Claws Out by Cate Conte

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

Claws Out

by Cate Conte

Series: Cat Cafe Mysteries #9
Series Rating:
Published by St. Martin's Press on August 26, 2025
Setting: Daybreak Island, Massachusetts
Genres: Cozy Culinary Animal Mystery
Pages: 298
Format: Audio CD, Kindle, Paperback
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Bookhype
BookBub
Storygraph
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Shock and Paw

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?

Claws Out by Cate Conte has JJ’s Cat Cafe hitting the road in their food truck to Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Who would kill Vivi St. Clair?

Maddie

Maddie, at first, wasn’t too sure about turning the cat cafe into a mobile form for her first time attending a literary cat festival, but she liked the idea enough. She and the rest of the cat cafe crew went to the festival and had a fun time. Well, except for Val and Ethan. Maddie is still a great main character, and I love how she figures out the crimes. She was having a hard time with this one, as it was quite a doozy. Even I was having a hard time keeping up with it. Maddie handles everything well, and it’s nice to see some friendly faces again.

The Mystery

Maddie and the cat cafe crew made it to the festival in one piece, and everything was going great until it wasn’t. Vivi St. Clair was found deceased, and Maddie starts to find out that not everything is what it seems with the cat romance author. She and her grandpa start investigating and end up uncovering a bunch of drama involving Vivi. I had a feeling about the person who did it, but I kept myself away from that person until it was uncovered.

Four Stars

Claws Out by Cate Conte was an excellent read as it kept me entertained throughout the whole mystery. My rating for Claws Out by Cate Conte is four stars, and I do recommend it. Ms. Conte is a great author who always makes me think about her mysteries.

Cat Cafe Mysteries

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Claws Out by Cate Conte.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon affiliate, meaning that if you click the link and purchase something, this blog gets a tiny percentage back. Mainly, this helps cover the website costs and a few giveaways.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2025 Cloak and Dagger
• 2025 Craving the Cozies
• 2025 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
• 2025 Goodreads RC
• 2025 Medical Examiner Mystery RC
• 2025 Six Shooter RC
• 2025 Traveling the World

Related Posts