Scratch the Surface

A Cat Lover's Mystery #1

by Susan Conant

A new species for the award-winning author of the Dog Lover's mysteries. Introducing a terrific new sleuth in Felicity Pride, (herself an author of a series of popular cat mysteries). Now Felicity's facing a real mystery when she finds a cat-and a corpse-on her doorstep. Who was he? Who killed him? And what publicity value could it all have for her newest novel? The answers may lie with an avid pet-hater; a highbrow professor who's read every cat mystery ever written; or perhaps with Felicity's own number-one rival in the field, a reclusive, bestselling author. With a burly, kilt-wearing detective on her side, Felicity must sort out a case more puzzling than any she's ever plotted on paper.

This title has been removed from sale by Penguin Group, USA.

Genres: Mystery, Animals, Cozy Mystery, Cats, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(1)mysteries

Mother of author Jessica Park aka Jessica Conant-Park

The photo is of Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant, daughter and mother.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have finished this book finally. I read it while exercising on the reclining bike. On the one hand, this was the perfect book for exercising - I read for 30-45 minutes each day and was entertained enough that I didn't focus on the excercise. However, I also didn't enjoy it enough that I wanted to read it while not at the gym.

I think that Susan Conant should stick with dogs! I didn't really like her main charachter - a 53 year old, single author of - surprise - cat lover mysteries. Felicity Pride doesn't own any cats but her main character Prissy LaChat does so she writes based on what she thinks is correct about cat-owners. There are chapters interjected here and there that are from the point of view of the cats (which do appear in the book). Not sure I liked those. She stumbles on a mystery of course and the whole time laments that her own mystery is not quite working out the way that it should in a book. I just didn't really connect or especially like the main charachter and I really wanted too. Perhaps her future books will be more stable and developed rather than this one with such an exploritory nature.

The thing I love most about the dog-lover books is the information about dogs and their training and the love that people have for the dogs. This was missing in this first cat-lover book.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a huge fan of Ms. Conant's humorous dog mysteries, I really *wanted* to fall in love with her first cat mystery. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much to recommend the book. It's difficult to cheer for the snobby, self-righteous protagonist who is unredeemable until almost the very last page. Not as quickly paced as her dog mysteries, the book drags in many points. What kept me reading were Conant's brief, well-written (and all too few) observations from one of the cats. I hope she will hurry back to the dogs to produce a new book, or bring her remarkable dog skills to the cats.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am pretty sure this was going to be a series. Then the author might have read the reviews. It's not an awful book, but the protagonist is NOT a likable person. She is totally self involved. I see where the author was heading, by the end of the book Felicity (our heroine) has adopted two cats and is learning more about how to get along with others. As she is a writer of cosy cat mysteries she has been living a lie that she loves cats. It takes some time but she gets there. I am sorry the series fizzled out. It might have been interesting to see how she grow under the influence of her cats.

[Lbaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character in this book is not very likable. She is conniving, selfish and seems quite stupid, having a hard time to differentiate between real life and the fiction she writes.

As the story progresses it somehow drags reasonable actions closer to her fiction - the police act more like "Murder She Wrote" tv characters than realistic police.

The main character does improve somewhat, but all in all, not enough for me to like her much.

[Kirsti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but I didn't exactly love it. The main character is an outright pain in the butt, and generally these kind of cozy mysteries feature someone likable. I kind of hoped she'd end up dead too, but it didn't happen haha. However, I didn't pick the murdered after all, and it's always nice to be surprised. Three stars.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read (obvious by the fact that it took me two days to read and it wasn't a weekend). Pretty predictable outcome but it was interesting learning the main characters quirks. Can't say whether or not I would read a 2nd in the series...

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery writer Felicity finds a body ... and a cat .... in her vestibule. With an eye toward promoting her own books, Felicity sets out to solve the mystery. In the process she finds how pleasant cat company can be. (I'm not a cat person, so this I didn't understand!).

[Caprice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightfully accurate descriptions of cats and their behavior throughout the book with an expectedly unexpected ending that tied everything together. Scratch The Surface is a perfect guilty pleasure for cat lovers and time on their side.

[Christa (haines) Sheridan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely not a book I would recommend to anybody. The characters are not interesting and in fact, the protagonist can turn you right off continuing because she is so selfish and wrapped up in her own perspective of life that it just doesn't seem that she cares about anybody or anything.

[Hayseed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brain candy, nice litte mysteries to pass the time. I didn't find this book at good as her dog series tho.

