The town is gripped by a big freeze, and blizzard after blizzard has engulfed the feline community, leaving shops and businesses snowbound. Hettie Bagshot and her sidekick, Tilly Jenkins, have found sanctuary by their fireside but soon they are bucketed into a terrifying nightmare, called to investigate the disappearance of the town’s kittens as – one by one – they are taken in the snow.Who are … in the snow.
Who are the strange cats living in Wither-Fork Woods?
Will the ancient prophecy of the Ice Maid’s Tail become a reality?
And can Hettie and Tilly defrost the fish fingers in time for tea?
Join them as they slip and slide their way through another frost-biting case for The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency.
What people are saying about The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency:
’This series is the perfect warm, fluffy cosy mystery read for fans of Agatha Crispy-style mysteries and cat-lovers alike.’
‘True escapism into a world of pies, cakes and cats while somehow smuggling a truer reflection of the real world than much human detective fiction.’
‘A deceptively nasty murder wrapped up in a cardigan, and served by the fire with tea and cake. A delight from beginning to end.’
‘Hilarious and captivating.’
‘The cat world’s answer to the cosy crime novel, with bags of charm and characters you don’t want to leave behind.’
‘I love this series and am waiting with a warmed pastry, a hot mug of something, and a crackling fire for the next in the series.’
Editorial reviews:
‘Original and intriguing… a world without people which cat lovers will enter and enjoy.’ P. D. James
‘I loved it. The whole concept is just so “real”!’ Barbara Erskine
‘Mandy Morton’s Feline Detective Agency instigates a new genre, both wonderful and surreal.’ Maddy Prior
‘The world that Morton has created is irresistible.’ Publishers Weekly
‘Witty and smart. Prepare to be besotted.’ M.K. Graff
‘Mandy Morton’s series is both charming and whimsical.’ Barry Forshaw
‘Hettie Bagshot might be a new face at the scene of a crime, but already she could teach most fictional detectives a thing or two.’ The Hunts Post
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Cute cute cute! A witty tale about cats and tails. It seems British cats enjoy their teas as much as their human counterparts. I enjoyed this fun, silly mystery-romp, and laughed a lot. Recommended for those who enjoy cozy mysteries, cats on a mission, and a very British outlook. Delightful. I’ll return to this series whenever I need some cheering up.
“The Ice Maid’s Tail” is the latest in the No. 2 Feline Detective Agency series. This is #8, a wonderful achievement.
Hettie Bagshot and Tilly Jenkins are our private detectives of record. Never mind that they’re cats. You know that if you’ve read the other books in the series, and you should have, of course (well, the cover, the title and the book description are all clues of a sort, but who’s counting? Let’s not be clever clogs here). Otherwise, they walk, they talk and they solve mysteries like humans do, and they’ve got a doozy on their paws here.
It’s a dire winter in their little village, and everybody’s hunkered down, trying to survive as best they can. A lot of the local folk have been put up at Wither-Fork Hall, a large baronial mansion. Word comes that some orphaned kittens are missing, kittens that have been kept in the Folly on the mansion grounds. Now, Tilly senses things, and the Folly at the manse doesn’t feel “right” to her. She knows about these things. And the reader will, too, as the story goes along.
The kittens may have run away rather than be exposed any longer to the strict religious training of the orphanage’s leaders. If they have, they’ve probably frozen to death. It’s a gruesome beginning.
And there’s a precedent to our tale, and where the title of the book comes from – a horror story told to impressionable young kittens, the stuff of young feline nightmares, as the resident gypsy cat calls it. I don’t make this stuff up, folks. Our author, Mandy Morton does, and a good thing, too. It’s fun, and entertaining, and as much in keeping with the tenor of the series as the other books.
There’s a mysterious fire to contend with. Are the little kits really dead? The house has its secrets — what’s behind it all? It all comes to a head in the caves underneath Wither-Fork Hall. Evil and cruelty come in many forms, feline as well as human. And we learn that feline justice is final, and without remorse. Tilly and Hettie and their friends and co-workers have it all well in hand.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for a copy of this book, in exchange for this review.
What a purrrfectly lovely story! I had a blast reading this book. The cats with their biscuits and tea. You have made them seem so human like. I can’t wait to read the next ventures of the feline fellows! Thank you for such a great book!
cats, fantasy, friendship, detective, cozy-mystery, situational-humor, verbal-humor
What a cute story! Populated entirely by cats, the mystery is about the disappearances of kittens from an orphanage amidst other problems created by a nasty blizzard. Lots of laughs! Fascinating characters who truly are.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Duckworth Books/Farrago via NetGalley.
On Sale February 20, 2020
From Duckworth Books comes the newest addition to the unique cat cozy series, “The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency” from Mandy Morton, The Ice Maid’s Tail.
This cat cozy is genuinely unique. I love the idea of cats talking, shopping, going out to restaurants and so forth. I also love that Hettie and Tilly are investigators. Known for their curiosity, cats are natural for this type of role. The two primary cats, as well as the rest of the cast, are marvelously human with fears, quirks and everything we would typically associate with people. I am overjoyed that the author made the characters quirky, intelligent, loving and compassionate.
The bad “guys” would be a nightmare to find if they were human and would have been almost impossible to prosecute. But like cats, they still have limitations of what they can do or where they can go, particularly during a blizzard. The culprits are caught and pay a stiff price for their crimes. As with any animal-based book, and especially in a cat cozy, readers will delight at the characters’ antics, attitudes and lives.
The fact that it wasn’t necessary to have any humans involved to give readers a sense of family or community was delightful. In the end, this cat cozy delivers on entertainment and mystery. The plot is original, the characters are purrfect, the setting remarkably descriptive without getting bogged down in the mundane. I am happy to recommend The Ice Maid’s Tail. And now I’m going back to read all the other books in this series!