Time Spent With A Cat is an outrageous and sharp-witted mystery that kept me hooked from start to finish. Jim Carpenter, a grumpy private eye with a talking cat sidekick, gets tangled in a murder case that's as impossible as it is entertaining. The mix of hard science fiction, fantasy, and noir-style humor felt fresh and unique. I loved how the banter between Jim and the cat added levity to the tension. This book is a quick, clever read that’s perfect for anyone who enjoys quirky mysteries with a dash of the surreal.

Holy catnip, this book is wild! Time Spent With A Cat is like if a hard-boiled detective got dumped into a sci-fi circus and brought a snarky feline along for the ride. Jim’s got six hours to crack a murder case that makes zero sense—and his cat won’t stop being a pain in the butt. I laughed, I gasped, and I’m pretty sure I yelled, “What?!” at least three times. If you’re into weirdly awesome mysteries that make your brain hurt in the best way, grab this now. 😺🔍✨

Jim is a private detective who hates cats. When everyone in the world was assigned a Conscience that can be seen and heard, Jim was assigned a cat. And that perfectly opens up this enjoyable, short novella that follows our protagonist out there solving crimes.

But it's more than that. Jim is visited by a long fallen out friend and offered a case to solve in a very short time, and we follow the case, the clues and the thought processes as Jim, and his cat, go to work sleuthing.

A short read but no less enjoyable for it. I really had fun reading this, and I suggest you do too.

4.5★s
Time Spent With A Cat is a short novella by Australian author, Chuck McKenzie. The premise is interesting: everyone has been issued with a visible, audible Conscience. It’s only been four months, but it has, understandably, adversely affected Jim Carpenter’s private investigation business. Each person’s Conscience takes a different form, so that adds both irony and humour: Jim’s is a cat, and he hates cats.

When a former military colleague turns up with a job for him, he doesn’t exactly have a choice, with work thin on the ground. The top-secret nature of it adds a wrinkle, but it’s essentially a scientist who has been murdered in her lab, shot in the head but no weapon or bullet apparent, a locked room mystery. Her husband protests his innocence: did he do it, and if so, will he get away with it?

Between Jim, his unasked-for cat, the forensic tech and her Conscience, they ask the right questions and manage to solve the very puzzling how of it.

The consciences assigned to the characters range from cats to James Bond characters to rock superstars to bluebirds. They do seem to be more of the observer/commentator type, rather than warning their soul against morally dubious action. Jim’s cat is snarky, but proves also to be very smart. A fun piece of speculative sci-fi crime/mystery.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Daft Notions.

Great detective case; not so much a whodunit as a howdunit.

An open and shut case that seems impossible to close since there is no evidence at the scene, to convict.

No murder weapon or bullet, nothing beyond gunshot residue on the victim and the suspect’s hand.

A ‘locked room’ scenario where the presence of witnesses just outside meant the perpetrator was the only person in the room when the ‘shot’ was fired.

I loved the investigation and the inviting mystery to be solved. Made more critical by a legal time frame to secure the confession or obtain sufficient evidence to take to court.

What marked this novella out for me however were two factors beyond the usual murder scenes in this genre.

Firstly, there is a sci-fi angle to the crime which is cleverly expounded and marks it out as different.

Secondly, each character has a visible, talking subconsciousness that interacts with its owner and everyone else around them. This raises matters further and provides the writing as both original and brilliant. At times it becomes spooky; almost like a ventriloquist dummy taking control. "Here's Johnny" or rather “Here’s Chucky!” vibes.

The protagonist here is private eye, Jim Carpenter. His ‘Ultra Ego’ cum ‘subconscious factum’ bears no resemblance to him, it is a cat. Others have a James Bond henchman and one of the Fab Four as company.

The additional question is: Will the cat be a help or a hindrance in solving matters?

Original, entertaining and quite magnificent!

I’m so glad I picked up this sci-fi/fantasy detective mystery novella. I quickly read it and came to a number of conclusions. First I loved it, especially the very perceptive subconscious cat. Second, you don’t need a four hundred page novel to produce a book that is complete story, and very engaging. Thirdly, I want more novella’s or, to be contrary possibly, a book with these characters. Thank you to Daft Notions (this publishers name suits this book down to the ground) and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.