Feral Attraction

Feral Attraction, 3rd in A Cat Groomer Mystery Series, is an endearing novel that can be read as a standalone. I didn’t know anything about cat boarding or grooming, so I was happy to start a series with a unique specialty. It definitely doesn’t disappoint! The characters are a range of ages, from late 20’s to early 70’s, many of whom are pet lovers. The mystery is well-written, complex and challenging. Cassie, owner of Cassie’s Comfy Cats, works hard and helps others with their pets. Her two-story building has been built out to have a cat grooming and huge cat boarding area on the first floor and she lives on the second floor. She and the local veterinarian, Mark, have been dating for several months. Cassie’s best friend Dawn invites Cassie to join her on a mission to help feral cats. Dawn’s mother is on vacation so Dawn keeps an eye on her condo in a beautiful complex. Sabrina, an older lady and friend of Dawn and her mother, is disliked by most in the complex because of her care for feral cats. She monitors feeding stations and shelters set up off the hiking trails in the woods and has been instrumental in introducing a trap-neuter-return program to humanely control the colony, but some homeowners want all the cats taken to the pound. Cassie attends a board meeting with Dawn to verify that what Sabrina is sharing about the program is true. Murmurings are negative, and one man said that Sabrina should be euthanized. Late one evening Cassie gets a desperate call from Dawn, who had gone to check on her mother’s condo and went to see the feeding station. She found Sabrina dead on the trail. Her scarf was wrapped several times around a nearby bush. She probably had a heart attack, possibly brought on by being strangled by her scarf. Cassie and Dawn don’t believe it. Days later, an older lady dies “accidentally” in her condo, a cat owner who thought she heard a scream the night of Sabrina’s death. Add an irate man who boarded his cat at Cassie’s and a couple days after bringing her back home, a rash covers the lovely Sphinx, and having to decide whether to spend Thanksgiving with Mark’s family in Philly or her widowed mother in Morristown, and Cassie has her hands full. Cassie and Dawn are my favorite characters, young women who are pursuing their dreams. I also enjoy Cassie’s assistant, Sarah, who has not spent much time around cats. As a retired schoolteacher, she is now a student as she learns Cassie’s methods of boarding, care, and grooming. The characters are well-defined, several choosing unique careers or hobbies. Each cat is delightful in his own way, and Omen helps in surprising ways. This is a delightful and realistic cozy mystery with courageous feminine protagonists addressing challenges faced by feral cat colonies and those who care for them. Even as the organization Sabrina is a member of tries to help the colony, others are trying to kill the cats and anyone getting in the way. Cassie and Dawn will not consider the elderly ladies’ deaths accidents, and as damages and threats occur, it becomes clear that something besides poisoned food is afoot at the complex. Plot twists bring ideas leading to different suspects, and I was kept guessing until the surprising, explosive ending. I highly recommend this cozy to those who enjoy well-written cozy mysteries that include cats. From a grateful heart: I received a copy of the e-Arc from the publisher through NetGalley, and this is my honest review.