I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since I first read a short story by P. Djeli Clark back in like 2015, the author has hit my auto-buy list. Does that mean I've yet to read every book written by him? No, I'm a little behind, but what I have read has always been a good, entertaining time and The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is no different. I was so excited to get approved for an ARC of this book cause honestly it'd been on my radar since the second it was announced. The name alone had me intrigued, but then add on the premise and that cover? Well, I had to read this book as soon as possible though life did get in the way so this is ASAP for me at present.

Eveen, and the story that unravels involving her, is an exciting and engaging adventure. I was hooked from the first sentence. She is funny and interesting, and although an assassin, which is definitely not a good job, a total badass. The side characters, including the guild and city itself, all add to the adventure that takes place in just one night -- definitely a wild time. For only taking place in one night though it doesn't lack in details about the characters nor the place; keeping you engaged at every possible turn, and making you feel like you're along for this adventure at every turn. The latter seems to be something that P. Djeli Clark is talented at doing in his work. The twists and turns revealed, and the way it feels like a familiar fantasy setting while still feeling fresh and innovative was one of my favorite parts. It's definitely a book I look forward to buying so that I can put in pride of place next to the other works I have by this author -- whose work, including this one, I will recommend at every opportunity.

I really do hope that P. Djeli Clark decides to revisit this world. I feel like Tal Abisi, its characters, and the world surround it has many more stories to tell and hopefully that is the case.

Revised and upgraded to 3 stars now that the disappointment has ebbed. P. Djéli Clark's previous book's popularity on BookTok amped my expectations.

Based on the title, cover, and description, I expected this to be a fun and extraordinary book. It's a great concept. Unfortunately, from the beginning, I found it off-putting. I didn't like the light tone of the narrative. Despite my long-term passion for Fantasy, it seems I'm not the audience for this novel. I didn't care much about the characters and the convoluted plot, and each win comes too easily for my tastes.

I enjoyed aspects of the world, and the imaginative descriptions. The lore and stories within stores were intriguing, and the author made good use of details in the settings and objects in the tale. A couple of the supporting characters have proved to be memorable.

This is a beloved author who entertains many readers. This novel simply wasn't a fit for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Dead Cat Tail Assasins by P. Djeli Clark!

I have been anxiously awaiting P. Djèlí Clark"s next novel, and The Dead Cat Tail Assassins mostly lives up to his previous works. It's an imaginative assassin fantasy, and while it lacks the impressive world building of his previous works, it still manages to pack a lot of fun in its slim page count. I would like to see Clark take another stab at a full length novel, but for now I will continue to enjoy his fantasy novellas.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was a great read. I loved the character development and the writing was amazing.

I apologize for the late review and thank you Netgalley for the E-ARC

"First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade. Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark. 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."

The paragraph above got my interest and I knew I had to pick up this book. Plus, it is by P. Djeli Clark. He is a must read author now, everything they write will be an auto read/auto buy. I love Clark's writing style, world building, and most of all the characters. Good and interesting characters and character building are the most important things to me in a story and he always delivers.

This was my first work by P. Djèlí Clark. I wish there was more explanation in the beginning because I was lost at times. His writing is strong and descriptive, but it was overshadowed by how action packed it is in such a short amount of pages.

This book was so good!
I was laughing, the fight scenes played out like a movie in my head and I literally had a face palm moment with one of the characters.
I added the link to my review of the book on TikTok.
P. Djèli Clark is now an automatic buy author for me!

4.5 Stars

This was my first P. Djèlí Clark and I can promise it will not be my last. Incredible world-building and establishing of tension/stakes within the very first chapter. A masterful execution of character and voice. Clark is able to blend together humor and innovating fantasy world parameters in a way that is unmatched. This book made me fall in love with P. Djèlí Clark's writing!

I really liked the world. We get a glimpse in one aspect of the magic system through Eveen since she is a resurrected assassin contracted to one of the goddesses of the world. We see other type of magics that I really want to know more about (specially about the construction of spells that was linked to a type of an equation) - there is space for other books in this world and I'd be really interested if the author continued to work on this world.

The book is primarily a mystery book, figuring out who Sky is and who made the contract that put Eveen's life in disarray. The mystery is pretty straightforward and it's kind of easy to figure out before the characters what is going on. That really wasn't such a hindrance for how much I liked the book because I liked Eveen and the world so much. She is a cativating character and I was rooting for her and I'm interested in her even if we only see a little of her story in the book. She is a more humorous and due to her personality so is the book. And even though I liked her humor, sometimes it was too much.

