This is a fun, short read with an interesting, MENA-inspired fantasy world, Sci-fi elements, and a foul-mouthed assassin. For fans of Celaena Sardothean but a short and sweet mystery.

Eveen is an assassin bound to serve a goddess. But there’s a catch: she’s dead and resurrected, and she can’t remember why she signed her post-life existence away to the goddess.

Eveen must carry out every kill contract she’s given – or be buried alive for eternity. But when Eveen balks at executing a contract, can she find a way out?

Wonderful little novella. P. Djeli Clark continues to write wonderful fantasy and I am excited to see what comes next!

A guild of dead assassin working for a Goddess, unbreakable contracts. But what happens when the one you are to kill is none other than yourself?

What a amazing discovery. I flew through this book in one sitting. Kept me up until 4am. The character of Eveen is very lovable and so is Sky. The side characters are well build and I was interested in them as well. The rules system added a funny touch and the world building was very immersive. I felt like I'd know that universe forever.

I loved how the main character backstory gets intertwine with the present story and paints a complexe yet beautiful portrait of Eveen.

I would highly recommend.

I don't know what it is about Clark's writing, but I am always drawn to his novels and somehow never manage to connect with them the way I do with his short stories... As with A Master of Djinn, I was drawn in by the title and the cover art and the concept, but again as with that earlier title I found myself lost in the writing and the meandering nature of the storytelling.

The world building is brilliant and the characters are cool and original, but somehow I still never felt like I connected to Eveen in a way that made her resonate with me. As a result I found the story's surprisingly slow burn (especially for something so short) to fail to grab me the way I wanted it to.

This wasn't a good fit for me and I'm starting to think I just need to accept that Clark and I are not the right writer/reader match.

P. Djeli Clark does it again. His ability to build a vivid and gripping world is amazing. The characters are fun and lovable. This story is fast paced, packed with action, and creative. I always love a character that is whitty and sarcastic. I can't wait to read more.

I devoured this book! A vivid fantasy world filled with magic, undead assassins, necromancers and of course excellent world building. A short read but it is filled with amazing detail and a very feisty character whom I adore.
This is my first book from this author but I can assure you I'll be reading more from him.

Another enjoyable adventure from P. Djeli Clark. It was exciting to see him creating a made-up world, and as ever the world-building was extremely strong and innovative. I loved the way the stories of the world wove together and were incorporated into the plot. For such a quick story, the characters felt like individuals. There is a fair amount of both humor and violence, and I'm not sure the tone always balances these facets very well, but overall I enjoyed the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing an eARC for me to review.

4.5/5 stars

Summary:
This is an exciting and fast-paced novella that I'm proud to have had the chance to read. As with all of P. Djeli Clark's other works he invents a dark, innovative world that sucks you in. It's a fully developed world that has cool fantasy and steampunk vibes. The setting also has a rich history filled with myths that is fed to you throughout the novella, that may seem clues. The only downside about the worldbuilding was that this was just a novella. I wanted more! So I'm hoping that Clark will continue writing in this world in the future.

The characters were also complex and mysterious enough that you kept wanting to read more about them. And I was amazed by all the many different Dead Cat Assassins and their styles of fighting. The only complaint I had was for one of the characters in the end having a very hard to understand accent that was a little too strong.

Overall, this was a great novella to pickup, especially if you like P. Djeli Clark's other works.

Plot: 4.25/5 stars
- Great pacing
- Well-written action scenes
- Unexpected twists and turns

Setting/Worldbuilding: 5/5 stars
- Well-established worldbuilding and very impressed by depth of it for a novella
- Vicious and cool world
- Great descriptions of the environment and characters
- Easy to understand the magic system dealing with necromancy

Characters/Development: 4/5 stars
- Complex characters with some mystery behind them
- Creative and varied antagonists
- Likable protagonists

Clark's world building in this novella is vast and rich! I'd love to jump back into this steampunk-undead-John Wick world. At just over 200 pages, this is definitely worth checking out.

My only complaint is that I felt like the dialogue was less mature than I would've liked but that may be more of a personal preference than anything.

Thank you to NetGalley & Tor for the chance to review this ebook.

Reading The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was an entertaining experience. One of the things I appreciated the most was how well the characters were portrayed; each one felt unique and vividly described, making them easy to connect with. The characters are undoubtedly the highlight of this book.

The world building has built is rich and full of depth. It's a fantasy realm where undead assassins lurk, accompanied by strong-willed heroines who don't shy away from getting things done. Clark's writing style is polished and immersive, especially when it comes to painting sensory details that really bring the world to life.

