THE PERSIAN ALWAYS MEOWS TWICE

A cat groomer boarding the cat of a slain millionaire suspects her feline tenant may be the missing piece in solving the murder.

After moving to Chadwick and opening her own cat grooming and boarding facility, Cassie’s Comfy Cats, Cassie McGlone is feeling pretty comfy herself. She’s happy to be around friends and out of the sight of Andy, the recent ex whose anger issues upset her almost as much as his treatment of her three feline companions. Cassie is delighted that she’s been recently hired by George DeLeuw for the regular grooming of Harpo, a cream-colored Persian with a tendency to mat. Not only is DeLeuw a generous and loving owner to Harpo, a purebred who proved a worthless financial investment; providing routine services to such a well-heeled client has become a dependable income stream for Cassie. This time, however, Cassie shows up for her customary service call only to find DeLeuw’s body and realize that he’s been killed. Though she doesn’t have a background in investigating, it’s easy for her to do enough digging to figure out who might have reason to murder such a kind man. At first her poking around isn’t welcomed by the detective on the case, Angela Bonelli, but eventually the two are able to coordinate their efforts to learn about DeLeuw more efficiently, and Cassie offers to care for Harpo until the will is settled. When other people from DeLeuw’s life suddenly show an interest in Harpo’s well-being, Cassie suspects that learning more about the cat may provide the key to DeLeuw’s death.

Fans of felines will appreciate Cassie’s demonstrated attachment to the master species, which Watkins successfully integrates throughout her debut, a deft blend of mystery and cat love.