Week 38 Review: The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

From Goodreads:

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats.

Nor do they have tails.

But they are most assuredly dead.

Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins.

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins—resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories—have only three unbreakable vows.

First, the contract must be just. That's above Eveen's pay grade.

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen's a professional. She's never missed her mark.

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen's newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn't supposed to remember and a vow she can't forget.

My Review:
This was such a fantastic read! But oh, was it a wild ride! This story of a dead assassin going around on contract kills, but then this one gets all messy, with the realization that she can't carry it out and why, yeah, I couldn't put it down! 

This is a novella, but I loved how basically every line, every throwaway line, came together for this story. Those one off comments that kept building, and when added together, helped form this story. And oh, what a great story it was! 

We're thrown into this world right at the deep end, so it took a minute to get oriented and feel things out. As the story progressed and we learned what it was like-and why what was happening shouldn't have been, I was entertaining more and more! The idea of someone wanting revenge on you, so they reach into the past to pull a young version of yourself, and take a hit out on that young self, and have present day you be the one to do the killing? Yeah, that's just a wild plot! 

By the end, it was pretty mind-boggling, the lengths and depths of the plan, both against Eveen, and the one that she came up with. Watching all the legal machinations, and the gods, it all came together were wall, and was just so satisfying to read! 

This was a fantastic read and I can't wait to read more by P. Djèlí Clark!

Author: P. Djèlí Clark
Read: September 17th, 2024 
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Loved his other book, and it's a SAC 2024 Book! 
Publisher: Recorded Books 
Published: August 6th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars