CAT SUMMER (Book one in The Cat Seasons tetralogy)

 

by Mollie Hunt;  

                  

                                                                   

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring this week an Middle Grade Adventure Fiction.

 

This week, as the year slowly draws to an end, I offer you our final review of 2023. We have an adult book to review, called Lie or Die, by Firefly Press. It's LONG. So, Mrs H has got a stash of mince pies in and a fresh bottle of sherry, and we'll be busy reading throughout the rest of December. Me, I have six boxes of cat food and some long-life cream and catnip and valerian cushions to while away the quiet hours between chapters.

So, without further ado, here's the review!

 

AUTHOR: Mollie Hunt

 

Cover art by: Roslyn McFarland

 

Published by: Independent Published

 

Publication date Paperback: This 2nd edition 7/2/2023

 

 

Paperback ISBN:  978-1984134844 

 

Cover price for Paperback:  £11.77

Kindle UK price:  £4.99

 

Pages: 353

 

Age range:  ADULT

Any dogs or cats? Absolutely chocked full of cats, plus some interesting humans, too!

 

 

SPOILER ALERT

Some as to plot direction and characters.

 

 

Thank you to... 

 

I am incredibly grateful to Mrs H for buying me this for an early festive holiday present.

As always, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review. 

First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy. 

The plot

 

Our protagonist, Lise, awakes at night in her bed. It's hot, and she can't sleep. Forgoing dressing, she skips downstairs through the large, empty house. Her aged tuxedo cat, Percy, lies snuggled on the sofa. That is where the familiarity of the scene ends, for sitting on the floor is a large orange tabby. When she asked herself out loud who he was, he actually answered her. He is called Evermore Artair Eckx or plain Tom. The two cats discuss Lise's suitability to be 'She Who'. Tom thinks she is too big and clumsy to fit in their world. But time, it seems, is short, and their mission has to happen on Tri-Night, which is now. So, Lise is what they have to work with. But the cats head off, and Lise, for better or worse, follows. Still uncertain of what is really going on, but driven by curiosity and the guiding of the cats, she drops to all fours and dove whiskers first through the flap into the night beyond. Here marks the start of their journey and perilous mission. 

The cats offer little in the way of information as to the task that must be done. But soon, it becomes clear there is a demonic-like force, an evil that has been driving and feeding off man's wickedness and destructive nature. The name of the beast is Seh. And if he isn't stopped now, they never will be able to.

In an old neighbourhood shed, they come across one of Seh's minions, and it's not pretty. The cats flee, and soon enough, Lise realises there are many cats out there to help in the fight to bring an end to Seh's powers. It will be too late if they leave it till the next Tri-Night. Tri-nights give all sentient beings, of which cats are one, the ability to do things they could not before, like talk to each other.

It is a mission that will bring them face to face with friends and foes, some feline, others creatures of this world but turned bad within. Lise is warned by a feline she meets en route to watch out for their eyes. If they are red, they are evil and in league with Seh. The journey also takes our heroes, for that is what the ultimate band of felines is, on a quest that will transcend realms, maybe dimensions, where they will take on different forms and face not only the devilish workings of Seh but also Seh itself in a tangible form.

Like the best stories, those like LOTR, the heroes will be tested to breaking point, maybe even death. In the Alter tier– the realms cats can visit beyond their bodies and beyond the mortal world– things are not what they seem, nor people or creatures.

So as not to spoil this adventure, I shall leave my review here. I have but covered the intro to the first half of this story, which moves forward briskly to not one, but two conclusions. To say more would ruin the drama that unfolds and who features.

So, what did we think? Beware, Spoilers!!!!

The story is divided and defined by both chapters and time. It is also very descriptive; the writer has taken great pains to create a solid and compelling ambience-filled setting for the feline and human characters and the grizzly baddies in all their forms, wherever they may be. There is a very credible and clever link between the science and the fiction, which gives the story a grounding, especially in the second half.

I have to say, Mrs H and I were taken aback when, halfway through, we reached the second part and jumped 100 years. But the transition to what are effectively new characters was handled well. You'll note I say 'effectively new'. That will become clear when you read the story. Suffice it to say, this is a story with twice the punch. The ultimate ending (though arguably, given there are more books to come, this isn't the ending) was gripping and heartfelt. 

