Claw & disorder

In Watkins's winning fifth Cat Groomer mystery (after 2019's Gone, Kitty, Gone), Cassie McGlone, the owner of Cassie's Comfy Cats in Chadwick, N.J., and her assistant, Sarah Wilcox, attempt to help a troubled elderly couple Sarah knows from church, Bernice and Chester Tillman, who suffer from poor health and live in a dilapidated house with too many cats. In particular, Cassie and Sarah seek to find new homes for at least some of the felines. After Bernice dies of an apparent asthma attack, and the autopsy suggests senile Chester smothered her with a pillow, Sarah implores Cassie to investigate. Meanwhile, Cassie must cope with an uptight pet owner, and gets entangled in assorted strange mishaps and another death. Unlike in similar cozies, the cats don't solve crimes, and Watkins gives plenty of attention to her appealing cast of diverse human characters. Cat and mystery lovers alike will be charmed. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency. (Feb.)

A New Jersey cat fancier tussles with mysteries at both ends of the socio-economic spectrum. As the owner of the cat boutique and boarding business Cassie's Comfy Cats, Cassie McGlone would've thought she'd been around a lot of cats, but her life is nothing compared to that of Bernice and Chester Tillman. The Tillmans are a needy older couple Cassie's employee, Sarah Wilcox, is helping through her church. When Cassie and Sarah come to the Tillmans' place, it's not even clear how many cats there are inside and out, and cats aren't the only thing the sweet couple has too much of. Vintage video games, records, and all manner of stuff fill the place. But in spite of the mess, the couple are happy as long as they have their cats and each other. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Cassie's newest client, Gillian Foster, who's boarding her purebred Himalayan, Leya, while she restores her mid-19th-century house to its former glory, much to the dismay of her husband and teen daughter. Gillian's as obsessed with making everything just so as the Tillmans are with not letting go of anything. Tragedy strikes the Tillmans when Bernice dies unexpectedly overnight, and Chester's habit of propping the back door open for outdoor cats raises the possibility of foul play. Luckily, Cassie has a friend in Detective Angela Bonelli, of the Chadwick PD, who's willing to investigate when the Tillmans' local officers won't. Meanwhile, Gillian has a mystery of her own when a gluten-free guest is apparently poisoned by flour at a gathering Cassie attends. Will two mysteries be too much for Cassie to handle? One of the more realistic series of cat cozies, though it's more fun when the victims deserve what they get. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.