this was a nice entertaining adventure filled fantasy story that was well written and interesting from start to finish.
i think it leaves a nice window for the author to come back to this specific setting and world and explore it further since it’s such an interesting place and a lot of it hasn’t been talked about in this book since this story was very focused on specific characters and i would love to get more about this world and the magic from different perspective and characters.

as this book is: i enjoyed it a lot.


the audio book was mostly well done too. i didn’t love one of the voices the narrator made -a younger character in her 20s gets a very high and often a little whiny sounding voice that makes very little sense as to why the voice is that specific tone and could have easily been done a bit less high pitched and trying so hard to sound different and younger.

besides that the audio was well done - nicely read and nicely spoken overall.

Undead assassins, thrilling mysteries, fantastical world building, what's not to love? This book was such a fun, action packed and unique reading experience. Thank you netgalley for the ALC!

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was a great read. I loved the character development and the writing was propulsive.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I keep trying books by P. Djèlí Clark hoping to be blown away by them but they always fall in 3-4 star range for me, and unfortunatly this was no exception. I think the writing is really good in this novella but the story fell super flat for me. I never felt connected to the characters so the mystery and stakes never felt like enough for me. I was never bored while reading but I did have to keep forcing myself to pick this back up when I wanted to do anything but read it. But, once I started reading it was easy sailing, I never felt like I wanted to stop reading it. I think this author could be for me when the plot is super interesting to me, but this wasn't it.

In terms of the audiobook, I was enjoying the narration in the first 60% but as more characters were added, some of their voices started to annoy me. I don't remember the character's name, but there was one character that had a high pitched voice and it felt like a jump scare every time they started to talk.

I'll definitely keep reading things by this author but I've learned to stick to the stories that the plot is super intriguing to me.

this story follows eveen, who is apart of a guild of hired necromancer killers called the dead cat tail assassins, but she can’t remember anything of her past while she was alive. we meet baseema, the guild boss, and we meet fennis, who handles the guild’s paperwork, and eveen is sent on a mission where the contract asked for her specifically. and set on a backdrop of a clockwork king festival, eveen goes to kill a girl who will make her have memories that she is not supposed to have.

friends, i loved this. p. djèlí clark’s writing, with characters, with atmosphere, with prose in general, is just so so so good. i loved being in a new world of theirs, and i truly hope this ends up being first in a new series. i am an easy sell for assassin guild stories, but i’ve never read one like this. i loved the magic, i loved the talk of community, i loved seeing edgelords getting taken down, and i really loved reading about a girl who loves stories being able to control her own for once. i really recommend this one and i can’t wait to see what the author does next.

trigger + content warnings: talk of death, animal death (bird), fighting, violence, kidnapping, self harm (because of an undead body), blood descriptions, gun violence, fire, explosion, mention of children murders in past

3.5 stars rounded up.

I love P. Djèlí Clark’s writing. He crafts fully realized engaging characters in a world that is easy to grasp. This book is no exception to his track record. I really enjoyed the first half of this book and found the dynamic between Eveen and Sky fun to follow. However, I lost interest as the book progressed and was no longer invested by the end. I’m not sure exactly what didn’t work for me as I loved the beginning! My rating was rounded up to reflect the fun I had in the first half.

I would still recommend this to readers interested in darkly humorous fantasy books. The narrator was fantastic and the audiobook is a great way to enjoy this work.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBMedia for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This book has a special place in my heart. The main character is an absolute badass! The story concept of signing a contract to basically be reborn to be an assassin was intriguing! I found myself laughing, holding my breath, rooting for her, and feeling my heart break for her in an emotional and intellectual rollercoaster. The narrator was wonderful! I still think about this book to this day. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC opportunity.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins follows Eveen, one of the assassin guild's best, as she is placed under contract to kill a young woman. However, upon seeking her out to complete the job, Eveen discovers that Sky, the target, is literally a copy of herself, plucked from the past. This makes "shipping" her extremely complicated. As Eveen and Sky attempt to uncover who caused this conundrum and save their lives, we follow them through perhaps the most momentous night of their lives.

