Claws for Concern (Maddie Sparks Mystery)
by Lesley A. Diehl
About Claws for Concern
Claws for Concern (Maddie Sparks Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Upstate – New York
Publisher : Epicenter Press
Publication date : October 14, 2025
Print length : 246 pages
Paperback
ISBN-10 : 1684922704
ISBN-13 : 978-1684922703
Digital
ISBN-13 : 978-1684922710
ASIN : B0FJP3JP7J
Maddie Sparks, senior amateur sleuth, sets aside her writing when her son, a defense attorney, is accused of murdering one of his clients, a high school friend and the woman the authorities believe murdered her estranged husband.
Although Maddie knows her son is innocent, she also suspects he is hiding something. Before she can confront him, he disappears during the first snowstorm of the season. When he reappears, he is shocked to discover his house has been torched. He confesses he and the murdered woman had been seeing each other.
Did the client kill her husband to be with Maddie’s son? To make sense of the murders and the arson, Maddie takes a close look at her son’s friends from high school. Do people change over time, or do they carry their past grievances into the present? In getting to know her son’s friends, she finds that teenage passion can sometimes lead to murder. It’s simply a matter of Maddie determining which friend is hiding a killer’s face.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Maddie Sparks has become quite the senior amateur sleuth and author, but it’s her sleuthing hat she needs to wear if she is going to get her defense attorney son out of the mess he has just landed in. He has been accused of killing an old high school friend who was under investigation for murdering her husband, and who was soon going to be his client. Maddie is shocked anyone would think her son Richard would hurt, let alone kill, anyone, but she can’t help him until he tells her the truth and everything he knows.
Soon, thereafter, the town is hit with a massive snowstorm, and Richard is nowhere to be found. Maddie is beside herself when she learned his house was on fire, and when she arrived, it was too late for there to be any survivors. Thankfully, the house was empty.
Richard comes home and sees his home burned to the ground. His mother and retired county sheriff Zack Montgomery, her significant other and crime-solving partner, are ready to dig into the case and follow wherever it leads to find the true killer and clear his name.
Seventy-plus Maddie Sparks is not a woman to mess with, and she will go to any lengths to get to the truth, especially for her son or when she feels her best friend is making a huge mistake. Zack is smart and a calming influence on Maddie most of the time. They do make a great team in everything they do. Sheriff Anita Burroughs is “tall, fit, blonde, and a no-nonsense kind of public servant”. She knows Zack and Maddie are going to investigate, and she and Maddie may disagree a lot, but most of the time she embraces their help. I enjoy that Ms. Diehl’s core characters grow realistically, and that the supporting characters all have purpose in the story.
The mystery was well-plotted. All the suspects, including Richard, had a high school connection. Could the motive go back to something that happened years ago? Did someone carry a grudge this long? The twists and turns just kept coming, and plotlines converged to render more questions than answers and more clues to follow. When all the pieces started to fall into place, Maddie was not in the best position, but with a feline assist, the takedown was very satisfying. But there was still one question to be answered. I gave myself a pat on the back as I had the right guilty party in my sights.
Ms. Diehl is a talented storyteller. She includes tons of humor within the pages of this story. I swear, Jane and Maddie get themselves in some laugh-out-loud crazy situations. She also knows how to set a scene: the cold, blowing snow, the howling wind, the warmth sitting in front of a fireplace with a brandy or cup of hot chocolate or hot chocolate with brandy, body heat keeping each other warm, and the chill in the air when Zack feels that Maddie has crossed a line. Her words pull the reader in as she seamlessly blends everyday life with the solving of a mystery.
Claws for Concern is an entertaining story with a twisty mystery, endearing characters, an abundance of humor, and a touch of romance. This book checks all my cozy boxes, and I know fans of the genre will fall quickly for Maddie Sparks, her cat Spike, her family, and friends. I look forward to visiting them all again soon.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author and Epicenter Press for providing me with an ARC.
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About Lesley A. Diehl
Cows, Lesley learned growing up on a farm, have a twisted sense of humor. They chased her when she herded them in for milking, and one ate the lovely red mitten her grandmother knitted for her. Determining that agriculture wasn’t a good career choice, instead, she uses her country roots and her training as a psychologist to concoct stories designed to make people laugh in the face of murder. Unusual protagonists appear in many of Lesley’s works, including Desdemona the crime-fighting potbellied pig, a hobo turned county sheriff and Lesley’s zany back-home-on-the-farm relatives (The Killer Wore Cranberry, all six anthologies). She is the author of several cozy mystery series (The Eve Appel Mysteries, Laura Murphy Mysteries, The Big Lake Murder Mysteries, and her newest, Maddie Sparks Mysteries, featuring a senior sleuth and her rescue cat). Her cozy mysteries have won several Readers’ Favorite Awards and a short story Sleuthfest Award. Find out more at www.lesleyadiehl.com.
Author Links
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Purchase Links
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Find All of Lesley Diehl’s Books HERE.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.” These funds are often used for gift cards and other giveaways.
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Thanks for your review, Lori. I’m so glad you liked going on this adventure with Maddie and her pals.