Wednesday 19 September 2018

deathly claws

I walked into my office, only to find those two freaky, long-haired marmie brothers of mine workin' on their Claws of Death (written by MY PAL, Linda Reilly) book reports, for Professor Lyon's Kitty Lit. 101 course.

At least I ASSUMED they were workin' on their book reports.  Andy was rollin' around on the floor laughin', while Rushy was up at my desk, wipin' tears from his eyes with a paw.  "WHAT THE MOUSES ARE YOU TWO DOIN'?" I cried.  They both stopped laughin' and cryin' and blankly stared ahead.  I surmised they were overtaxing their brains by thinkin'.  MOUSES!

Then Andy went back to laughin'.  And rollin'.  Laughin' and rollin'.  And rollin' and laughin'.  All over the floor.  MOUSES!  Slappin' a paw on Linda Reilly's book, Claws of Death, he cried, "A muumuu.  A MOO-MOO.  She's wearin' a muumuu, Sivvers.  A muumuu!"

I gave my brother a cold, hard stare as I tried to figure out what the mouses he was on about this time.

"Oh come on, Seville.  You have to admit, it's a really funny word.  MOOOOOO-MOOOOO." he said, drawin' out the syllables.  "A muumuu." He chuckled to himself."

"What are you talkin' about?" I asked.  "Let me see that," and I grabbed Andy's copy of the book, Claws of Death.  Hmmm...  It's just some kinda dress peeps wear.  She's wearin' a 'garish orange muumuu,' the book says."  I looked at my brother, closely.  "You know, with all that freakishly long fur of yours, you kinda look like you're wearin' a garish orange muumuu, yourself.  MOUSES!"

Then I turned to my other brother and asked, "And what's your problem, Rushy?  What's got you all teary eyed and stuff?"

"They're tears of joy, Seville.  Tears of joy!  I was thinking about certain parts of Linda's book.  Parts that were really happy, and...  And then these tears of joy started flowing right out of my eyes."  With that, Rushy grabbed a tissue from my desk and gave his nose a good blow.

"And out of your nose, too, apparently."  I pointed to the wastepaper basket on the floor, makin' sure my brother disposed of the used tissue properly.

Andy, still rollin' about on the floor, cried, "I laughed!"

Rushy, still sittin' at my desk, sobbed, "I cried."

"We laughed.  We cried.  IT WAS BETTER THAN CATS!" the long-haired freaks exclaimed in unison.

"Oh for the love of mouses," I muttered, rubbin' my throbbing temple with a paw.  "So uh..." and I looked up, "have either of you actually finished your book reports for Professor Lyon's class?  Or have you been too busy laughin' and cryin' and quotin' stuff about CATS?"

My brothers looked first at one another, and then at me.  "I've started mine," Rushy said.

"Me too," said Andy.  "But it's not quite done yet.  "I got a little distracted while rolling around on the floor.  And by the way, Seville, you've got dust bunnies under the big chair over there.  You might want to have the peep do some cleaning."

I rolled my eyes.  "Our reports on the second book in Linda Reilly's Cat Lady Mystery series are due tomorrow, you know.  You had best finish 'em up, lickety-split."

Turnin' to exit the room, I stopped when Andy asked me, "Have you finished yours yet, Seville?"

"Of course I have," I snapped.  "What a ridiculous question.  I finished my report late last night.  Pretty sure I'm gettin' an A on this one.  Maybe even an A+," and I puffed up my chest furs with pride.

"Really?" asked Rushton.  "What did you write about?  What did you say about the book?"

"Well..." I paused, and scratched behind an ear with a paw.  "Hmmm...  Believe it or not, I'm thinkin' that maybe I wrote 'bout the same kinda things the two of you are writing about.  'Bout how Linda Reilly has once again managed to fit a gamut of emotions into one cozy mystery book, by creating such interestin' characters with whom the reader can easily develop close attachments, on account of their likability factors, and..."

Andy screwed up his nose.  "Uh, I don't think I've written anything about that."

"What's a gamut?" Rushy asked Andy under his breath.

"I have no idea," Andy hissed back.  "That's why I'm pretty sure I didn't write about it in my report."

Rushy thought about this and nodded.  Turnin' to me, he asked, "So this gamut thingy of which you speak.  It's uh..."

"It means a...  a complete range of somethin'," I explained.  "When Linda writes, her stories take readers on an emotional trip, complete with both highs and lows.  First of all, she creates characters that are both believable and likeable.  And many of them have a little quirk or two that makes them incredibly interestin', as well.  Then she creates a plot that twists and turns, a number of times.  Because you've come to know and love the characters, when the plot twists in one direction, you're happy for them.  When it turns in another direction, you're sad.  Sometimes you might even be angry 'bout what happens to the peeps in the book.  Other times, you worry for them and their safety, which, of course, builds a tonne of suspense, and..."

"So it's like being on a roller coaster?" Asked Andy.  "An emotional roller coaster?"

