A review by libertyreads789
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Tor allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats, nor do they have tails. But they are assassins. This story follows Eveen whose job as an assassin is put at risk when she goes to kill her mark and has a memory--the one thing no Dead Cat Tail Assassin has ever had. The problem is that once a contract is accepted the assassin must complete the contract--or else. We follow Eveen as the sands in the hourglass fall, her time running out, while she tries to get to the bottom of this memory. Can Eveen complete her contract? Or will she be the one meeting the end of a dagger? The Dead Cat Tail Assassins comes out on August 6th and is available for preorder now.

I struggled when it came to the rating for this one. I don't love shorter works because it lacks in the details I really need to feel grounded in a story. Yet this was such a fun and compulsively readable novella. There are little touches here and there that can really ground the reader while also pushing the plot forward, always forward. I did have to fill in quite a few blanks on my own based on my reading history but that's sort of to be expected when you're reading a Fantasy story that is SO short. It says the final copy should be around 200 pages which is just so, so short for a Fantasy. (I've literally written a review for an almost 800 page Fantasy novel saying it should have been longer. I LOVE some chunky Fantasy.) Yet, I feel like I knew enough about the magic to understand what was happening throughout the story. I also felt like the characters felt realistic. I would have loved more from them but they still had enough good and bad qualities to seem well rounded. I will say that I guessed a component of the plot twist very early on. Possibly because of books I've read in the past, but most likely because of a tv show I'm currently watching that had a similar-ish twist. (If I even say the title of the tv show, you'll guess the plot twist so I won't spoil that for you.) I think this would be a great pick up for people who already really enjoy this author, but also for people who don't like getting bogged down in the details of most Fantasy novels. People who don't love Tolkein spending three pages describing a tree but who still want to enjoy Fantasy will probably have a good time with this one.

Overall, this was such a fun and quick read for me. I know that P. Djèlí Clark is a beloved author on the bookish parts of the internet so I felt so lucky to get this ARC. I would love to read more from them in the future.