Purrder She Wrote is the second book in the Cat Cafe Mystery series. Maddie James left California to return home to Daybreak Island, MA to live with her aging grandfather. Grandpa Leo is the former island police chief. Maddie is opening JJ's House of Purrs, a trendy Cat Cafe, with help from her business partner Ethan. Grand Opening Day for the cafe has finally arrived, but it quickly goes downhill when an employee gets into an argument with a customer over a cat. Adele Barrows is adamant that Holly Hawthorne should not be allowed to adopt any of the cats they have on site for the local shelter, given her past track record with pets. It turns into an ugly scene. The problem escalates when Holly is later found murdered, laying face down on the beach by her wealthy parents' house. She was choked using a cat toy. Can Maddie prove that her employee didn't kill the spoiled, rich girl?

The Cat Cafe theme of this series is cute and enjoyable. The mystery moved along at a nice pace with some twists and plenty of suspects. I like the characters in this series. Maddie is intelligent and feisty when she has to be. There is a bit of a love triangle vibe in this series.....that's more than a bit old hat in cozies. I hope it doesn't develop into a main theme for this series. Really really really tired of that trope.

All in all, this book was a fun weekend read. Enjoyable theme, plot and characters! I will definitely continue to read this series.

The next book, The Tell Tail Heart, will be out in June 2019.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

This is the 2nd novel in the Cat Cafe Mystery Series. From previous cozy mystery series reading, I have found that many cozy mysteries can be read as a stand-alone. This novel is not an exception but to thoroughly enjoy the series it is always best to read them in order. In this case, I don't know that a reader could fully enjoy progression of the 2nd novel without reading "Cat About Town." However, if you read the 1st novel than you may be as annoyed as I am in regard to protagonist Maddie James explanation of her rescue cat JJ's name in "Purrder She Wrote."

In the 1st novel there is a rather lengthy conversation between Maddie and her friend Cass Hillaire (owner of the Ocean Avenue Bookstore). I have only copied the important segment for reference as follows:

Cass nodded. “A J name, then. The soul quality of a J is intuitive. Knowing.” He gazed at the cat again. “Does he like birds?”
I frowned. I'm sure he likes them more if he can catch them.”
He laughed. “You know John James Audubon was born in Haiti? It was not Haiti then, of course.”
“I didn't know that,” I said.
“I know a lot of useless trivia about my country,” he said with a chuckle. “John James. That should be his name. JJ for short. Double Intuition.”
“JJ,” I repeated, looking at the cat. It fit him well enough. Better than Rusty or Pumpkin or Tigger, typical names of orange cats christened in shelters. “I like it.”

However, in "Purrder She Wrote" Maddie's new explanation is that JJ stands for Junkyard Johnny. The author shares in the dedication that the novel is in memory of Junkyard Johnny, a feline companion. I appreciate JJ being remembered and memorialized as a character. But then certainly the conversation with Cass in the opening novel should not have referenced JJ as John James.

An additional comment would certainly be that if you selected the series because you thought you would enjoy reading about the various cats at the cat cafe, I know you will be disappointed. The cat cafe did not "open for business" until this 2nd novel. There is a great deal of time spent on Maggie's anticipation of cleaning litter boxes, etc. prior to opening the cat cafe for the hours of the day or closing the cat cafe prior to her dates or dinners at her parents. However by the time Maddie decides to start any cleaning duties, miraculously the cat litter boxes are most often finished and cleaned by Adele, Gigi, or Maddie's grandfather Leo.

I will not continue reading this series. There are too many other captivating and enchanting cat cozy mystery series where the felines are truly featured. ( )

Please see all of my reviews on my blog at www.robinlovesreading.blogspot.com

4.5 Stars

JJs House of Purrs is Daybreak Island's new cat café where customers can get cozy with an assortment of friendly felines―and maybe even adopt one or two. She and her business partners have done all they can to establish the "purrfect" grand opening. However, a cat fight ensues, but the fight is actually between two women. Things get back on track rather quickly, and the opening day becomes a wonderful successes. However, almost immediately after, the café is visited by the police to state that one of the women in the argument has been murdered. The other lady in the argument, one of Maddie's volunteers, is the main suspect in the murder.

Maddie's café may be open, there is still a lot of work to do. If that isn't enough to completely stress Maddie out, the fact that one of her volunteers is being questioned is truly disturbing to her. Meanwhile, another of her volunteers has been acting rather oddly. There is the possibility of someone else being responsible, but there is no love lost between them and Maddie. Her family is now involved, and her family means the world to her. Her love for family is just as intense as her love of cats.

This is a cozy mystery with just the right air of intrigue and quite a bit of humor. Maddie doesn't set out to be an investigator by any means, but can't help but be involved in trying to figure out what happened. Purrder She Wrote was an enjoyable, fast-paced read with a delightful plot, really likeable characters and wonderful little felines.The conclusion was rather a surprise. This is the second book in the series, and no doubt, several of the characters make repeat performances. I love Cate Conte's writing style and definitely look forward to reading more in this series. Maddie's cat JJ is a smart, fun cat and I hope he shows up in future books.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

Maddie’s cat cafe’s grand opening was a great sucesss, if you don’t count the yelling match and cat fight between a cat-rescuer volunteer and wealthy and pushy socialite who wants to adopt a cat immediately. Not believing rules were for her, she leaves in a mad huff and without a kitten. But when she turns up dead not long after, suspicion falls on the volunteer. But there are plenty of other suspects, and Maddie appoints herself to find the real killer. But this complicates her life with both her family members and her boyfriend. There is never a dull moment in this nicely crafted cozy. With interesting characters and lovely cats, there is much to enjoy on the path to finding the killer. ( )

Purrder She Wrote by Cate Conte is the second A Cat Café Mystery. Maddie James is having the grand opening of JJ’s House of Purr’s, a cat café, on Daybreak Island. It is a chance for people to spend time with adorable felines and enjoy a snack at the same time. It is Maddie’s goal to find loving, stable homes for the cats in her care. The first day gets off to an explosive start when volunteer, Adele Barrows gets into an altercation with Holly Hawthorne. Holly wishes to adopt a cat and Adele has no intention of letting Holly get her claws into another innocent feline. Before Maddie ends up with a cat fight on her hands, she diffuses the situation. That evening Sgt. Mick Ellory stops by asking about the shop’s signature cat toys which are made by Adele and exclusive to JJ’s House of Purr’s. Unfortunately, someone used them to silence Holly forever. With Adele at the top of the suspect list and the shop the subject of hot gossip, Maddie, with the aid of Grandpa Leo, digs into the case. She will need to work in her investigating in between handling the café, spending time with her new boyfriend, listening to Ethan’s new ideas for the café’s kitchen, handling the hospital gala for her father, delivering for the new Pet Meals on Wheels program and dealing with her sister’s marital woes. Maddie will need to work in a cat nap or two if she is to keep up with her responsibilities. She will need to be stealthy in her investigation or Maddie may use up the last of her nine lives.

Purrder She Wrote is easy to read and has a steady pace. There is a lot going on in this book. I do not quite understand why the author felt the need to jam so much into one story. I would prefer she take the time to fully flesh out her characters. I would like to know more about Grandpa Leo and have him take a more active role in the investigating. I also could do with less of Maddie’s father who comes across as self-centered. He cares more about how events affect his career than his family. There was a great Emily Gilmore (of Gilmore Girls) reference in the book as well as one referring to Lord Voldemort. It was clever how the author included Stan and her pet treats from the Pawsitively Organic Mystery series. The whodunit was straightforward, and readers will have no problem identifying the guilty party. Maddie was intensely focused on solving the crime. She went from suspect to suspect to obtain information and kept in touch with her contact at the local newspaper for the latest news. There is speculation, rumors, and red herrings. I do wish that the case had been solved differently by Maddie (I would say more but I do not want to spoil it for you). There is some mild foul language in the story. Maddie is dating local pet groomer, Lucas Davenport but an old beau is also trying to capture her attention. Personally, I prefer the old beau over Lucas. I would prefer the romance to be less prominent in future books. I enjoyed the descriptions of the adorable felines and their antics. However, we do not need to know how often or when the litter boxes are scooped (no matter how necessary the chore). The cat café concept is unique, and I had not heard about them until I read Cat About Town (you should look it up online to see the various designs). While Purrder She Wrote is the second novel in A Cat Café Mystery series, it can be read alone. My rating for Purrder She Wrote is 3 out of 5 stars. ( )