This week we have mainly been sorting out household things. No painting involved which also means no mess to clear up. That's a win for me as the paint is super smelly, and a win for Mrs H who is usually forced into multiple baths to remove stray emulsion droplets from her face and hair.
We certainly don't want a repeat of the last time when the vicar spread the rumour that we both had all come down with measles when it was in fact merely splashes from Mrs H's new spray gun which had exploded in a shower of metallic red paint when the hose got crimped!
Least said the better about who caused the crimp, save to say that in my defence I thought the red curly vibrating thing was a vicious and rare red cobra sneaking up on Mrs H in her motorcycle workshop!
Anyways, enough about paint, here is a selfie of yours truly without measly spots of any colour, taking a well earned Sunday rest.
Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring this week an Adventure in Adult Fiction from CWA member and prolific writer of cosy and less cosy mysteries and adventures, Mollie Hunt.
No rambling intro this week, so let's dive straight in to a chilly adventure where things very soon HOT up. . . .
AUTHOR: MOLLIE HUNT
Cover art by: Roslyn McFarland
Published by: Independently published
Publication date Paperback: 19/12/2020
Paperback ISBN: 198 406 2247
Cover price for Paperback: £11.95 / $15
Kindle price: £4.73 / $5.99
Pages: 365
Age range: Adult
Any dogs or cats? As this is Mollie, there are lots and lots of cats, with some human companions/cohabiters
SPOILER ALERT
Some as to plot direction and characters.
Thank you to...
I treated Mrs H to this as I was keen to see what happened next. So, unusually, it is Mrs H thanking me!
As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, received 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 main protagonist is Slayter, an elegant and lithe black cat, who lives with another feline, Emma, in the home of their cohabiter human, Claire.
We also have Zaadkiel, an entity that had recently attained consciousness in the cosmic soup from which all life and planets began. In the beginning, we see how this entity changes over millennia, finally through curiosity reaching out across all of time and space to become informed.
It is the eve of a new season, Spring, and snow is in the air and on the ground. But it is also a moment in time called the Winter Verus, a time when winter stops still, literally suspended, and things can no longer be measured in time as we recognise it. Snowflakes are frozen mid-air, and a deafening silence swallows all who tread this space. During this period, nine feline emissaries of the council can slip between the seconds to execute the Rectification of the Variants and put to right the human wrongs, at least those they can impact. In doing so, they reset existence for Earth and every creature hereon.
The two cats head off on a mission; two of the nine cats chosen by a feline council to correct the wrongs that have happened. It is a given the wrongs or incidents that need correcting all involve humans. Incidents that, though seemingly trivial, if not corrected and the humans sent the right way, will lead to tragedy and travesty on a scale dangerous to all species and the planet. Simple choices that, when corrected, would stop an individual man from committing a second murder, which would have led to starting a dangerous cult, causing widespread death and fear.
Each of the nine cats chosen for this year's Verus has a connection to the events and humans that cause the variants. Each cat has come from afar and wouldn't, under normal circumstances, have worked in a group. They meet up, and after introduction, the adventure begins, but not without tensions evolving into blows. It is more than a quest and potentially far more perilous.
When Slayter's task differs from the others, things take a turn for the worse. He arrives in a place and amongst people, scientists and cosmologists, he does not know. It seems that all he had to do was awaken one of the astronomers from his sleep. In doing so, the man sees something in the night sky far away that otherwise he would have missed. But Slayter senses something terrible, a shadowy malevolence lurking beyond sight and mind. It is the same evil that Zaadkiel, the star-chameleon entity deep within its black hole, could feel, too. It was a poison in the new world he had so very recently discovered. The entity knew this disease must be cut out.
Lost in a daydream about his strange task, Slayter catches up with the others to discover one of the cats has arrived at their scene to find the human they needed to help was dead. A husk that, on touching, disintegrated with a curdling scream into dust and a small ashen pellet.
