The Cat and the Pendulum by Mandy Morton

My favorite author Mandy Morton is back with another smashing installment of my favorite detective series. This time, Tilly Jenkins and Hettie Bagshot are in London, searching for Agatha Crispy’s stolen manuscript. They are also curious to learn more about Jake the Nipper who seems to have come back from the dead.

As this is a story featuring cats living in a cat world, I did a buddy read with my pet cats Peppy and Peter. They wanted to share their views of The Cat and the Pendulum so I am handing over my keyboard to them.

Peppy: Ooh meow, our favorite author Mandy Morton is back with a Hettie and Tilly story. This time they go to London in search of Agatha Crispy’s stolen manuscript. I must say, meow, Agatha Crispy is a favorite and her Miss Marbles series reminds me of Peter. Ssh-meeow, don’t tell Peter this.

Peter: I heard that, Peppy. I am not that old, you know. *sneezes* We cats have nine lives and I am in my second. Anymeow, in The Cat and the Pendulum, we have Jake the Nipper come back from the dead and haunt the streets of London once again. My, my. Reading about Jake the Nipper brought back some hissing memories. My great grandmother has told me stories of Jake the Nipper’s horrific killings. It still gives me nightmeowares, I tell you.

Peppy: And she gets angry when I call her old. Hah! *flicks a claw towards Peter* Hettie and Tilly might be in London to look for the stolen manuscript but they are more interested in solving the Jake the Nipper murders. They stay in Mrs. Croop, Agatha Cripsy’s cook’s guest house in Kitzrovia. The rooms are not all that good – at least they did not look as comfortable as the sofa I am currently making biscuits on. Cripsy says Mrs. Croop’s cooking is the best but the detective duo have a tough time adjusting to the pies and whatnots that Mrs. Croop makes.

Peter: I love bacon baps and salmon pate and chicken curry and fish fry… oh meow, I got carried away a bit. Me-heh-he. The detective duo go on a Nipper tour, visiting the places where Nipper claimed his victims. Tilly says the best murders happen in London.

“Well, they’ve got that bid old river Thames for a start, perfect for dumping bodies. Then there’s the underground where cats can be pushed under trains. The railway stations have lockers where bodies are deposited in suitcases by gangs of murderous street cats, and everyone carries a knife. Then there’s the domestic stuff – cats bricked up in wash houses, or drowned in acid baths leaving no trace. There’s poisoners, stranglers, impalers, and Jake the Nipper, of course, although that was a very long time ago – but they never caught him.”

Peppy: Meow oh meow *meows loudly* I am never going to London! I admit it was a bit of relief to see Hettie and Tilly learn the truth about Jake the Nipper but I am still scared of those knife-welding street cats. I find them furrocious!

Peter: Peppy is being overly dramatic today. Pawlease ignore her. Coming back to Agatha Cripsy’s stolen manuscript, Hettie and Tilly learn there’s a lot more to the story than just a manuscript going missing. A cat-author named Tabitha Crusty has been gaining some attention. Not the right way, though. Meo-mmm.

Peppy: On second thoughts, maybe I do want to visit London. I can meet Agatha Crispy, tour around Kitzrovia, visit the crypts of the church of St Mavis and Cucumber, and Madam TwoPaws wax museum. I can stay at Mrs. Croop’s guest house and try her pies and bacon baps. *drools on the sofa*

Peter: *rolls her eyes at Peppy* I really loved the ending. We have a lot of action and adventure – us cats live on action and adventure. You must have heard the phrase ‘curious as a cat.’ Hettie and Tilly’s curiosity takes them face to face with the killer. Oh meow! That was one scary scenario but thanks to their new-found American friends, they manage to escape with less injuries. They say cats have nine lives but it is not true…

Peppy: I thought you said you are in the second…

Peter: Shush, Peppy!

Peppy: Any-meow, Peter and I had a great time reading The Cat and the Pendulum. Rekha too enjoyed the story. She found the names ‘cute.’ I don’t understand how Madam TwoPaws or Agatha Cripsy or Jake the Nipper are ‘cute names’ but then, humans are a weird lot and we cats have done our best to understand them and failed. *sighs in disappointment*

Peter and Peppy: If you love cats, live to serve them, and are looking for a magical and completely engrossing mystery, you might want to give Mandy Morton’s The Cat and the Pendulum a read. We are pretty sure you humans will love it.

*Blessed be the fur*

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Many thanks to Farrago Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

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