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carolinerd's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A fun, festive novella in which all the characters are cats, anthropomorphic cats who wear clothes, smoke pipes, drive steam trains, eat sausage baps and in the case of Hettie Bagshot and Tilly Jenkins, run a detective agency. In this story, a murder mystery evening aboard the Santa Claws Express turns into a real murder investigation. Can Hettie and Tilly solve the case in time for Christmas?
It's a cosy little read, something to curl up with on a cold day (ideally with your own cat on your lap.) You can read it in a couple of hours. I enjoyed the snowy, Christmassy atmosphere. I loved the cat-related place names - Mogbury-on-the-Tilt and Hissingford Holt -- and the little details that remind you that you're in a quirky parallel universe populated entirely by cats. There's a lovely moment when Tilly first sees the huge steam train on the platform and declares - "It's just like in The Railway Kittens."
It's not all cute and sentimental though. There are a lot of quite grisly deaths.
The events revolve around a feud between two families, the Shuttles and the Stokers, who were connected by marriage and went into the railway business together. Despite a couple of family trees at the start, I still got quite confused by all the family connections. This was the only problem I had with it. Otherwise, an enjoyable seasonal read. I would like to read more in this series.
It's a cosy little read, something to curl up with on a cold day (ideally with your own cat on your lap.) You can read it in a couple of hours. I enjoyed the snowy, Christmassy atmosphere. I loved the cat-related place names - Mogbury-on-the-Tilt and Hissingford Holt -- and the little details that remind you that you're in a quirky parallel universe populated entirely by cats. There's a lovely moment when Tilly first sees the huge steam train on the platform and declares - "It's just like in The Railway Kittens."
It's not all cute and sentimental though. There are a lot of quite grisly deaths.
The events revolve around a feud between two families, the Shuttles and the Stokers, who were connected by marriage and went into the railway business together. Despite a couple of family trees at the start, I still got quite confused by all the family connections. This was the only problem I had with it. Otherwise, an enjoyable seasonal read. I would like to read more in this series.
belbookandacuppa's review
challenging
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
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