Cat Out of Hell

January 5, 2015
In this novel, British author Truss (Eats, Shoots & Leaves) presents a potent and darkly humorous tale featuring a demonic cat and a murder. Written in impeccable, grammatically refined sentences, this book has a tinge of a 19th-century gothic sensibility. Narrator Alec, a librarian, retreats with his dog, Watson, to a seaside cottage after the death of his wife, in “search of silence and tranquility.” There, he hears the story of Wiggy from a former colleague: Wiggy’s an actor who, after the sudden disappearance of his sister, encounters Roger, his sister’s tabby cat. The cat speaks English and wickedly beguiles Wiggy with stories about a telepathically interconnected brood of satanic nine-lived felines and their vendetta against mankind. Alec, a true librarian, becomes obsessed, burying himself in a folder of files, notes, audio clips, and photographs detailing Wiggy’s story. Finally, Alec learns Roger’s true intentions, which threaten both Alec and Watson. Everything comes to a bloody climax with the summoning of the Grand Cat Master, Beelzebub. Truss is a witty, effortless writer, making many references to classic literature while imbuing Roger with the slinky power to murder vengefully and surreptitiously. Cat lovers (or cat haters) and fans of gothic fiction will devour this creepy, paranoia-inducing morsel.

January 1, 2015
Punctuation czar Truss (The Girl's Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can't Manage Without Apostrophes!, 2007, etc.) turns her very special talents to a cat mystery with a twist: The cats are culprits rather than sleuths or mascots.Everyone knows that most cats haven't had the powers of Nietzschean Uberkatzen-nine full lives, the ability to speak, the whole megillah-for hundreds of years. In every generation, however, a few Uberkatzen arise, like Roger, who's already used up eight of his lives, and the Captain, the East London mentor who put Roger repeatedly to death to test his mettle. When Roger takes up with Coventry watercolorist Joanna Caton-Jones and her actor brother, Will, aka Wiggy, things are bound to get out of hand, and boy, do they ever. By the time newly widowed periodicals librarian Alec "Bear" Charlesworth stumbles onto the scene, Jo and her border terrier, Jeremy, are dead, Wiggy is wiggy, and the police suspect Wiggy of everything from murder to raving lunacy. Why does every human whose path crosses Roger's lose the will to live? It's up to Alec and his faithful dog, Watson, back home in Cambridge and armed with a stolen copy of Nine Lives: The Gift of Satan, to join Wiggy in unraveling a conspiracy that places this latest round of skullduggery in an ancient succession of Uberkatzen and their nefarious Cat Masters. A Chinese box of anti-narrative that reads like M.R. James on bad acid with a laugh track, complete with demonic cats, murderous librarians and badly overmatched amateur sleuths.

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February 1, 2015

When retired librarian and recent widower Alec Charlesworth receives a bizarre manuscript from a distant acquaintance, he questions its veracity even as he is lured into a tale of murderous, decades-old, talking cats and their devilish master. Alec is quickly overwhelmed by events as his allies are picked off one by one by a nightmarish feline called The Captain. With time running out and the body count rising, Alec must find a way to end the reign of the Cat Master and avenge his wife's death before he and his little dog Watson join the victims of the cats from hell. VERDICT Best-selling author Truss (Eats, Shoots & Leaves) has penned an unusual mystery for cat lovers and haters alike. Voiced by two different, yet equally enigmatic narrators, as well as a talking cat, the tale passes among the personalities through letters, transcripts, and emails. A fun format for an equally entertaining quick read.--Jennifer Beach, Cumberland Cty. P.L., VA

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