Cat Fight by Kit Conway

 

Cat Fight by Kit Conway.

Published 15th May 2025 by Transworld.

From the cover of the book:

When the peace shatters in suburbia, the claws come out . . .

Coralie King, Emma Brooks and Twig Dorsett are friends. Sort of. They're neighbours on an exclusive Sevenoaks estate who get along. It's convenient.

But one May bank holiday, Coralie's husband insists he saw a panther on the bonnet of his car. And cracks between the elite of the Briar Heart Estate begin to emerge.

As the summer wears on and there are more sightings, the big cat frenzy reaches a fever pitch. Tensions between neighbours threaten to boil over. Everyone is watching their back. But is the real predator a seventy-kilo cat with razor-sharp claws? Or is the actual danger of a much more domestic variety?

***********

On the exclusive Briar Heart Estate in leafy suburban Sevenoaks neighbours Coralie King, Emma Brooks and Twig Dorsett appear to be the best of pals. But the cracks in their friendship begin to show when Coralie's  husband, Adam, claims to have spotted a 'big cat' crouching on his car bonnet during an elegant supper party in their garden.

As summer temperatures begin to spike, tensions rise between the friends, spilling over to include simmering resentments within their own families. Rumours abound of a 'Sevenoaks Panther' prowling the parkland beyond their gardens, but should this community be more worried about what goes on behind the closed doors of its sizeable houses, rather than the risk of harm from the tooth and claw of a leopard..?

This is one of those books that starts with a slow-burn sizzle, weaving through the leafy environs of a Sevenoaks Desperate housewives set-up as Kit Conway hints at what lies beneath the affable smiles of the King, Brooks, and Dorsett families... but it is not long before the action spins out of control with a breath-taking, and seriously original twist.

Set against a delicious atmosphere of hysteria about a wild beast stalking the Kent countryside, Conway spins a complex tale of secrets and lies, going far beyond well-trodden suburban plotlines to tickle deep dark primitive fears of being stalked by a dangerous beast - and she keeps her cards very close to the chest about whether the danger really lies.

The pace hots up nicely, flipping between the perspectives of Coralie, Emma and Twig to explore mysterious past misdeeds, with reveals that expose lashings of human frailties steeped in jealousy, obsession, infidelity, and money worries. At various points in the story all three women display seemingly unhinged behaviour, using the situation to their own ends, and I loved how this masks what is really going on until the twist and twist again ending that leaves you reeling.

Lovely themes run through this story, particularly about marriage, motherhood, and hiding your true nature. Unexpected alliances add lovely emotional content too. I really enjoyed the thought provoking elements about persistent tales of big cats roaming the British countryside, and how we should tackle the issue.

A cracking summer read!

Cat Fight is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Transworld for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Kit Conway lives in Kent with her husband and three sons. Prior to writing she worked as a corporate lawyer in London.

Cat Fight, her debut book club suspense novel, will be published by Transworld (UK) and Atria (US) in Summer 2025.