In a small town like Chesterville, homicides are as rare as government grants. So it's not surprising that the violent death of the richest man in town, J.A. Bussières, shakes up the entire population. Roméo Dubuc, the Chief of Police, heads up the investigation. J.A.'s son escaped from the psychiatric hospital the very day his father died. Was Marguerita Bussières tired of having a husband who cheated on her? Did Talbot, the grocer, act on his threats against the man who was pursuing his daughter? And Jerry Ménard, the small-time bar owner, makes a handsome profit from his financier's death. In this detective novel, Dubuc's nose is to the grindstone as he tries to sift through the clues. Led down a trail of secrets, disappearances, mysterious twists, and bizarre discoveries, what they find out is undoubtedly more than anyone ever expected to learn about their quiet little town. In the Claws of the Cat was originally published in French by Les éditions Triptyque in 1999 as Le cri du chat.