There is as much a journey of discovery for Lise as there is action and adventure. A higher purpose to her life, maybe the lives of all humanity. Thought-provoking.

I loved the cats, which are studies in feline behaviour and mannerisms. Knowing how skilled a cat carer Mollie is, this should be no surprise to any of her readers. This is a standout example, within its genres, of how we feel an excellent feline book should be for those who have neither cats nor read feline-themed adventures. 

For us, there are many ways of depicting cats in adventure stories. Over the years, they have been relegated in human-based detective stories to mere sidekicks or hooks to lure cat lovers and humanitarians. Don't get us wrong; any books featuring positive enforcement for fellow sentient creatures are to be applauded. More recently, I am pleased to see our favourite sentients, the cats, get a fair crack at the whip and move to speaking and action rolls. 

I have reviewed LT Shearer's first two books, The Cat Who Caught a Killer and The Cat Who Solved Three Murders, and was pleased with the intelligent portrayal of Conrad, the talking feline co-protagonist. It is also pleasing to see children's/Middle-Grade books with all manner of other sentient creatures ably portrayed. 

There are what we consider 'adult' moments in this book, which, for me, would make this an adult-only read.

 

So . . . . 

Crunch time.

A story worthy of Ray Bradbury – Old School in the best way. Keenly written, a blend of spiritualism, fantasy and science fiction that is not overpowering yet deliciously on the edge, or rather, straddling a rift between earthly and alternate worlds. 

Of the books and films we have read and seen, Mrs H thought it was like Madeleine L Engle (A Wrinkle in Time) meets Twilight Zone and Dr Who with undoubtedly a soupçon of Star Trek. 

We both agreed that this book is very much a parable for humanity and a fragile, on-the-brink planet. Thought-provoking in the best way.

 

So, loads to love and well worth dipping more than a toe or paw in for Christmas.  

Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, in whatever reality you may be in, please saunter, float or morph on down to your local independent bookshop. There are plenty out there, realities and bookshops, and each shop is just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.

 

Mollie Hunt's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://molliehuntcatwriter.com/

 

We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue in America.

 

And here is my selfie. Mrs H said she wanted to get all of me in the frame, so I obligingly obliged with an early Sunday morning 'Breakfast Roll'. 🙂

Till laters!

ERin

CAT HOUSE

 

 by MOLLIE HUNT;  

                                                                                  

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

 

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring this week an Adventure in Cosy Mystery Fiction.

 

Without further ado, except to say Mrs H is busy wrangling some unruly unicorns that landed in the garden, let's get on with another FABULOUS cosy mystery featuring felines. Many felines, in fact. With the occasional crazy-about-cats lady, too. And more than a hint of Halloween mystery . . . 

 

 

AUTHOR: Mollie Hunt

 

Cover art by: Leslie Cobb, cat artist.

 

Published by: Independently published

Publication date Paperback: 29 October 2023 

 

Paperback ASIN: B0CGSXLYTP 

UK Cover price for Paperback is £11.37

Kindle UK price £4.99

 

Pages: 257

 

Age range: Adult cosy mystery

Any dogs or cats? Need you ask with a title like that?!

 

 

SPOILER ALERT

Some as to plot direction and characters. 

 

 

Thank you to... 

 

Mrs H for spending some hard-earned pension money on this new book by Mollie Hunt, a fellow CWA (Cat Writers Association) member. 

As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review. 

First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy. 

 

This book does contain some topics that are inappropriate for children. Thus, we rate this book as suitable for adults ONLY. 

The plot

 

But first, a whisker of background info...

 

As this is the tenth book in the series, I will be brief on background details. The book does, however, nicely give all relevant details to enable anyone to pick this up and treat it as a standalone. However, if you read this series from the start, you will get more out of the character development that has taken place over the years. That said, each book is a delight.

