My name is Elizabeth Emmerson Kiley French. The Emmersons have been in North Harbor, Maine almost as long as the Swifts who founded the town in the 1760s. Don’t get any ideas that my ancestors were some kind of titled aristocrats though. Rogues and reprobates would better describe a significant part of my family tree. However, there is one part of the Emmerson legacy that I’m very proud to be part of—The Emmerson Foundation. The foundation supports a number of projects in the state and one of the most important, at least for me, is the Sunshine Camp for children.

For a good many years I was chair of the board of the foundation and took care of its day-to-day operations. I succeeded my grandfather in the role. He was very progressive in his opinions about the capabilities of women in business, at least with respect to others in his generation. I don’t doubt that he heard more than one derogatory comment about giving me the position instead of my brother, Wilson. Not that Grandpa cared. As I heard him say more than once, “I don’t give a fig about what those closed-minded old fogeys think!” And he rarely actually used the word “fig”.

When I retired, Wilson took my place. Bad judgment on the part of both the board and myself. Time didn’t grant my brother the maturity I’d hoped it would. Our mother always babied Wilson. He should have washed a few dishes and peeled a few potatoes growing up. Those kinds of things build character.

Now I’m back running the foundation again and things are changing. One of the first things I did was look for ways to be more efficient. For instance, we had a boardroom that wasn’t being used more than a dozen times a year, if that. Thanks to the efforts of my very capable assistant, Jane Evans, that space is now available to rent for wedding receptions, parties and meetings. All the proceeds will go toward renovations at the Sunshine Camp.

Our very first event was a reception for the new waterfront development. The room looked spectacular. Jane doesn’t just have top-notch organizational skills, she also has a discerning eye for style and color. And she makes a killer martini.

The evening was proceeding exactly as we’d planned and then Christopher Healy fell over dead. Murdered, it turned out. No, the young man wasn’t particularly well liked, but no one deserves a death like that. My friends and I will find out who did this. After all, I am Elizabeth Emmerson Kiley French and if that name doesn’t strike fear into the heart of the person who killed Mr. Healy, I promise that by the time we’re done investigating, it will.

Claw Enforcement is the seventh book in the “Second Chance Cat” cozy mystery series, released January 28, 2020.

Sarah Grayson and her feline ally, Elvis, are hot on the tail of a crafty killer in the newest installment of the New York Times bestselling Second Chance Cat mysteries.

Sarah Grayson owns a delightful secondhand shop in the small town of North Harbor, Maine, where she and her rescue cat, Elvis, are always finding themselves up to their whiskers in trouble. With the help of a quirky group of senior citizens—who call themselves Charlotte’s Angels and work out of the store—they solve crimes both new and vintage.

Local squabbles about property development have the town in quite a state of drama—and it seems like someone may even be upset enough to kill. When a local man involved in the real estate quagmire falls over dead at a reception to celebrate the harbor front’s redevelopment, Sarah gets roped in to investigate by her own IT expert, Mr. P., who has long known the victim’s stepfather. Between Sarah, Elvis and Charlotte’s Angels, the killer is sure to have claws for concern.

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About the author
Sofie Ryan is the author of the New York Times bestselling Second Chance Cat Mysteries. She also writes the New York Times bestselling Magical Cats Mystery series under the name Sofie Kelly.  To learn more about Sofie, visit her website at sofiekelly.com.

All comments are welcomed.