I loved this so much. Eveen is hilarious, and this story made me want to be an assassin and find a clone of my own! The writing was so well-done that I kept reminding myself it all took place within just one night. I cannot recommend it enough. I love P. Djeli Clark’s work, and it's no surprise that this book is now one of my favorites. Funny, filled with great side characters, twists and turns, and assassins?! It hit it out of the park.

CAWPILE Ratings:
Characters: 8
Atmosphere: 9
Writing: 10
Plot: 10
Intrigue: 10
Logic: 9
Enjoyment: 10

Final thoughts: This was a thrilling, entertaining read that left me hooked until the very end!

Didn't love; didn't hate. It was an interesting enough story to keep me reading until the end, but things were pretty predictable. I did like some of the snideness throughout the book.

Thank you Tordotcom, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC and advance listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved Master of Djinn, so I was super excited for Djèlí Clark’s next work, and this one did not disappoint. His character work is wonderful and I loved the voice. Considering this is a novella, the level of world building is rich and impressive. Though the premise was interesting, I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I was completely absorbed into the story. There are so many little details that I think it’ll be a joy to reread, which is always exciting.

The audiobook was excellent, and Lynnette Freeman really breathed life into the story that made the experience feel so immersive.

I absolutely loved this book, I was slow to start but once the story advanced and I caught on to what was happening I couldn't stop listening. I loved the bits of humor and sarcasm, the Banter between Sky and Avene was amazing. Listening to the audiobook version was wonderful, the narrator did such a great job bringing all of the characters to life. I definitely want to read more of this author's writing.

This is my first book by this author, their writing is so full of imagery I have started on their backlist!
The story is captivating and once I started i simply didn't want to stop. Characters are full of depth and the narrator was exceptional

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!

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins follows Eveen, a skilled assassin, as she works to complete an unbreakable contract. This book has rich world building despite its relatively short length. The narrator enhances this experience with their fantastic reading and intonation throughout. I was immediately drawn into the story and action. The mystery unfolds at just the right pace to keep you guessing and invested. I highly recommend this story to my audience.

5 ⭐!!
Thank you RB Media and Netgalley for this audiobook arc!!

I love, LOVE P. Djèlí Clark's works so much. The way he world builds without giving up character work, and vice versa, really makes his characters feel alive and his worlds lived in.

The narrator of this audiobook truly brings these characters to life. Each character had their own voice and way of speaking. This might be my favorite audiobook read of the year.

This was my first book from this author and it probably won’t be my last. It was fun and fast paced and I’d like to read more books like this.

"Aeril's fiery, f!cking tendrils!"

Gah! This was so good.

I loved the world-building, with its goddess lore, and the setting of the carnival-celebrating city. The characters were vivid and complex, and the dialogue crisp and quippy.

I appreciated that the violence wasn't super descriptive. I mean, I'm fine that they played Real Life Operation with The Patriarch, but I'm equally fine with not having to hear the squelching in my head, you know?

This was my second from this author - Ring Shout was also excellent - and I'm looking forward to his next offering.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing, and RB Media for this deadly ARC.

Really fun novella about a great concept, the narrative voice was so good, and the plot was propulsive. The central action constantly kept me.guessing. The ending was a bit lackluster.

thank you netgalley and RB media for an AALC of this book!
in terms of audiobooks, i was excited to request a p. djèlí clark book because i have already read "ring shout" by the same autor and i was amazed how good that audiobook was. the production quality of this was also excellent and the narrator did a fantastic job with it. i truly think i would have enjoyed it less if not for the audiobook! so if you like this author and you like experiencing fantasy via audiobooks, i say give it a shot!

in terms of the story, i do not really have that much to say other than it did not blow me away. it is a novella but it took me some days to read and while it was not bad in any way it was not something i actively wanted to pick up. i think the concept of it is definitely interesting especially how it was resolved (even though to me the direction of it was quite obvious). generally speaking novellas are always hit or miss because you have limited time to get attached to the characters or the plot and sadly this did not work that well for me. i think we would have benefited more from getting to know the characters a bit better. instead this felt episodic and conveniently solved - sort of like a comic book or a superhero movie which CAN work when you are more attached to the characters and their adventures, which was not the case.