Cat Out of Hell

By: Lynne Truss

Narrated by: Mike Grady

A cottage on the coast on a windy evening. Under a pool of yellow light, two figures face each other across a kitchen table. A man and a cat. The story about to be related is so unusual yet so terrifyingly plausible that it demands to be told in a single sitting. The man clears his throat, and leans forward, expectant. 'Shall we begin?' says the cat….

©2014 Lynne Truss (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"A truly inventive comic writer." ( Irish Times)

Enjoyed this book

I may never look at my cat in quite the same way. The humor was British, but if you prefer the BBC version of Sherlock, you'll be a step ahead in your appreciation. Loved the characters and the narration. Well done!

Not quite my thing

Well. This was odd. I like Lynne's writing (loved ES&L). I don't like horror. At all. I like humour, but not mixed with horror. I think this is a crossover between horror and humour. But weird horror. I'm not really much of a cat fan, although we have 2 cats, but I'm a huge rabbit fan, so that didn't work out well for this book in particular.

In general, I liked Alec and Wiggy, although I found Alec's mood to be oddly buoyant for someone who had so recently lost his wife in odd circumstances. I loved Watson. I also liked Winterton. Anyway, it was a vaguely amusing listen, with some cheeky Brit-style humour, which I usually love, but it was also a bit gory and grim and dark.

Excellent narration though.

I bought the next book, Lunar Cats, in paperback, having assumed I would love this one. I guess I will still read it. We'll see. So, just not my cup of tea, or saucer of milk, but obviously some people loved it, so you never know, maybe it will be just your thing.

Nice writing, but confusing and disturbing

I am generally a fan of Lynne Truss and of cats so thought I'd give this a try. I guess I should have paid more attention to see that it listed under "Horror" subsection of literature. It didn't sound so bad from the description, but turned out to be horrific indeed and not to my taste. I guess I can't blame Truss for wanting to do something a bit different, but I will be more careful to read the fine print next time!

Purr-fectly Middle

I was first drawn to the story because of the author's extremely famous Eats, Shoots & Leaves, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Cat Out of Hell is definitely an odd, unexpected journey with some humorous moments, but not driven by humor as I was expecting.

This story wasn't bad exactly, but it took a bit for me to get into it; I found the beginning with Wiggy slow and preferred when the story switched to Alec. Honestly, I get the feeling that the humor is a bit too British for my American understanding. Of course that is really not the writer's fault since she's British.

Just so unique, well told, and about cats. What else could you want?

The narration was fantastic. I've read some reviews that didn't like the first part. I'm not sure why. For me, it was so refreshing to find a story line that's so off the beaten path and the characters (feline or otherwise) were great. I see there is another in the series that I plan to start right away!

Please, publisher sir, may I have more?

Since discovering Lynne Truss books, I think I understand what an addict feels, waiting and searching for the next fix. I need to hear more from the inimitable characters, I need the mystery, I need to laugh out loud.