas the right way with her family. By not being a part of any event committees or anything like that for her. Well, until her mom ropes her into helping out at the last minute. Maddie is already juggling many balls, preparing the house for the Christmas Lights competition, manning her cafe, and enjoying the holiday spirit. Plus, trying to figure out who sells high-end cat breeds there on the island.

I have to say that I like Maddie. She tries not to give in to investigating but ends up giving in anyway.

The Mystery
Katrina, Maddie's friend and animal control officer, gets her involved in solving one mystery. That mystery happens to be who on the island or off the island is trying to sell expensive cats during the holiday season. Katrina dislikes people who do that and wants to see justice done.

The other mystery that Maddie gets roped into solving is Donna Carey's murder, and we learn a lot about her. Donna has made a lot of enemies, and she doesn't seem to care toward the end of her life. I totally didn't see how everything was getting wrapped up until it did.

Five Stars
I am giving five stars to Shock and Paw by Cate Conte and recommending it to all cozy mystery lovers. Ms. Conte wrote a nice one for the holiday season. Shock and Paw by Cate Conte is also my first book by this author, and I truly enjoyed it. Maddie, JJ, and everyone else made me laugh at some of their antics. Even when I wasn't reading this book, I thought about it a lot and tried to put together the clues in my head. I completely fell for the red herring.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Shock and Paw by Cate Conte.

Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.

I love this series. I think a cat café is so fun. I love Maddie’s love of cats and the relationship she has with her grandpa. I didn’t have this one figured out, but I loved the story and the characters. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Maddie runs a bake shop and cat cafe on her hometown island. When her best friend gets upset about a cat breeder selling on the island she steps up to stop them. Murder soon follows and makes it more dangerous. Good cozy mystery and one I highly recommend.

The Christmas season with a close-knit island setting was a fun backdrop for this cozy mystery. The islanders take the Christmas Decoration Competition seriously including Maddie’s grandpa who’s determined to win. I love that Maddie and her sister live in grandpa’s house and the way they’ve turned part of the home into the cat cafe. This is a family that sticks together and reading about cats finding forever homes does my heart good. Things kick off with a bang incorporating multiple events happening at once but without being overly complicated. A breeder selling expensive hybrid cats on the island, an electrician causes problems, Maddie finds herself on the event committee ( much to her dismay ) and her best friend is suspect number one in a murder after publicly speaking out against her boss who’s selling the island’s only newspaper only to be found murdered. Maddie is no stranger to sleuthing, as the granddaughter to the former chief of police her investigative skills are excellent and her eye for details is on par. Following as she sorts out the clues was a fun read. All the little pieces begin to come together until the plot line reveals the big picture in a surprising turn of events. Mischief, felines, mystery, and some good old fashioned sleuthing culminate to create this intriguing Christmas cozy with likable characters.

Reading Shock and Paw was so entertaining, it really put me in the holiday spirit.
Maddie and friends are getting ready to decorate for the holiday decorating competition, but things turn bad quickly when Maddie's best friend Becky finds a dead body.
Not only is Maddie trying to help Becky, she's trying to find out who is hanging signs all over town, advertising the sale of exotic cats.
This is a whirlwind story that kept me on the edge of my seat, I enjoyed every page.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Maddie finds herself free of all extra curricular commitments for the holiday season. Until her mother ropes are in to helping with the town’s Christmas activities, she finds herself trying to find out about someone selling exotic cats on the island, and when she works, to clear her BFFs name in the murder of the local newspaper owner.

It seems Maddie has a knack for these things, but unlike one of her beloved rescue cats, Maddie doesn’t have nine lives. Well this turn at sleuthing be the one that leaves her as a ghost for Christmases future?

Another solid entry in this New England based cozy mystery series. Set on an island in Vermont, the scenery, water, and plenty of suspects to go around. Why the kitties are what caught my attention, it’s the mystery and each and every entry that keeps me coming back for more.

I really enjoyed being back on Daybreak island with the kitties. I love the quirky town characters and really just enjoyed the storyline and the mystery. The writing is fantastic and hooked me right away. I can't wait to read more from this series.

An entertaining, cozy mystery that will keep you guessing up until the end. Well written with a great plot twist- I recommend this book for a rainy afternoon read!

4.25⭐
It's the holiday season on an island off the coast of Maine and the winter island residents are all in for the Christmas lights house contest, especially as there are $$$ as a prize for the first time. But the town's contracted electrician seems only borderline competent. Lights are not working correctly all over, but when Maddie's grandfather gets zapped was the final straw for her. She had promised herself to leave the organizing to others after the Halloween festival. Then someone is postings ads all over town for special breed cats, even in front of the cat rescue that Maddie runs. And one of the rescue's cats goes missing. That's a lot going on. Then to top it all off, Maddie learns that the owner is planning to sell the town's newspaper where her friend is the editor. This is a continually wonderful series combining two of my loves, cats and cozies into one with exceptionally well-drawn characters and mystery plots that don't disappoint.

3.5 Stars

Maddie James is the proud owner of JJ’s House of Purrs, a cat cafe named after her cherished cat. It’s less than two weeks before Christmas, and the whole town of Daybreak Harbor in New England is excited about the town’s Christmas Lights Contest. Maddie is usually in the middle of all the town’s events, but this time, she’s happy to just be a participant and have more time to enjoy the holidays. However, plans change for Maddie when her mom begs her to step in and organize things for the contest before it ends up being a failure. Then, when Donna Carey, the publisher of the local newspaper, is killed and her best friend becomes a suspect, Maddie puts plans of relaxation aside and begins looking into the murder.

This is the eighth book in the Cat Cafe Mystery series. I’ve read a couple of the earlier books in the series, but it has been a while. I had a hard time keeping up with all the characters and remembering how each person was connected. When Maddie and her friends were able to narrow down the suspects in Donna’s murder, I had to remind myself who they were. This kept me from focusing on the plot, but I’m sure readers who follow the series regularly won’t have the same problem. I would have loved a list of characters at the beginning. Those that stood out were Maddie, her grandfather, her sister, and her boyfriend, but some of the others blended together.

The decorating contest is a fun element for a Christmas-themed cozy and I love how excited Maddie’s grandfather is to participate and how competitive he is. Maddie and others keep finding advertisements for designer cats for sale, promoting them as great holiday gifts. That part of the plot, especially regarding potential scams, is interesting and informative. I liked the scenes with Maddie and her boyfriend Lucus, owner of a pet grooming salon, and wish there had been more of them. Instead, we have Maddie being manipulated by several townspeople into taking over their part of the contest planning, including having chairs delivered and putting up decorations. This wasn’t as interesting, and I hated seeing Maddie taken advantage of. When Maddie was at the cafe with the cats, the book interested me more, but there weren’t many scenes there. As a whole, I think this is probably a really fun series. This book on its own had some enjoyable parts but had the potential to be even better. I think fans of the series will enjoy catching up with their favorite characters.

~ Christine