One character's dialogue at the end of the book presented a significant hurdle to comprehend. While I understand the intention was to mirror authentic speech patterns of this character, the execution hindered my reading experience. The need to decipher phrases and dialogue slowed down the reading pace and detracted from immersion in the story.

This was a fun and engaging read. While it may not be groundbreaking in terms of plot, its well-crafted characters and immersive world-building make it a worthwhile choice for fantasy enthusiasts looking for an entertaining escape into a vibrant world.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book!*

"The Dead Cat Tail Assassins" is a funny novella about undead people hired to kill. When our protagonist is tasked to kill her younger self (yeah, it's complicated, I'm not gonna explain, spoilers) and refuses to, chaos ensues and even goddesses are going to be part of the mess. Overall it felt a bit rushed and short but it was enjoyable and fast paced. I would've liked a bit more world building, story, and character complexity but it was fun, so whatever. 4 stars

This was absolutely charming, which is admittedly a strange thing to say about a book about assassins. I really enjoyed the narrative voice; Eveen is witty, sarcastic, and an incredibly good soul for being an undead assassin. I was very impressed by how interesting all the different characters were, for such a short book. Eveen, of course, but also Baseema and Fennis. I did like Sky, but because of story reasons, I didn't find her quite as compelling as several of the others. I loved the imaginative take on the other assassins that appear, and their MO. I was also pleased at how immersive the world felt; when you read a novella, it sometimes can feel like certain things have to be sacrificed in order to tell a cohesive story, but Clark didn't sacrifice anything and still told a tightly woven story. The only place this story suffers is that I thought one of the plot elements was a little obvious to the reader. But honestly, this was so delightful, I don't really care that much. Absolutely loved my time with this! Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC; all opinions are my own.

I have read almost everything that P. Djeli Clark has written and I was excited to hear about another book being released. Dead Cat Tail Assassins? Sign me up. However, I was a little disappointed in this book. I wanted a little more world building as in previous book, I felt like that was done great. It was a little lacking in this book. I did enjoy the plot and the main character. The pacing seemed a little off to me as well. We would have super fast moments and then drawn out moments. Overall, I would recommend if you have read previous works by P. Djeli Clark. But go in knowing you are not going to get all the answers you want.

3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Review Copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was amazing. The worldbuilding was so complete and vivid. I loved the characters, they were funny, relatable and likable. I loved the twists throughout. This book was jam packed with fun adventure, interesting magic and a unique world.

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a brilliant dark fantasy novella. Deep world-building. Plentiful trope twists. A shocker of an ending. It really has it all.

Eveen is an assassin dubbed the Eviscerator. She's also undead, having signed away her life to a goddess, and for reasons unknown to her. She remembers nothing of her life-before-resurrection. Then she's assigned a job commissioned by an anonymous patron, and realizes the victim has her own face, albeit younger. Eveen breaks the commitment to the job, saving her own younger self--and risking the wrath of her bosses, peers, and even worse, her overseeing goddess.

I loved the originality of the setting, the developing relationship between Eveen and her other self, and how, even though I predicted some plot developments, I was still gobsmacked by others. It was sheer fun, all the way through.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. This was my first P. Djèlí Clark book and I really liked it. The book was short but had a lot going on. The world building was great and the characters really fleshed out for such a short book. I couldn’t it put down. I will definitely read more from this author.

I will read (or at least try) anything P Djélì Clark writes, and when I heard about Dead Cat Tail Assassins I could not wait to get my hands on it. This was so excellent and I am in awe of what a master storyteller Clark is in the sense each story so distinctive and stands on its own. I loved the way this was set up and the resolution was absolutely wild. I don’t want to give anything away, but I had so much fun with this and this is a world I would love to see explored more in terms of the contracts with Aeril, but also this definitely works as a complete story and no continuation necessary.

I absolutely love everything about this book. I think the cover is fantastic. This is a fun, fast-paced fantasy. The writing is evocative and immediately hooked me. The world-building is outstanding and unique. It has a great, well-rounded cast of characters and excellent character development. There's action, adventure, and plenty of dark humor. Overall, I think this is a perfect, short fantasy read.

I think 'The Dead Cat Tail Assassins' builds a really interesting world with lots of cool characters, especially Eveen, who's not your typical tough-as-nails assassin. But, for me, some of the modern words, like 'shipping' and 'edgelord,' felt out of place and distracted me from the story. The funny lines sometimes didn't quite hit the mark, and the story felt a bit rushed in places. The excessive exposition and unrealistic timeline made it hard for me to stay fully engaged. Despite these flaws, I still enjoyed the book's unique concept and characters. 'The Dead Cat Tail Assassins' has its strengths, like the imaginative world-building and diverse characters, it also has its drawbacks. It's a fun read with some cool ideas, but it could have been even better with smoother writing and pacing.