The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is quite the title and Djèlí Clark sets himself up for some high expectations.

Fortunately for all of us, Djèlí Clark delivers. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is like the little bear's porridge - just the right size, just the right temperature, and just the right sweetness. Djèlí Clark has grown as a writer from his novel debut, A Master of Djinn, and The Dead Cat Tail Assassins learns from previous mistakes and does not repeat them. This kind of growth between two novels in an author is pretty outstanding.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is just the perfect length. At 250 pages, it is a novel, although on the shorter side for fantasy. I find this length lets the reader explore Tal Abisi, its festival, its political system, and its foods so that I have a grasp on how the city runs. But I don't know absolutely every minute details about the setting, which means The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a light read and Djèlí Clark has room to grow in future novels. The backstory and world building is only revealed as relevant to the plot, which is very refreshing.

The plot has a bit too much of deus ex machina going on, but the saving grace is that the first deus ex machina happens at the beginning of the novel and sets the tone. It's not surprising when someone appears and sets aside all of Eveen's plans, since it happened on page 10. It does give the novel quite a light feel for a novel about an assassination, because every moment of tension is relieved by a plot device literally no one saw coming. It kept me engaged because I didn't know what was coming next and enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek feeling the novel had overall.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was quite the romp and had nothing to do with cats or their tails. No cats are harmed in this novel.

Imagine you’re an undead assassin who is contracted to kill like any other job, but when you go to fulfill your duty…you come face to face with yourself.

That is what Eveen faces in this story. I have sooooo much fun with this story. I’ll admit that the first 10% wasn’t my favorite because of the over descriptive scenery. But once you get past that, you become fully immersed into the story. I loved how it read like a movie.

The fight scenes were top tier and easy to follow. I always thought I hated adventure books, but this one showed me, when done right…it can be soooo entertaining. I loved Eveen’s dry humor and the funny one liners from the other assassins. I even loved how even though it seemed like the guild wasn’t family like- they still had their moments were they were loyal (to an extent lol).

My only regret is that this book wasn’t longer or part of a series. I highly recommend if you like books like “Harry Potter”, “Percy Jackson” and low key even ACOTAR that everyone is obsessed with. I’ll definitely be reading more books from this author! He has officially become one of my favorites!!!!

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins follows Eveen the Eviscerator (who is not a fan of nicknames) over the course of a single evening at her job. Her very mundane job as a resurrected assassin for the Goddess of Knives, where she has no recollection of her life before and three simple rules to follow. On her latest assignment, it turns out that following that final rule of carrying out the accepted job isn’t something Eveen is interested in doing when her mark is wearing her face.

This was so ridiculously fun. The description of “next level worldbuilding” feels inadequate when discussing what P. Djèlí Clark does, but it’s the best I have. Clark’s ability to spin a living, breathing city from untouchable government leadership down to the cobblestones out of just a handful of words is a testament to the skill of his craft. The pacing is tight, and this is one of those reading experiences where I felt like I got to grab the author’s hand and hang on for dear life.

The humor in this story really worked for me, which is always an unexpected surprise in fantasy. And on top of everything else, Clark is able to tie everything together with a beautiful contemplation on what it feels like to reflect on your past and present self, and the pain and wonder that comes with that.

This is an easy recommendation for everyone who likes darkly funny fantasy with murderously competent heroines and top notch worldbuilding.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor.com for the eARC.

This is my second time reading from P. Djèli Clark. I’m coming to realize that maybe their Novellas are not for me. I like the premise of this book but I don’t feel like it was executed well.

Eveen was such an interesting character but I wanted more from her. I wanted more from all the characters, which I know you can’t expect to have in a novella. Once I started reading this I wanted it to be a full novel. I wanted the plot points explored more. With it being a novella, it felt so rushed and that plot points were being added at random. Had this been longer I think my enjoyment would have been higher.

I did enjoy what the author was trying to do and I think in such a short book they managed to fit in a lot of action scenes and character development.

I was leaning towards a 4 star up until the ending, I felt like things concluded very quickly and to be honest the Gods at the end ruined it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for a honest review.

This was such a great novella, Clark crafted such an interesting world in such little time that it makes me sad we didn't get to see more of it. Undead assassins working for a goddess? Sign me tf up. There were lots of fun twists in this, and I'd love to see how this looks adapted for a movie, because I think it's really well structured for that. I did think that some of the phrases, particularly around some of the humor were a bit out of place with the rest of the world building because it felt so modern, but other than being a bit distracting it was fine. Overall this was a wild adventure, and I'd love to see more novellas written in this world again.

This was a fun read, action packed, fast paced and funny. I have never read anythink by this but I'm Intriged to read more.

3.5 stars

This book was difficult for me to rate. While reading it, I enjoyed many aspects, but it was also so easy to put down and not pick back up.

The worldbuilding is interesting and I liked the history that we are given on how the Shimmer came to be. Eveen is a fun character, and I enjoyed her sarcasm very much. I had a hard time matching her age to her voice, however. It was written like she was much younger. Maybe because she's undead and her memories are erased? I'm unsure but it did throw me a bit.

