Hettie, Tilly, Bruiser and the Butter sisters set out across the snowy fens to spend Christmas at The Fishgutter’s Arms.

Snowed in with no hope of rescue, they find themselves sharing Christmas with some unwanted guests.

#SixTailsatMidnight Twitter/X @lcloudmandy @farragobooks  #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #booktwitter
Instagram @mandyjmorton @randomthingstours #bookstagram #blogtour 

Will the ghosts of Christmas Past wreak vengeance on the present? Can our feline detectives dig themselves out of a spooky festive fiasco? And will the sausage rolls and sherry last until midnight?

Jump on board for a cat-a-strophic sleigh ride into a snow drift full of Christmas spirits.

My Review

Six Tails At Midnight is the first of The No 2 Feline Detective Agency that I’ve read – it’s actually book fifteen. It’s a cross between a cosy mystery with cats, and a ghost story with some pretty nasty bits thrown in – and they are quite gruesome at times. It takes place mainly in an old ruined and deserted pub called The Fishgutter’s Arms, located in the middle of nowhere, during a snowstorm. All that’s missing is someone having a baby (or kitten in this case), as in so many TV dramas, snowed in with the wind howling outside. You know the kind of thing.

The six cats – Hettie, Tilly, Bruiser, the Butter sisters and postmistress Lavender Smith – have booked Christmas at a smart pub-cum-hotel called The Fishgutter’s Arms, but either they’ve made a terrible mistake, got massively lost, or been conned out of their money. However, as the Morris, and Bruiser’s motorbike and sidecar, Miss Scarlet, are virtually buried in the snow, they must make the best of it.

For some bizarre reason, instead of sleeping in the bar area where they have lit a roaring fire, they decide to separate and sleep in the inn’s tiny bedrooms. And this is where it all goes a bit Christmas Carol, as each of the cats is visited by a ghost with a grisly tale, or should it be tail, to tell. We are only missing the clanking chains.

The whole book is a bit weird initially with only cats as characters, and they all act and speak like humans. There is a lot of food and drink involved, from sausage rolls, mince pies and sandwiches with the crusts cut off, to sherry and whatever else they can find in the bar. Lavender in particular is partial to a snifter every now and again … and again.

Once I got into it I found it very funny and entertaining – the inventive names of places like Much-Purring-on-the-Rug and Much-Purring-on-the-Blanket in particular, and characters called Irene Peggledrip and Ruben Catcraft, the executioner. And I love all the feline-based silliness and humour.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Mandy Morton began her professional life as a musician. More recently, she has worked as an arts journalist for national and local radio. She lives with her partner in Cambridge and Cornwall where there is always a place for a long-haired tabby cat. Follow Hettie on Facebook: Facebook.com/HettieBagshotMysteries