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.

Thank you, NetGalley and RBmedia | Recorded Books for this advanced audiobook. Well, that was super fun!! Still not sure why they are called the Dead Cat Tail Assassins since they are not in fact, cats, nor do they have tails, but I don't care. They are dead and they are assassins... Eveen the Eviscerator is the most skilled and professional assassin. All assassins have had their memories wiped when they are resurrected and sworn into the guild. There are only 3 vows that must never be broken. First, the contract must be just. Second, the assassin may only kill the contracted.

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. This was so good!!

A short and punchy fantasy story about an undead assassin give a contract she cannot fulfill.

Likes:
- Plot and pacing
- Characters
- Narrator

Dislikes:
- Aesthetics of the world/naming conventions
- Humor -- it worked sometimes but other times it took me out of the story a bit

Enjoyable story overall but it didn't feel super memorable. I haven't read Clark's other work and, while I'm still interested in doing so, my feelings on this one doesn't give me any urgency to do so.

P. Djèlí Clark does it again! This is closer to A Master of Djinn than Ringshout, a madcap adventure of badass assassins and secret plots that bend time. It's punchy both in action and in pacing. Clark's knack for dialogue-driven scenes where everyone has a distinctive voice shines and keeps all the questions moving forward without ever getting dull. I'm not sure whether this counts as a long novella or a short novel, but it reads breazily, running full-tilt towards its high octane series of clashes and reveals. A perfect summer book.

As for the narration, it's sterling. She does many distinct voices and has a great range of emphasis. You could listen to her read anything.

This was nothing like what I’ve read before I like the twist on the assassins the voice actors did a good job I never got confused with the characters . This book was at good YA sci-fi fantasy . So don’t look for spice but a great story .

I really enjoyed the snarky voice of the MC and this book. The dark humor made me chuckle. The world is pretty interesting, and so is the Dead Cat Tails assassin guild. I don't normally like tales involving time travel or alternate dimensions or whatever because they rarely make sense, but this one manages to avoid those problems. Also, Avine arguing with her younger self is amusing. There's plenty of twists and turns and at no point did I have any clue where it was going.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark was SO MUCH FUN.

It's a novel about an undead assassin named Eveen who made a deal with a goddess to become an assassin after her death. She is bound to this contract and must "ship" whoever is assigned to her.

One day she is sent on an assignment and as soon as she arrives, decides not to kill her target.

Both Eveen and her target go on a dangerous journey over the course of one night.

P. Djèlí Clark does such a good job making an otherwise dark storyline feel lighthearted and humorous without compromising the high stakes.

I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved the resolution.

I listened to the audiobook (narrated by Lynnette R. Freeman), and she did a great job with the narration! There seems to be a common thread with this authors audiobooks though (for me), where I sometimes have trouble following the plot and get a little lost in the middle. I experienced this with Ring Shout, and was surprised to feel that way a ~little bit~ during this story. I genuinely don't know why I feel this way because it's not like the book was complex or confusing at all - maybe it is because Clark tends to write shorter novels (with many well written characters - even side characters!) that pack a punch for their number of pages.

This is an excellent addition to Clarks collection of novels and I highly recommend it for any fantasy/thriller readers!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I love how we can always count on Clark to write a gripping crime-y story mixed with a fun fantasy setting / elements. I'm a big fan of the Dead Djinn Universe stories and was happy that this was just as good.

I very much loved the idea behind the Dead Cat Tail Assassins and even more the case our main character was drawn into and what ensured. A gripping adventure I'll sure come back to for a reread.

This was my first book by P. Djèlí Clark, and I absolutely loved it. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is dark, funny, and exciting. Lynnette R. Freeman's narration was fabulous; she brought each character to vivid life and really highlighted the humorous parts of the story.

Eveen is part of a guild of undead assassins, serving a goddess with very particular rules, in the fantastical city of Tal Abisi. The setting, including the festival of the Clockwork King and lots of food, was richly detailed. Eveen and the supporting cast of characters were also well-developed and each had his or her own unique personality. While the novel is short, that means everything moves at a quick pace, and we still have plenty of deft writing showcasing character development. This is a fun, lively, violent, imaginative little book that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for an advanced copy of this book.