It is thought to be a freak coincidence, yet, in this suspended between-seconds world, there is only one true answer – a murderer is running amok.
Fearful of what may have happened or will happen to Claire, Slayter and Emma rush home. It is from here on that Claire becomes involved. Slayter's fears over what is happening, the scientist, and the malevolence he feels cause him to reveal the cats' ability to speak, the task and the dangers. If anyone can help the cats, Slayter feels it is Claire, which, indeed, she can. Having contacted the scientist, the three head off to meet him.
Now, from here on in, things ramp up. The malevolence gets a name, in fact, two, the first being 'the Other'. It is intent on consuming all things on a galactic and dimensional scale. But he has found adoration among the tiny worthless inhabitants of one of the many planets he seeks to destroy. He will spare them as he is vain and loves the adoration. He loves to watch how, when he turns one of their number to dust, they praise him more. Yet, on the same planet, there is an irritation, a force that can harm him. The Other is aware of Zaadkiel, too, and seeks to destroy it, to suck out its energy.
Zaadkiel needs help to remove the evil, which they realise they can't do themselves. Reaching out across time and space faster than light, it finds, or rather senses, an ally on Earth in the form of a small sentient being known as Slayter.
And so Earth becomes the battleground for two mighty opposing forces. Primordial good and evil incarnate. It becomes a place where the fight to save everything from the moment of creation forward will transcend time, space, and even life itself. All actions have consequences, and Slayter and his newfound friends have only one chance to put right the biggest variant of all. They also have a whole new earth-bound enemy, too!
So, what did we think?
I was half expecting this to be an extension of the first-in-series and wasn't entirely sure what 'new' could be brought to a previous all-encompassing and seemingly complete story. And for a moment, in the opening chapters, it seemed I was right. I really needn't have worried, as soon enough, with obligatory character introductions and scene setting complete, we ventured where no reader has boldly gone before. The cast of felines, naturally enough, have more than an inkling as to what must be done. Thankfully, they, too, were unprepared.
Like the best, and I do mean the best, sci-fi movies, we were enthralled by diving ever deeper and ultimately into an almost maelstrom of physical and astral planes through which our protagonists must travel. The text is rich, evocative, and full of terms that had Mrs H reaching for her science dictionary and brought added credence (though not needed for us) to the plot.
We both, after trying to draw comparisons to works we already know, especially movies/TV, which many more will be familiar with than sci-fi fantasy books. We came up with four: Inception, Contact (by the late great Carl Sagan), Interstellar, and Quantum Leap.
It is highly appealing that this book inhabits time and space, has earthy, earthly and unearthly characters, good and heinous, and has a spiritual flavour, something for everyone. And it does all that with so much aplomb. It became a seat-of-the-pants tale that was wholly satisfying.
Fear not; this story isn't spaceships and warp-speed antics. Though those have their place, elsewhere, for those who need them. This tale found its feet for us when we ventured to an earlier and brutal human civilisation.
I always hope to do a book justice without giving too much away. I can give away the fact that I just didn't see the end coming and that the build-up was intense, a volcano erupting tense. As I said, this is real seat-of-the-pants stuff.
So . . . .
Crunch time.
Molly has taken cat adventures to a whole new level, and our reading has never been more exciting or rewarding. It's an all-around delight and deliciously satisfyingly different. Onwards to book 3!
Want to buy a copy?
You don't have to transform into a feline to get a copy. Lovely though that would be, there is nowhere to carry change or credit cards. Just get yourself down to your local independent bookshop. Or order online. However or from wherever you buy, you support an independent author, fellow cat carer and member of the Cat Writers Association.
Mollie Hunt's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://molliehuntcatwriter.com/
OK, so there is no book review to trawl through, which I guess is a good thing when there are sun puddles to be checked out and validated for size and comfort.
At least that is what the Cat Weather Association (CWA) of Upper Much-Mousing says. And who am I to argue with them, especially as I am commander in chief of that esteemed organisation.
