Book Review: The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

In the fantastical port city of Tal Abisi, Eveen is an undead assassin. Not the only one of her kind, she belongs to a guild made up of others like her, all raised by the goddess Aeril, Matron of Assassins, to whom she signed a contract to serve for 100 years in order to keep “living,” though with no memory of her prior life. We are introduced to her as she is meeting with Fennis, who is still alive and handles the paperwork for the Dead Cat Tail Assassins, the name of her guild. Over a decadent meal (the undead still need food in this world, though the pleasure of eating is dulled dramatically) he presents Eveen with her next contract. She has been requested by name and he has a location but other than that he can divulge no information. Eveen is slightly wary, but quickly signs on to the contract regardless and heads out in search of her target.

Tal Abisi is in the middle of its annual Festival of the Clockwork King, the Pirate Princess, and the Golden Bounty, which sees the streets filled with costumed revelers, often under the spell of at least a little magic. Eveen easily reaches the address and scales the tower and is about to strike when she is halted in her tracks. Her mark has triggered a memory in her, something that isn’t supposed to happen, and she can immediately tell that they are profoundly connected. She can’t bring herself to kill her and instead rescues her from the tower in which she was allegedly being held captive, taking the girl to Fennis in the hopes that he can help her sort things out. But this means that she is breaking the third unbreakable vow she made to Aeril, the one which carries the harshest punishments of all, which means that she will have her guild master Baseema after her, along with the other assassins, and ultimately the goddess Aeril herself. That is unless she can figure out what links her to the girl she found in the tower before the time on her contract runs out.

This is a slim book that can easily be read in a single sitting and it’s told so compellingly that it is near impossible not to do so. Author P. Djèlí Clark writes with a natural rhythm that keeps the pages flying by as he adds a surprising amount of detail to his world and characters in so few pages and keeps readers breathless about where the story could be headed next. I quickly fell in love with all of the main cast, keeping me deeply invested in their fates and on the edge of my seat as they race through the city hoping to avoid their fate. Action scenes are handled beautifully and easy to follow, though the temptation to skip ahead and ensure everyone is safe is almost unbearably hard to resist. Adding in quantum mechanical twists, musings on the nature of free will, and dollops of wry humor only make this slim volume shine that much more. This quick but lively and memorable read should make fans of the author out of all who pick it up. ★★★★★