Cat Fight

Conway debuts with a witty social thriller set in the wealthy English town of Sevenoaks. At a backyard dinner party, zoologist Coralie King and her husband, Adam, host their friends Twig and Blake Dorsett, founders of the once popular band Pineapple Punk, and Emma and Matt Brooks, who’ve become notorious among Sevenoaks’ residents for their extravagant home renovations. Adam briefly steps away from the festivities, then returns claiming he saw a panther on the hood of his car. His declaration sounds insane to most of his friends, who assume his vision is tied to the joint he was smoking. The group half-heartedly agrees to keep the situation quiet so as not to cause panic, but word spreads quickly. In the coming days, online posts from concerned mothers about dangerous beasts roaming the English countryside get picked up by the national press, and journalists descend on Sevenoaks. Meanwhile, each member of the main cast—Coralie, Twig, and Emma share narration duties—exploits the situation to their own ends, hoping all the while that their individual secrets stay buried. More crime-tinted suburban satire than straightforward mystery, Conway’s twisty narrative is populated by three-dimensional characters and dagger-sharp renderings of middle-aged malaise. This is an auspicious first effort. Agent: Katie Greenstreet, Paper Literary. (June)