Murder at the Meow Mixer. Whiskers and Whodunits, #1

In the misty, rain-soaked town of Willow Creek, a cat café becomes the unlikely heart of a deadly puzzle. Amelia "Mia" Thorne arrives with nothing but a U-Haul, divorce papers still warm in the glovebox, and an inherited business she never asked for: Purrfect Brews, a cozy corner where adoptable cats roam free and locals linger over coffee and gossip. She expects quiet. She gets murder. When celebrity chef Victor Lang collapses mid-demo during the town's annual Cat Lovers' Festival-poisoned by the very shortbread he's tasting-the café Mia just inherited turns into ground zero.
The police call it a tragic accident. Mia knows better. Especially when her clever tabby, Whiskers, starts knocking over jars, batting at clues, and leading her straight to secrets no one else sees. With the help of sharp-eyed barista Sophie, a gruff but quietly wounded detective who keeps showing up with coffee and warnings, and a town full of nosy neighbors who know too much, Mia begins to unravel a web that stretches far beyond one dead chef.
Stolen recipes. Hidden payments. A mayor with too many secrets. And an old family legend about lost gold that someone is willing to kill to keep buried. As festival lights flicker and cats curl up in sunbeams, Mia discovers that small towns hold the biggest shadows-and that sometimes the most dangerous thing isn't the poison on the plate. It's what people will do to protect what's theirs. Purrfect Brews is open for business.
But not everyone who walks through the door is looking for coffee. What's hiding in the margins of Clara's recipe book?Who really poisoned the shortbread?And why does Whiskers always seem to know more than anyone else?Step inside. Order something warm. And try not to look too closely at the shadows behind the cat trees. Some mysteries come with whiskers. This one comes with claws.