catastrophizing

In a small corner of an upscale neighborhood called Sevenoaks, right next to a wooded area, three families live as friends. They get together for cookouts. They watch out for each other’s children. They see what’s going on in each other’s lives. But they don’t know each other’s secrets.

Adam is the one who first sees the big cat, maybe a panther? It had been sitting on his car. His wife Coralie was a zoologist, so she knew it was possible that a wildcat could be living in the woods nearby but it wasn’t very likely. And when she noticed that he’d just been smoking something stronger than tobacco, she is dubious about what he saw. But she promises him that she will look into it. And as the weeks go by, she does investigate. Adam, meanwhile, gets more paranoid and refuses to leave the house at all.

Emma and Matt are trying to upgrade their house in a renovation that includes a third story. However, they have to get their plans approved before they can do anything, and their neighbors hate the new design. There are chat groups just about how much everyone in the neighborhood is against this renovation. But in the weeks that follow Adam seeing the cat, Emma notices that everyone is talking about the cat instead of their renovations. So she goes out of her way to keep people talking about that cat. But just how far will she go?

Twig and Blake are least concerned about the panther. Their daughter Skylar had cancer, and while she is in remission, there is a vaccine available to help protect her from getting cancer again. However, it will take a lot of money, which they do not have. Twig has been working on a GoFundMe campaign, which is struggling, until she adds in information about the wildcat sightings. Talking about the panther and about her time in the band Pineapple Punk brings the donations in, and makes her old music hit the charts. But Twig is so focused on Skylar that she isn’t paying enough attention to her son Elwood, who becomes obsessed with the cat, or to Blake, who is distracted by something else entirely.

As the summer goes on and the stories about the panther get wilder, these three families are affected by the gossip, by the obsessions, and by the cat itself. But as the secrets start coming out, that cat won’t be the only thing these families have to worry about.

Cat Fight is a debut novel about the panther who lives next door. Told in alternating perspectives of Coralie, Emma, Twig, and clips from a docuseries named The Mystery of the Sevenoaks Panther, which include interviews from several people throughout the community, this story unfolds in crazy ways. It’s too much of a mystery to call it a character-driven novel, but it’s a little slow for a full-fledged thriller.

I loved this story. I do think it could benefit from a little editing, making the story tighter and moving it along faster. But I still thought it was a lot of fun. I think readers who enjoy domestic thrillers about upscale enclaves and the families that keep secrets there will enjoy it, as well as anyone who has ever wanted to find a wildcat roaming around their neighborhood.

Egalleys for Cat Fight were provided by Atria Books through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.