A body is discovered in the cat café, and all the black cats are missing!

Sixty-something cat shelter volunteer Lynley Cannon always finds more trouble than a cat in catnip, but this time it’s not about her. Someone is targeting senior citizens, and when the elderly owner of the Blue Cat café turns up dead, Lynley’s mom could be next.

A black cat rescue, an old photo, an elaborate payback. Does the killer seek justice or vengeance? With death as the objective, the results are the same.

Kylie Preston’s dissected and preserved remains are found in a stolen car. Portland Homicide has no leads. Carl Wheaton, a close friend and colleague of the deceased, implores C. J. Cavanaugh to investigate. During the course of C. J.’s investigation for the killer the press has dubbed “The Butcher,” more bodies turn up mutilated in precisely the same manner as Kylie Preston. Each grisly discovery intensifies the race to capture The Butcher before he strikes again.