"Kinda, 'cept no one throws up any hairballs.  MOUSES!"

Andy pawed at the floor.  "I thought we were going to keep that little incident to ourselves," he muttered under his breath.

"So anyway," I continued, "I wrote all 'bout how, in Claws of Death, I was swept away with the storyline, and how there were more than a few tense moments where I was really worried for Lara, and Aunt Fran.  And the kitties livin' in High Cliff Shelter, too.  I mean, there was a murderer loose in Whisker Jog, AND I HAD NO IDEA who he or she was.  Not until the very end, which is kinda surprisin' when you think about it, on account of my bein' a cat with a real knack for sniffin' out the culprits in mysteries and stuff."

"I didn't know who the killer was, either," said Andy.  "Came as a complete surprise to me, too."

I screwed up my nose.  "Most things do for you," and I supportively patted him on the his back.

"What did you think about the new gal, Claudia?" Rushy asked me.

"I LOVED HER!" I squealed with delight.  "Blue - you know, the ghostly Ragdoll kitty from Lara's childhood - had given Claudia her blessing, so OBVIOUSLY, she had to be an okay person.  But I had no idea she's be such fun!  I so enjoyed readin' the scene where she first met Lara.  Between Reilly's description of her, and the actual dialogue, I could picture her, PERFECTLY, in my mind.  Reilly made her seem so real.  Made her come to life, right there on the page.  I sure do hope Claudia makes an appearance in Linda's next book, too."

"And did you write about how your pal, Linda, named one of the characters after our first peep?" Rushy asked.

I furrowed my brow.  "No...  No, I don't think that's right, Rushy.  There were no characters in the book called Peepers."  I rolled my eyes, wonderin' what foolishness my brother would come up with next.

"But Trisha's mum's name was Jennifer," explained Rushy.

I screwed up my nose.  "What the mouses does that have to do with our peep?  The peep's name is Peepers, silly.  Ha!  But...  But did you happen to notice how there's a devilishly, devastatingly handsome orange marmalade cat in the book?"  I smiled a wide smile, grinnin' like a Cheshire Cat, then wiped the corner of my mouth with a claw.  "I'm pretty sure Munster is supposed to be me."

Rushy and Andy looked at one another.  "Yeah.  Right," said Rushy.  Oddly enough, his tone didn't sound at all like he was agreein' with me.  MOUSES!

"So anyway," and I slapped my front paws together.  "Sounds like I should let the two of you get back to those reports of yours.  Best get on 'em right away."

"What are you going do for the rest of the afternoon, Sivvers?" Andy asked.  "What are you going to do while Rushy and I are in here working?"

I thought about it for a moment, but didn't have to think for very long.  "I know exactly what I'm gonna do, Andy.  I'm gonna go grab a niptini and then reread the best parts of Claws of Death.  It was such a good book, it's really worth a second read.  And then I'm gonna go on-line and have a chat with Linda.  Ask her when book number three is comin' out, 'cause I'm already anxious to read it.  MOUSES!"



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Claws by Death is the second book in the Cat Lady Mystery Series written by my pal, Linda Reilly.  It's published by Lyrical Press, a division of the Kensington Publishing Corporation.  You can connect on-line with Linda through her website, Linda Reilly, or on her Facebook page, Author Linda Reilly or on Twitter at LindaSReilly7  The cover picture of Linda's book was used with Linda's permission, of course.  Purrs.

                                  ****************************************

Disclaimer:  Although I did receive a free copy of the book from the author, neither I nor the peep received any monetary compensation for this post, and all opinions are MY very own.  MOUSES!


8 comments:

  1. Well that does sound pretty darn good Thanks for telling us about it!

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  2. Hey, that was a great review, Sivvers! Claws of Death sounds like a terrific read. Oh, and Rushy and Andy, thanks for letting us know about the Muumuu! MOL!

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  3. OOooh! Sounds like a real humdinger of a book. I bet you get an AAA++ rating for your review. My fridge has an A+ rating but it never, so far as either Mrs H or I have seen, done a book review to get it! obviously all just hot or should that be cold, air, MOL
    Sure will be buying this one, and loved the deep fried mystery's too. I do hope there will be some more of them.
    Todle pips and purrs
    ERin

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  4. Boy kitties are just too easily amused!
    Off to find the first book in the series!

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  5. That sounds like a good book. I have to admit I had to google muumuu though.

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  6. Sounds like a great book.....I purrrrrsonally like keeping my claws of death sharp and ready for some skin - just ask my Mom if you don't believe me.

    Hugs, Teddy

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  7. Seville, this sounds like one terrific book. I too have claws of death. Just ask Ninja! But I don't think I could get my Mom to write about them!
    Purrs
    Marv

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  8. I haven't heard the word muumuu in years, I feel old now :) Great review though.

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I love hearin' from my pals. I really, REALLY do. PURRS.