The book review is written, but Mrs H is currently knee-deep in paperwork. Well, in truth, more ankle-deep, but it seems way worse when you're a feline. And she is ankle-deep only because she toppled the filing cabinet over attempting to emulsion the ceiling in a delicate pale green shade to match the walls. Well, when I say to match the walls, I mean to match the walls now they are splattered with pale green paint from the spilt pot!
On the plus side, I get to visit you all a bit quicker and you likewise.
So, without further ado, here is a Sunday Sunny Selfie Sans Book Review, which we have entitled "The 'Toes' have It!"
Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring this week an Adventure in Adult Feline Fiction.
Mrs H has been busy this week. OK, as busy as she ever is, with the added event of a surveyor calling at the Manor House. Five hours later, after much measuring, humming and harring, along with two cups of coffee and lots of dunkable chocolate biscuits, he finished. He seemed impressed with my mouse-free attic and spacious mole-free lawns. He was less impressed with Mrs H's cluttered bedroom but said it would do, just so long as she cleared out the laundry and her wardrobe.
Why, I hear you say? If you think I'm making room for lodgers or planning to extend my cat tree, I should advise that I have applied to adopt a lonely heat pump. Yes, it seems the UK government are asking residents to home one of these many now homeless pumps. They will even give us a hefty one-off payment of £7,500. In return, the pumps will heat the Manor House and provide hot water, which means we won't have a big gas bill or pollute the atmosphere. We, of course, must provide the electricity so they can work day and night. I did my research, and whilst it seems a bit of a raw deal to expect them to work 24/7 for 6 months of the year, they do get the summer months off.
All in all, the minor modifications to Mrs H's bedroom to accommodate all their gear and a water tank will cost £500. It's a win-win situation: somewhere nice and warm for me to perch on outside and read the latest HOT new releases during the summer, and plenty of room for afternoon tea to be served on!
But enough of my exciting tech news, let's get on with some serious feline detective fun. This week, we bring you . . .
AUTHOR: Mandy Morton
Cover art by: Jason Anscomb
Published by: Farrago
Publication date Paperback: Latest edition October 2023
I am exceedingly grateful to Mrs H for the privilege of getting to Read & Review this 2nd book in the series.
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 week, we thought we'd give you a short list of The Characters.
Hettie Bagshot and Tilly Jenkins. Long-haired tabby cat investigators at the No.2 Feline Detective Agency, who live and work from a room behind the bakery.
Beryl and Betty. Level-headed, businesslike and charming motherly owners of the bakery and Hettie and Till's landladies.
The Dosh Family. Rogan, Pakora, Balti, etc., own and run the increasing Dosh Store empire.
Miss Irene Peggledrip. The town's resident Medium.
Delirium Treemint. Ever ready to serve refreshments with her trusty samovar. She is prone to breaking tea services at an alarming rate. She is also a trainee medium under Miss Peggledrip.
Crimola. A huffy, sometimes obstinate, spirit guide that lives part-time in Miss Peggledrip's head.
Bruiser Venutious. A now elderly travelling cat, a fighter, scarred and not keen on four walls. He is a longtime friend of Hettie from her musician days on the road.
Jess. The proprietor of a charity shop where many of the townscats do business and where Tilly gets all her cardigans.
Milky Myers. Longtime past mass murder of his kin, and said to haunt the village and the house his family once lived in, now Miss Peggledrip's home.
Mavis Spitforce. Our first but not last victim. Historian, family tree researcher, and resides opposite the local Dosh Store.
Marmite Sprat is a self-appointed historian and writer of what Hettie would call 'Penny Dreadful' tales under the title Strange but True, which are based more on speculation than fact.
Lavender Stamp. The jilted and curmudgeonly postmistress. Knitter of lifesize male cats for company.
Bugs Anderton. A sizeable Scottish ginger cat. President of the town's Friendship Club and a force to be reconned with, though well-meaning.
