What a fun short story! I loved the quirky cast of characters and the magic system. Eveen and Sky made quite the charming duo. Most of the time I find myself wanting more from short stories, but Clark delivered all the goods and tied the bow just right. I will definitely be adding his other stories to my TBR.

This was a hugely entertaining novella with some great character moments and a compelling plot. I loved the idea of a cabal of resurrected assassins and their various guises - the old man was particularly interesting. The world was vibrant and felt fully fleshed out in the short run time, which is always impressive. I thought the interactions between Sky and Eveen were great and I loved the tone of the narrative overall. I have read a few of P. Djeli Clark's works now and they are all good, but I think this world and these characters may be my favourite and I would love to read more from them.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Eveen, having signed a contract to continue her "life", after death, in service to her goddess as her assassin is in trouble.
She has been contracted to kill.... herself?
A contract complicated further by the fact that she should have no memories of her life before death, so how is she recognizing her younger self... and HOW is her younger self here... and so many more questions...
In an absolutely delightful tale, these questions are, mostly, answered, and we get to go on an amazing adventure through a wonderfully crafted world with Eveen, and her younger self, Sky, as they attempt to figure out how to unravel this mess, why it happened and who's behind it.

Amazing! and the ending!

I had slight hopes for this one because for the most part, P. Djeli Clark doesn't disappoint but this one proved me wrong. I couldn't get into this one, I found it a little boring for such an interesting concept. The main character also annoyed me with her made up sayings lol. Hopefully I'll enjoy Clark's next book!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Amazing, show stopping, gimme 14 of them right now! This was my first book from this author and certainly not my last because I truly enjoyed their writing style, the world they created, everything about this book was great!

4.5 stars

It takes a lot of skill for a book to be funny without it coming off as trying to hard. The plot and characters are a lot of fun and the world is really interesting. I flew threw this book. The ending did feel kind of rushed.

Aeril's fiery tit's this was a good book! I initially was going to pass on this book when I first heard of it earlier this year. I mean they aren't cats and don't have tails which is disappointing but I'm so glad I gave this book a shot. It's a well crafted fantasy with just enough violence to keep a darker reader like myself invested. This book is worth your time.

Thank you to Netgalley and RBMedia for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

If you're looking for an extremely unique fantasy world that will leave your mind blown, look no further! I am still reeling from the plot twists and the way this story wrapped up. Everything came together so easily despite the chaos of it all, and I loved watching the pieces fall together even though I never could have imagined the full picture!

These characters are so easy to love, and the quick wit and pure humor of the cast was super refreshing. I loved watching them navigate a rather complex fantasy world. The world was well built despite the swiftness with which it was built, and I never did find myself confused about the fantasy aspects beyond like chapter 1.

This is a refreshing story full of twists and turns that will have you feeling every emotion possible!

Fabulous world building, fabulous strong female characters, fabulous array of supporting characters. Add to that a fabulous narrator. The pacing was a little uneven here or there but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook and I'm looking forward to the next one from P. Djèlí Clark! Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

On the shorter side, this story is packed with a ton of personality and heart!

The assassins have very strict rules. The contracted assassin is the only one who may carry out the kill, the kill must be just, and there are severe consequences if the job is not completed. They’re also not cats or tails, but Eveen is undead and can’t carry out her work until she gets to the bottom of why she has been assigned a job where she sees someone with her (much younger) face.

This book was SO MUCH fun! Proof that authors can pack a complete punch in a lower page count. The setting was totally immersive, the characters were so vivid and endearing, and it was so much funnier than I expected out of a fantasy. This was a great time!

This audiobook was narrated by Lynnette R Freeman and the performance was outstanding! I was laughing out loud at some of the voices and lines that were executed perfectly.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, P. Djèlí Clark, and RBmesia for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review! This published on August 6th!

I have posted my review on Goodreads, my Facebook book club, and will make a TikTok to post before the pub date raving about this book!

Masterfully sarcastic and fast-paced! Clark takes the intense possibility of an assassin tale, makes it silly, and then makes it INTENSE. The finale is MWAH, perfection! I was CACKLING.

The setting here is fascinating. A world, but more specifically a city, full of gods…who actually DO STUFF. Like, in recent memory, undeniably, and with VIGOR. I hope Clark returns to Tal Abisi, because he has created something with a lot of potential. Like, numerous guilds, pantheons, political structures, all ready to mix and meld in really unique ways. And whenever he wants to create something, he can just throw it in, because we know this is a nexus of trade and society, so anything goes!

I’d actually hope that further books in Tal Abisi don’t feature our narrator, Eveen the Eviscerator, but not because of any problems. She’s great. She’s a jerk. I like that. It’s just I want to see this city from every angle! Maybe have some of the characters from this book pop up in the background, but I trust Clark to make someone new to steal a second show.

