In The Watcher in the Night by Mike Maroney, a triple murder turns out to be even worse than it is first thought when there is more going on behind the scenes. An inquisitor for the Watch Cats, when Tobias investigates the brutal murder of three kittens he finds a deeper, more sinister conspiracy.

The big city is a dangerous place, even when governed by an ancient code, but Tobias is willing to take on any threat to do what is right. The city is being torn apart for both humans and cats, and Tobias doesn’t know who he can trust, but he won’t give up.I have to say I was really excited to read this book.

As a cat lover, anything from a cat’s perspective makes me smile. I was not disappointed in this book at all! Mike Maroney is clearly a cat lover and a gifted writer who knows how to create a world and a murder/crime story with fantastic realness to it.

Tobias reminds me of what I sometimes think one of my fur babies Misha is like. He loves to try to figure out any mystery going on in the house at large. The fact that murder is not the biggest threat in this story is also something I enjoyed. The idea that there are forces much bigger than what we normally think about causing threats to us is something I have often imagined. Cats are so much more in tune with things than we are. I don’t want to give too many details of this fantastic read away.

Believe me, you have to read The Watcher in the Night. It is one of those rare 'must-read from cover to cover in one sitting' type of books.

Cat lovers, pay attention! This is one cat-detective book you wouldn't want to miss!  

As if the cover and the short preview at Reedsy Discovery weren’t dead giveaways already, I must admit that it did take me a while to realize that I was seeing this story-world through the eyes of a cat. Oh, but not just any cat! Tobias of the Watch is an Inquisitor, a title held by the Watch Cat elites, who investigated Treaty crimes and, if they’re lucky, also brought the guilty ones to justice.

In short, Tobias is a cat detective, in a city where every other creature believes that, “The only good human is a dead one.” He is good at his job—no, he is exceptional at his job, and is also so passionate at it that he eventually ends up caught in the web of a large-scale conspiracy that, at each turn, challenges the corest of his core beliefs, the depth of his deepest affections, and the firmness of his strongest loyalties, which can—in the best and worst of circumstances—make allies of enemies and enemies of allies. 

Telling a story through the eyes of another human is hard enough, what more adapting the perspective and entire worldview of a cat, who has seen the world—at least, his world—at its best and worst times. Mike Maroney did a wonderful job of doing this, of bringing my own perspectives and worldviews at eye-level with Tobias’, bringing together his passion for words and obvious love for cats to great advantage to deliver a narrative that aims to engage the reader holistically—body, mind, heart, and soul.

More than once did I find myself agreeing with Tobias’ observations of the ways of (wo)men. More than once did I find my heart melting at the beautiful interactions between cat and human in a couple of soft, vulnerable scenes that felt too familiar and so, so true. And all of this happening in the backdrop of an immersive worldbuilding that never once overwhelms, providing histories and deep-seated values that felt real even at its most fantastical.

Granted, the book does need some editing work to correct a few hiccups here and there, but the flaws hardly take away from the intrigue that slowly builds up as Tobias’ city unravels in the hands of an age-old prophecy, perpetuated by a group of fanatics, who dares us all to wonder, Well, were they so wrong?The Watcher in the Night is a good mystery novel that is also part wake up call, and part cat tribute. And I absolutely loved every bit of it!