Our protagonist is Lynley Cannon, a sixty-something, self-confessed Cat Lady (not crazy) who helps at the Friends of Felines cat shelter in Portland, Oregon. Her family circle is mother Carol, granddaughter Seleia, and daughter Lisa Cannon Voxx. The relationship between Lynley and her high-flying daughter, Lisa, is fraught. Lisa often berates Lynley for not making more of her life. Mother Carol is far more amiable and, at eighty, very independent and outward-going and spends most of her time with her apartment mate, Candy, watching reruns of The Rockford Files and Murder Mysteries. Seleia, with her age gap and as is oft the way, loves her great-grandmother and relates more to Lynley than Lisa. 

 

OK, enough of the family tree and dynamics; let's get on with the all-important plot!

Lynley passes by a house she calls 'The Cat House'. With multiple cats in the windows and porch catio, it seems an apt title. Of the owner, there is little sign, though the locals have given her the title of Crazy Cat Lady. With nine cats of her own, Lynley can see why folks might think she was, too. When she sees a flier up for a cat sitter required at the selfsame Cat House, her curiosity gets the better of her, and she takes the job. 

It is almost Halloween, and Lynley has been roped into helping Carol set up a stall at The Hawthorne All-Hallows Holiday Festival, taking place nearby in a few days. It's a welcome distraction from things, the bad news in the world, and even locally, where four young men have vanished from within a corridor along the Interstate 5 (I5) highway between Seattle and Portland. 

Seleia will also perform in an updated rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is a move that looks set to change her education and then career path and drive a wedge between her long-time friend/companion, Fredric, who has just adopted an agile, high-scaling and destructive kitten called Tarzan.  

The Crazy Cat Lady Lynley goes to work for is a twenty-something lady called Darla, who actually seems, despite an outlandish dress sense on their first meeting, to be anything but. It soon appears, though, to Lynley's ever-working mind that she may be on the point of becoming a cat hoarder. And if not that, then she certainly needs to understand felines and their needs and behaviours better. 

 

For all that niggling, the cats are all well looked after and have all they could need. It is a point that Humanie Investigator Special Agent Denny Paris, points out. This is brought out by the contrast Lynley finds when she goes to assist Denny with a hoarding situation that has gotten out of hand, and both the owner and the vast number of cats are being affected detrimentally.

The cat-sitting job is vastly overpaid for a few hours of delightful work. But the reason may be innocent. Or it could have something to do with an answerphone message Lynley hears being left that infers Darla is dealing in drugs. Or the strange, unfeline moaning sounds coming from a locked room in Darla's home?!

The time setting up for the fete takes a turn for the worse when one of the missing men turns up outside the fete, emaciated and wearing nothing but a piece of tarp, and is involved in a severe multi-vehicle accident.

When Fredric goes missing, and Darla arrives home one day with his kitten, saying she was given it by an out-of-area cat rescue, all the threads of the story start to be drawn together with frightening results . . .

 

 

So, what did we think?

 

An immensely pleasurable plot, with multiple strands that all come together for Lynley, though not necessarily how they should, or indeed how she would like, with dire circumstances. 

Having read some but not all of this series, I know that Lynley's feline curiosity and decisions get her into far deeper water than she should be if indeed she should be there at all. These decisions make for great reading. Along the way, certain decisions and perceptions are challenged by the author and sometimes proved or disproved. 

 

This evergreen series is kept such by the variety of the plot lines and the down-to-earth nature, as well as true-to-life interactions between the assembled cast, be they family or friends or foes. 

 

So . . . . 

Crunch time. 

 

Another hit, and feather in the hat if such were needed to prove quality, for Mollie and Lynley. Whatever format you buy this, Mrs H and I believe this will go down well during quiet times during festivities, weekend retreats to the fireside, or before bed.

Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, please head down to your local independent bookshop. Plenty are out there, and each shop is just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.

 

Mollie Hunt's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://molliehuntcatwriter.com/

 

Leslie Cobb's web page can be found HERE or type this:  https://www.lesliecobb.com/

If you've not seen our review for last week, The Cat Who Solved Three Murders, another excellent adult cosy murder mystery featuring Conrad, a talking cat, please follow/click this link.

 

We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kittes Blue and their mum, Janet Blue in America.

 

So, I shall leave you with a selfie of me taken after a hard session writing this post. Rumours that this was me whilst Mrs H was writing the post are strenuously denied (by me). 😉

 

Till laters!

ERin