[Luna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not her best work. Good enough to finish, but I don't know if I'll read more of this series.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

For as wonderful as her Dog Lovers Mystery series is, this book SUCKED. I couldn't finish it; I don't think I got past page 40.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really into recent fiction-and this is why.

The book was a quick read-but the characters didn't draw me in any way.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was passable. I ended up reading the whole book but was tempted to quit several times.

[Dixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was annoyed by the main character, Felicity Pride, for a good portion of the book. By the end, I came around to her a little bit. It was a fair read.

[Hilary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kitty litter.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

unlikable protagonist, but the plot is interesting.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

cat lover's mystery

[Tiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I'm just a dog person, but I didn't enjoy this book as much as the Rowdy series. It's well written, just didn't hold my attention.

[Allison Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing novel from an author I have enjoyed in the past. Terrible characters, terrible mystery, even the animals were terrible. Not surprised the series didn't continue.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felicity is a self-centered, egotistical cat mystery writer who has never owned a cat. She comes home from a book signing to find a dead body and a cat in her vestibule. Who is he? Why her place? Here she has a murder right on her doorstep, perfect fodder for her writing, except no one conforms to her neatly organized ideas of police detectives or suspects or anything else associated with a murder.
Then there is the cat. She's big, beautiful and takes up residence under Felicity's bed. Looking for who the cat is brings in a second cat, just as beautiful, but definitely not the hide under the bed type at all.
The book is a fast, easy read. It is a bit predictable. As Felicity is part of the cat mystery writers group, mention is made of such writers and their series.
I did find Felicity difficult to stomach at first. The fate of the second cat kept me reading until the book became much more to my liking.

[Rachel N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felicity Pride is the author of cat cozy mysteries. She comes home from a book signing to find a dead body and a live cat in her vestibule. Felicity ends up adopting the cat and the dead man's other cat. I liked the humor involved when events don't follow the way Felicity thinks they should based on her extensive knowledge of cozy mysteries. There are a few short chapters told from the cats perspective but they were scattered enough so as not to annoy me. The book is a fun parody of cozy mysteries. I’m disappointed the author didn’t write more cat mysteries. I liked this better than the one dog mystery of hers I’ve read.

[Basaxl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the book! The more I think about it....I really really like it. Felicity is not a raving beauty with the ability to knock a dude off his feet at 20 paces, , her best friend reminds me of a book dealer I know, and her friends(?) not only have warts but own the toad farm. I found the book well written and funny. I am a cat person and love reading cozys but I can also take a bit of humour with my catnip. What sold me is Susan knows the seductive powers of cats being cats. Brigitte and Edith are very good role models for the cause. They won me over by just being cats. I wish there were more books in the series.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not what I expected. The main character isn't a real "cat lady" at first, but progresses throughout the book. It's a shame there are no sequels available for this book. It looks like she wrote a couple and they're no longer available.

[Gale Penton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started slowly. Good mystery. Had me going to the end.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

The POV character for this took a bit of getting used to. Its a shame that the author didn't write any more in the series, though, as it would have been interesting to see how it developed.

[Ellison · Rating 2 out of 5]

an author comes home after doing a book reading at a book store to find a dead man, and a cat. she disturbs the crime scene and thus begins a tortured tale of lameness. hours i will not get back.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Conant pokes fun at the cozy mystery genre while delivering an entertaining cozy mystery, the first in her new cat series. Felicity Pride, a middle-aged author of a cat mystery series, has actually never owned a cat. Then fate brings a murdered man and his cats to her house, and Felicity begins to see how a real mystery is solved and how cats change their owners. Although at first Felicity is only interested in getting more publicity for her books, she finds that taking care of the dead man’s cats mellows her and helps her solve the mystery. Full of social satire, interesting characters, and potential romance, this book is funny and charming.

Unfortunately, there have been no additions to this cat series since this was written in 2005.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is this book out of print? Why are there no more in this series? That makes me sad! I've read quite a few cat cozies, and this is one of the best. Felicity is kind of a jerk in the beginning, but I like how she changes and warms to the cats. I do wish she'd actually pet them once in a while though! It just goes to show that the only people who don't like cats are people who have never had a cat. This book wrapped everything up nicely with no loose ends, but I still wish there were more in this series.

[Katherine Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am surprised at how much I am liking this. She is making fun of cozies. Is this an anti-cozy? Just thought of that and wonder what that means. But, very funny. Love it!


I finished it. I enjoyed the sarcasm, and I liked that the protag began to like cats. But, I get it, and I think I am done now.