The ending was really what made it difficult for me to give it a higher review. There is a character that has the dialogue written to demonstrate an accent, but that made it nearly impossible for me to understand. I wish there was some translation of it as my brain had a hard time with reading it and that threw me from the scene. This is a novella, so I knew it would be short, but the ending felt almost rushed. I wanted a little more of Eveen's vengeance instead of glossing over that part.

Overall, I think this will be a good read for some and I did enjoy it. It was just a little too easy to put down. I will most likely look into P. Djèlí Clark's other works because I did enjoy his writing style.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC.

Me being new to P. Djélì Clark I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this but I am completely blown away. Reading this had me on the edge of my seat and honestly every time I thought I new something was gonna happen something completely different and unexpected happened. This was just SO good; the story was interesting and unique, I loved the main character and all the supporting characters were so vital to the book. I don't think there was one thing I would change, I was hooked the minute I started. Even with how slightly dark and morbid of a theme there was there was still a good balance of humor and plot all tied up in a neat little package. I'm so glad I got to read this and be introduced to Clark this way and I can't wait to read more of his work.

Thanks to Tor/forge for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a fun tongue-in-cheek adventure about undead assassins in a world of magic and mysterious gods. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and the characters have plenty of snark. I've enjoyed everything I've read from P. Djeli Clark and this is no exception.

The story revolves around a mystery that the characters spend most of the book solving. Though it starts off slow, it quickly builds the intrigue and action to a satisfying conclusion. I would happily return to this world for another adventure.

I really enjoyed this novella! The amount of world building, character development, and plot that Clark was able to fit in such a short amount of pages is very impressive. From the first page, I was immediately sucked into the world and even though this was such a fast paced read, nothing felt rushed. The stakes were high, the main characters were multidimensional, and the ending was satisfying. I highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick and fun read!

That was Good Fun. A fast-paced, funny, rollicking up-all-night-to-get-this-done fantasy adventure with the fun, complex, and never heavy-handed worldbuilding I've come to anticipate from P Djeli Clark. I love how his universes feel so consistently fresh while still bringing in classic elements.

Eveen is an undead assassin -- it's a living with some clear rules, she's great at it and there's minimal angst -- who finds herself on the run with her intended victim after it all goes sideways. There's a mystery ("what's going on?" mostly), snappy banter, and some neat character building.

The end feels a little rushed -- lots of details and threads that got squished into too few pages -- but not so much that it detracts from the fun of reading it. And (hooray) no cliffhangers! Definitely one I'll be adding to my high school library and booktalking widely. Recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

This story follows Eveen, an undead assassin working for the goddess Aeril. Tasked with killing—or rather 'shipping'—citzens of all ilk in the name of coin and tribute to her goddess. Her newest contract should have been a simple one, yet both the festival overtaking her port-side town and a surprising encounter turn everything around. Eveen is beginning to remember things... a feat that shouldn't be possible in her undead form. The vessel meant to be emptied of its previous life is still clinging to some semblance of its past self and the cause of this is only one of the mysteries found within these pages.

A short tale with deliciously lush descriptions of the city and its history. Never did I find the descriptions excessive or told in a manner that felt like mental recitation. Eveen is a delightfully dry narrative voice with a matter-of-fact presentation style I really enjoyed. Every action-heavy scene felt meaningful and necessary for the story to progress. I loved the wit and humor, and omg that ending was absolutely wild!!!

If this story is ever expaned upon or has a sequel, I will be one of the first in line to dive back in. This world is one I'd love to play with again and again! This is my first foray with this author, and I can't wait to work my way through P. Djèlí Clark's backlog.

It's a shame that this novella had to push back its publication date - I personally think everyone needs to read this and read this now.

It has everything that makes an action/adventure book. It has a fantastic setting, fantastic storytelling, and great plot twists. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five was at the end when you are reading through a thick accent - it took a couple reads of the sentences to make out what was being said. In saying that, I wouldn't change it - I'll be the first to admit that sometimes things go over my head, and this was no different. Please let me struggle because then when I reread the book, I will have a better understanding and we be used to the way things are presented.

I would love (in a fevered dream obviously) if this became a series about different people you meet in the books; it is a fantastic standalone as well, I'm just greedy for more!

Eveen is an undead assassin who has no memory of her life, but is slowly working off years of tribute to her patron goddess, abiding by the three unbreakable rules of assassins: a contract must be just, you can't kill anyone who isn't contracted, and once you take a contract, you have to carry it out. But when Eveen takes a contract that involves killing someone who evokes impossible memories, she has to reevaluate exactly what "unbreakable" means while simultaneously solving the mystery of who this woman is and keeping them both alive long enough to sort it out.

This was a ridiculously fun book, with excellent worldbuilding and intriguing characters. Of course, that could describe any of Clark's books, so I'm not particularly surprised by this. It's well worth the short time it'll take to read through this one.

There are very clear rules about being an assassin and Eveen the Eviscerator (it was one time, she says) follows them very carefully. After all, being an assassin is the only reason that she’s alive…well, not actually alive. She’s undead. In her first life, she made a promise to serve Aeril, the Matron of Assassins, for one hundred years. In P. Djèlí Clark’s beautifully plotted and highly entertaining novella, The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, we get to witness Eveen’s greatest caper.