The plot
It is Halloween evening, and our two heroes and budding investigators are settling down for a night in and a scary movie as befits the season. The two start talking about Milky Myers, who lived 'longer ago than anyone can remember' and murdered his family. But on Halloween, he returns to haunt the area and his old house, now the home of Miss Peggledrip. Will he walk the town that night?
The following morning dawns with the surprise arrival of Bruiser. The Butter sisters give him something to eat and Hettie and Tilly make room in the shed for him to lay his head. Loving motorbikes, Bruiser soon comes in handy to take our detectives on trips out in Miss Scarlet, their bright red motorcycle with sidecar.
Whilst Hettie is giving a lecture at the club, when the postlady, Teezle Makepeace, bursts in screaming MURDER!
Hettie goes to the house where Mavis Spitforce lives and discovers her dead, stabbed in the back, wearing a witch's hat, eye mask and draped in a pumpkin-coloured silk cloak. Halloween had taken a nasty turn in No. 19 Whisker Terrace.
What happens next reveals that Mavis is working on an accurate history of Milky Myers. With her mouth stuffed with pages from Marmite's book, one obvious cat is in the frame. The suspect list increases when Hettie discovers the primary beneficiary of the will is Irene Peggledrip, who bursts in on the scene and thinks Hettie has committed the murder. Realising this isn't the case, she suggests the detectives come to one of her sessions to speak to the spirits. But should Hettie and Tilly risk going with a potential murderer?
But the more our team digs, the broader and more confusing the investigation becomes. The disappearance of Teezle the following day brings more complications and creates another suspect. No matter how they look at it, the matter appears to be linked to the Milky Myers all the years before. To solve this latest murder and those that come, they need to solve the Milky Myers murders, too! But is that possible, given it happened farther back than anyone can recall?
Joining the dots will take all the brainpower and help Hettie can get, be it spiritual or earthly, not forgetting all the cream cakes and pies they can muster to keep the energy up in the cold and strangely snowy weather. The thing is, will Hettie recognise and accept what she sees?
Through all of this, we have a family feud between the senior and younger Dosh family, and an intercultural romance to deal with. With a far-from-healthy love of gruesome, bloody murder, is Balti Dosh to be trusted? And why is the advice from the vicar of Milky Myers' village seemingly so obtuse and evasive?
Not wishing to spoil this adventure for you, I must stop there. The best, I assure you, is still to come.
What did we think?
Whether or not you're a cat lover, these adventures will draw you in. It could be the tongue-in-cheek names of locals, as seen above, or the names of villages and towns, like Much Purring on the Rug.
We have a cracking and twisty plot, better than many a cosy. Hetties, scepticism, sarcasm, frustration and even heartfelt loss and joy are palpable foils, honest reactions that we, too, may have to the quirky cast and the situations they end up in.
There is a particular moment, a strange revelation, that we loved. It had us going back to see if there were clues we had missed. We had missed them all. Such a clever plot. Woven into this story are a few others. Good or bad, everything is presented just right.
Whether justice is served in Hettie's world remains for you, dear readers, to discover for yourselves. Let us just add that sometimes, like revenge, justice is served hot as well as cold.
So . . . .
Crunch time.
If book one whetted your appetite, this is a must-read. Yes, you could read any of the soon-to-be thirteen books and feel at home with the cast and situation of their world. But we think it's best to start at the beginning. We are keen observers of cosy and murder mysteries featuring felines, and this is one of the best. Buy and enjoy, then share with friends.
Want to buy a copy?
To get a copy, jump into your own sidecar and roar down to your local independent bookshop. If you have a Dosh Store of your own, you could even try there, but maybe best to steer clear of the contents of the large cooking pot.
Mandy Morton's short author page at Farrago Books can be found HEREor type this: https://farragobooks.com/fb-author/mandy-morton/
Farrago Book's web page can be found HEREor type this: https://farragobooks.com/
Hettie Bagshot can be found on both Facebook and Twitter.
