Felidae

Cats are being gruesomely killed in the neighbourhood and the killer is another cat. The narrator, also a cat, has just moved into a rather frightening house around which some of the bodies have been found. He decides he must find out who is committing the atrocities.

I found the concept of the book interesting but I figured out who was the murderer before it was revealed. There were obvious ties to the Nazi philosophy of ethnic cleansing and that was interesting too but forced in my view.

Francis is a curious, logical cat (aren't they all?!). When he and his owner Gustav move into a new dilapidated building, Francis finds a dead brother cat in his new territory. This "cold-sack" has been murdered and contrary to popular cat belief, he doesn't think it was by a tin-opener. This turns out to have not been the first murder and on closer examination Francis finds out that the brother died in a state of sexual excitement (a common theme it turns out). This connection sets Francis off in detective mode and things become more complicated when a pregnant female cat is later murdered confusing things.

Underlying the murders seems to be tales of Claudandus and human scientist Professor Julius Preterius. Preterius was conducting show more scientific experiements on cats to find the composition of a new surgical glue that will be highly advantageous for both humans and animals if he succeeds. unfortunately his efforts fail apart from on a random stray he finds one day and adopts called Claudandus. The story goes that poor Claudandus then became the subject for more and more experiments and one day his prayers were answered. God struck down Preterius and Claudandus was able to ascend with God as a martyr. Or did he...

It was quite unsettling in places reading about the experiments on the cats and the frightening nature of Francis's dreams. I did enjoy it though and it worked well as a thriller adding many twists and turns along the way. I did manage to mostly crack the case as I have some genetics knowledge which helped, but there were definitely some surprises left at the end. I will keep an eye out for the sequel, Felidae on the Road. show less

Fascinating novel and my only criticism would be that there is sometimes too much blood and gore for my tastes. The detective is a cat, so only suitable for those who can cope with that. Strange and dark tale.

while i thought the plot was very interesting(the animal experimentation and the way humans treat animals in general), i just couldn't stand the writing style of this author and won't be reading any more of his books.

I have seen this book described as the best example of cat detective fiction - yes, the cat being the detective. It's entertaining enough. I have not sought out the sequel, though. Gory and disturbing at times, not a children's book! A well-done cartoon of this book exists in parts on YouTube.

www.thebookpond.se

Berühmter Katzenkrimi. Ich fand das Buch an sich nicht schlecht, aber Tierbücher sind halt einfach nichts für mich. Zwischendurch konnte ich über den Humor des Katzen-Ich-Erzählers Francis herzlich lachen, aber die meiste Zeit waren mir die vermenschlichten Züge von ihm reichlich unsympathisch. Netter Krimi, aber nichts für mich.