One of the first rules of being an assassin is that the assassin must fulfill their contract. The consequences are extremely dire. Eveen has never failed to complete an assignment until the night she is told to kill a young woman who has what Eveen describes as an “impossible” face. The young woman, Sky, has Eveen’s own face, though a couple of decades younger. Even more puzzling, it seems as though Sky has been pulled some sixty years through time just to vex Eveen.

The Dead Cat Assassins unspools over the course of a few very exciting days during the middle of a city-wide festival. Eveen and Sky race back and forth across the city, seeking witnesses and answers and—above all—a way out of this mess that doesn’t see them all suffering Aeril’s fiery punishments. Along the way, there are other assassins out to kill both of them, a ghastly conspiracy, revenge, and one of the most stunning and audacious conclusions I’ve seen in ages. This book was absolutely perfect and I strongly recommend it to any fans of fantasy, especially the ones who want something more than the usual epic slog.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P Djèlí Clark is a whip-smart, fast-paced novella about a group of
undead assassins living in a magic-rich world who follow a rigid set of rules. Eveen knows all too
well what happens when you break these rules, and when she makes a bizarre discovery while
executing her new contract, it looks like she may have to break another.
Clark delivers sharp, witty dialogue from a colourful cast of characters in this brief, but rich novella.
Its short length does nothing to hinder the depth or clarity of the world of Tal Abisi and the intricate
puzzle laid out before the reader.
Eveen is a lovable rogue of a protagonist and it’s impossible not to applaud her chaotic choices and
fall head over heels for her surprising quirks. The supporting cast is equally lovable: the foodie
acolyte who speaks fluent legalese, the deadly, story-loving mistress of the guild, and the bookish
thaumaturgist who wants nothing more than to stay in his orrery, the magnificence of which would
make Aughra jealous.
This story is thick with suspense and barely gives you a moment to stop and appreciate the sly but
poignant world-building that Clark weaves in between Eveen’s filthy curses and wicked grace. The
stakes ramp higher with every page until the climatic ending ties everything together in a way that is
perfectly satisfying and finger-stabbing smart.
This is a delightfully violent nugget of a book that brings nothing but joy and delicious vindication.
This would be perfect for fans of The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir and Foundryside by Robert
Jackson Bennett.

This was a fairly short book (200+ pages) that I was able to read in one sitting … so I can easily say that it all just worked. The foundation premise and world building were fun and interesting (an undead assassin caught up in a conspiracy that threatens her own very existence … to say nothing of the other members of her guild). So we get a combination of mystery, magic, action and humor that made it hard to put down all the way to a rather satisfying ending … perhaps my only complaint (and for me it was enough to subtract a half point … then I rounded up at the end) is the mangled, quasi-caribbean, dialect used by the assassin’s patron deity, which was so difficult for me to understand that I skipped most of her dialog and just picked up the gist from the context. Fortunately this was limited to the last part of the story, so I was already fully invested in the story and outcome. The snarky humor of the main character may not be for everybody, but I really enjoyed it (it reminded me of another favor series with the same black humor). Just as important for me was that it was more or less a unique take on a common trope (it didn’t feel mechanical or derivative), which made it so much more interesting overall.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheDeadCatTailAssassins #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an review.

So, this is a book I was super excited for. I heard of it on a podcast some months ago, where one of the hosts was discussing ARCs she’d recently read, and this novella came up. And boy, did she wax poetic about it. I wasn’t expecting to see the ARC still available, and really wasn’t expecting to get access within hours of requesting. I was intent on finding out whether it was worth the hype and read it pretty much immediately.

The hype is deserved. I’ll start by saying that. The writing is easy to follow, though there are quite a few grammatical errors. I assume these will be edited out before the official release and thus aren’t an issue. The only problem I had, which took away from the book in my opinion, was the chapter near the end in which the g-ddesses were speaking. I absolutely could not understand what they were supposed to be saying. I caught some of it, through multiple rereads, but it took me out of the story big time. I spent more time decoding the speech than I did actually reading. For this alone, The Dead Cat Tail Assassins gets only 4 stars.

On the bright side, the characters were easy to love and root for, and the worldbuilding was top notch. I would love to read more stories set in this world; I was actually kind of depressed when I realized it was over. So P. Djèlí Clark, if you’re reading this, please for the love of g-d write more novellas set in this city. It would be glorious.

I will definitely be buying a physical copy when the novella releases, and I recommend that you do too.

One thing about P Djeli Clark stories, the storyline will be impactful, full and adventurous. I enjoyed the story of assassins in a made up world of Gods. Eveen was strong and determined. I, loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for providing me an ARC of this novella.

This was a complete romp from start to finish: action-packed, exciting, and funny. My biggest complaint is that the story is not longer; knowing how short the story was made it harder for me to want to take in all of the rich details the author had included about this unique, interesting, and exciting world because that information would not relevant for long. However, I’ll be very excited if the author ever chooses to write another story in this setting.

Short, fun, well-written. Read for a good time!