Claws

When twenty-three lions, tigers, and ligers - a giant, hybrid cat - escape in rural Idaho, town officials decide to hold the first safari in America. Only police chief Jackson Hobbs, a man haunted by memories of a tragedy, and Katy Osborne, the sole white female hunting guide in Africa, seem to realize the danger of this decision. With the town desperate for money, Jackson's ex-wife, the mayor, and her boyfriend, a banker, are adamant that the Idaho Lion Hunt go forward even after people are killed. As the deaths mount and his own family is put at risk, Jackson must cope with a town doubled in population, deal with the dangerous cats, uncover the mystery of who engineered their escape, and investigate the activity of a local, anti-government militia. A willful teenage daughter, an animal rescue group, a missing little boy, a dead State Trooper, and Katy's desire to save a rare liger named Kali all add to the complications. Betrayal blossoms alongside romance as the story drives to the final showdown.

""Intensely atmospheric, Ozzie Cheek's Claws employs clarity and precision to reveal a rich panorama of a small town entrapped by a big time disaster.""
- Keith Abbott, author of Downstream from Trout Fishing in America: a Memoir of Richard Brautigan.

""Claws is a tremendous read. Well-written and scary. A lethal combination. I suggest you do what I did, and read it in the daytime. Nighttime reading was too scary.""
- Nancy De Los Santos, Writer