Narrator Lynnette R. Freeman is so good at Eveen’s snark, but the real stunner is when she gets to break out accents. There’s one character’s voice who is just thick and dangerous and wonderful. And she’s got great range, so I don’t think there was any repeat voices. It’s all very easy to follow, audio-wise.

This is so getting one of my Hugo noms in 2025.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

*4.5 stars*

This was an engaging, fast paced read set in a vivid world. There are so many tropes in here that are done in new ways. The world of the undead assassins was grotesque and tense. I think shorter fantasy novels and novellas can often feel too short but this felt like the perfect length without sacrificing the characters and world building. A great stand alone!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

The premise of this book is so exciting; the execution wasn't what I had hoped.

Dead Cat Assassins, a job gone wrong, a nefarious plot, who doesn't want a story like that?

But I couldn't connect with the characters. I didn't find myself wanting to know more, partially because there were so many and it was hard to differentiate. I know there were a lot of descriptors but that also deterred me from enjoying the story.

I also listened to the audiobook and some of the voices were cartoonish in their perceived villain-ry.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. The audiobook performance was great. The characters were interesting and there was a good amount of detail to really draw you in. There were portions of the story that seemed a little drawn out for me but for the most part I was entertained from beginning to end. Definitely curious about anything that comes next!

4.5/5

I went into this book with just the vague notion that it has assassins. Let me tell you, I was not disappointment! I would even go as far as to say that it exceeded my expectations. I haven't read any of P. Djèlí Clark work before this novella, and while I always had a passing interesting in A Master of Djinn, it has now jumped into my TBR and up the list.

Lynnette R. Freeman did a fantastic job narrating this novella. The voices were great, the whispering was menacing, and I could hear those teeth being kissed from a little bit too deeply in my ear. Very immersive, the sound production team did a great job!

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the arc!

I like the concept of the book thought the world was unique. However, I felt that the writing was very juvenile, which I was surprised about given author. The characters were one dimensional and lacked depth. As a novella It’s overall an interesting read, and I enjoyed the ending.

I reeeeeally wanted to like THE DEAD CAT TAIL ASSASSINS more than I actually did. I mean: the world-building! The middle-aged undead assassin protagonist! Sadly, despite the book's short length and Lynnette Freeman's skillful narration, I found listening to this confusing and a chore, which I think mostly had to do with the characters and the way in which important plot points were revealed.

I ended up liking the *idea of the characters more than I actually liked them. I found most of the characters to be annoying, one-dimensional caricatures who stood around talking a lot more than they *did* anything. It's really hard to come back from not liking the main character, Eveen.

Many of the plot reveals were done so through dialogue, which was unfortunate, since the dialogue was often irritatingly juvenile. Lynnette Freeman has clearly mastered a range of accents, but not all of them lent themselves well to an audiobook: several of the characters talked in rasps or growls that were just not pleasant to listen to, let alone try to understand what was going on.

The world that P. Djèlí Clark has created here is one that I would gladly return to... but the characters just may keep me away.

I really enjoyed The Dead Cat Tail Assassins. The story was really good. This is the second book I have read by this author this year and I would really like to read his backlist.

3.5 stars!

Thank you to P. Djèlí Clark and RB Media for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

This was an interesting case of a book that wasn’t mediocre throughout, but that had strong positives and negatives that make for a mediocre review. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this author so I was excited to hop in, but I wouldn’t recommend starting here.

First, the good. It’s a pretty inventive premise and I really enjoyed the world of this novella. I don’t think it’s set in the same world as any of the author’s previous books but it still has the expanse feel of a multi-book setting. I liked Eveen a lot—she’s quippy in a way that makes her likable and doesn’t feel intensely out of place. Particularly the ending of the novella was really enjoyable which bumped this from a 3 to a 3.5.

Now for that stuff I struggled with. I found Sky really annoying which is not great since she’s pretty much there the whole time. She’s supposedly 19 but talks like she’s 14 and it was just grating. There was also a significant middle portion of the story where the characters were just going back and forth talking to other characters. In a larger book this could be excused as necessary for world-building or the introduction of new characters but it was pretty pointless here and it’s really the majority of the book. There was also a character towards the end whose speech I genuinely could not understand (might have a been an issue with the narrator since I got an audio ARC, but I see reviews of the written text that had the same issue so maybe not).

I think if you’re already a fan of this author, this might be a bit more enjoyable for you but it generally wasn’t for me. Still, if you want a small chunk of a cool world, it’s probably worth a shot.

Happy reading!

If you like Gideon the Ninth I think you'll like this. It has the right amount of body horror and modification, intriguing world building, complex characters, and a plot that drives everything forward. I was lucky enough to receive the audiobook of this, and I listened to it in one sitting.