By the end, I liked the world, the characters, and how the story ended.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

If you're in the mood for a fun, action packed, story with undead (but not zombie-like) assassins, this one's for you.

Novellas are always tricky for me to review because I always want MORE 😅 but for such a quick read, P. Djèli Clark accomplished a lot in a limited amount of pages: immersive world building, showing how the rich exploit the marginalized, and nuggets of commentary on a messed up society.

I do wish I was more attached to the characters but I tend to love character-driven stories so that checks out.

I highly recommend this as an action-packed palate cleanser between heavier reads.

P. Djélí Clark is one of my favorite authors and The Dead Cat Tail Assassins did not disappoint! I can tell he had fun writing this novella, because I had fun reading it. Clark is insanely talented at creating memorable characters and stories full of vivid imagery.

The premise of this story is interesting, and there were definitely unique parts that I enjoyed. However, I came away from reading this with just the description of “okay”. Because of the shortness of it, some of the world building and development was compromised in favor of moving the book along.

I enjoyed the unexpected sci-fi elements and the witty humor that was included in something that could’ve been written in a very “dark” and serious way. However, the dichotomy threw me off some of the time because the lightheartedness of a few of the moments made me forget there were supposed to be real stakes. It was a serious book that almost read as cozy, and I’m unsure how I like that. All that to say, it’s getting a 3 from me.

I’m very interested in reading more from this author. Even though this wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever read, as I said before, the premise and some of the writing choices were unique and refreshing in a way that intrigues me enough to read more from them. Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

This was so, so good!! I haven't had the chance to read any of P. Djèlí Clark's previous works, but I am so excited to do so after reading this!

This novella was short and sweet - it was action-packed and funny with lovable characters and an incredibly interesting world (please, please Phenderson write more in this setting!!). The story kept me on my toes and took me on an adventure in only 200 pages! I would absolutely recommend this to any high fantasy lover in need of a quick but throughly enjoyable read.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love this author so much. I'd read anything he writes. So this is very biased as a review. This isn't my favourite I have read by him, which doesn't mean anything because it's still a 5 star read. I had a lot of fun with this one and the alt worlds. My only fear, like Master of Djinn, is that I will be denied more of the world, the gods, side characters, etc. PLEASE.

4⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Dead Cat Tails Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark is a well-written novella with an action-packed plot, funny characters, assassins, mythical creatures, magic, clockwork giants and power-hungry kings, powerful goddesses, and an unfurling mystery.

I loved how this novella was able to balance seriousness with humor. The life-or-death situation they're in feels dire and the plot was full of action, yet the characters still had depth to them and their banter added a bit of lightheartedness to the ominous atmosphere.

I especially enjoyed Eveen as a character. Seeing her go through the psychological process of grappling with the memory loss of her past life while also being confronted with Sky, all the while trying to figure out who she is now with every new piece of information she learns.

With that said, certain aspects of the ending were a bit silly and ridiculous, particularly with how Eveen interacted with the goddesses, but I had a good time with it anyway.

Highly recommend listening to this on audio.

[Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book!]

Thank you NetGalley and TorDotCom for the EARC.

Some Spoliers*

This was an amazingly thought out novella. Even with such a short story the characters were well thought out and had some amazing growth! The mystery of how Sky got there and where she is truly from had a great twist of being a diffrent dimension/world parallel to Eveen's ending with summoning both of their respective goddesses to save themselves! This was my first book by P. Djèli Clark and am now an automatic buy fan! Hope there is more to come from this world!

I've enjoyed Clark's novellas and was excited to read this. It was fun, fast paced, and I finished it in one straight shot. Now, I need to go back and read Master of Djinn.

This would have fared better had I read this before I read the most recent release, because it does not compare but I do see some of the same quirky writing habits.

I loved the fact that we are reading from the POV of an older senior citizen woman as older women are not often represented in literature, I love the attempt to do something different and I think Clark managed to pull it off quite perfectly, tho at times I was not sure if the point was to differentiate between youthful MC's and senior MCs because they felt very similar, but that might have been the intention all along, to show that there is no difference between the two and that older women are. still lively.

Either way, Clark has shown himself to be an excellent writer of strong female leads, and for that he gets 4 stars because the characters really propel this story forward, the character work is excellent and while the pacing might be a lil off, wishy washy, this felt at times like it was a short story padded tp become a novella, but Clark's writing is so great that it makes it a fun reading experience regardless/

This is a short and sweet story that is very much not sweet. An undead assassin, a very unique targeted hit, and a time-sensitive problem involving space and time are all components that make this a unique science fiction novella. Without spoiling too much of the story, I love that each female character shines independently and the ending wraps up everything in a splendid way.