The Bengal Identity

Chadwick, N.J., cat groomer Cassie McGlone reluctantly accepts an unusual-looking large brown feline, Ayesha, for emergency boarding from a nervous customer, Rudy Pierson, in Watkins’s first-rate sequel to 2017’s The Persian Always Meows Twice. As Cassie and her assistant, Sarah Wilcox, bathe Ayesha, her true colors are exposed, and it becomes clear she’s a valuable show cat. Talk of a large cat having attacked a dog and even a young child nearby raises the question: could the culprit have been Ayesha? Car problems send Cassie to the local garage, where smarmy mechanic Todd Gillis is hyperinterested in her and Ayesha, but he and his cool classic car soon disappear. Meanwhile, Rudy turns up dead, and Det. Angela Bonelli lets Cassie in on the growing investigation. Dr. Mark Coccia, Cassie’s romantic interest, also lends a hand. Solving this mystery may cut short more than their relationship. It doesn’t take a cat lover to fall in love with this perfectly crafted cozy series. Agent, Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency. (Apr.)