About This Book:
Big Little Lies meets Tiger King in this fun and propulsive debut novel about three suburban women who, over the course of one summer, each use the growing hysteria around a big cat sighting to achieve their own agendas—some more sinister than others.
Former zoologist Coralie King now reigns over a different sort of animal kingdom as Queen Bee of Sevenoaks, a wealthy suburb of London. When her husband Adam spots a panther on the hood of his car at one of her exclusive dinner parties, Coralie is quick to reassure her guests that they’re in no real danger. She sees the sighting as the perfect opportunity to revive her career and promote her own ecological endeavors.
New neighbor Emma Brooks doesn’t believe for a second that there’s a big cat in their midst but is all too willing to use the concern as a distraction from her home remodel application that’s been facing scrutiny. Meanwhile, former punk musician Twig Dorsett doesn’t know what to believe. She never thought she’d return to Sevenoaks and be living in her childhood home, but after her daughter became sick, she and her wife traded their Bohemian life in Bali for the security of London suburbia.
As the summer heats up, the frenzy around the big cat sighting reaches a fever pitch when gnawed bones, pawprints, and scratches are discovered. But is the real predator a big cat on the prowl or is the true threat more of the domestic variety? Filled with gasp-worthy twists and turns, Cat Fight is a wickedly entertaining novel of suspense that examines the lengths to which some women will go when they feel caged.
My Thoughts After Reading:
Fun fact about me: Like Coralie King, I am a former zoologist. I’ve worked as a zookeeper, field researcher and wildlife rehabilitator. So, I was invested in the “Sevenoaks Panther”. Conway centering a domestic suspense and social satire novel around a panther sighting is brilliant, completely unique. I’ll, now, think of Cat Fight anytime someone posts a rare wildlife sighting on Facebook or in the Nextdoor app.
Cat Fight is narrated in turns by the three women (Coralie King, Emma Brooks and Twig Dorsett) living next door to one another – plus snippets from a fictional docuseries. At first, this format is difficult to follow given how many characters are introduced and how quickly the author switches between narrators. But once you get a sense of the neighborhood, it really adds to the reading experience. I loved how the docuseries snippets foreshadow what’s to come, too.
Each neighbor is likeably unlikeable – messy, manipulative, slightly unhinged and yet, vulnerable and real. I did enjoy Coralie’s chapters the most. As more is revealed, I had whiplash deciding who to root for and who to trust. Conway definitely keeps you guessing.. spoiler alert: the panther isn’t the cat we should be fearing.
Set under a scorching heat, this is a fun summer novel to sink your claws into. 😉
-Michelle
