Yoshi and Gatesby are cats, and detectives. When their humans are away at work they solve local problems, but when Gatesby gets approached by a gorgeous show cat about her missing brother he knows it is going to be a difficult case – after all, even his best efforts could be defeated by a “missing cat” sign on a street lamp. On the other hand, the dame is gorgeous and with rumours of a dogfighting ring and the local police dog trying to round up stray pit bulls, there’s no way he can turn this one down.

This is a fun little story. A fast read, taking me less than an hour to finish, it is not particularly demanding. The content makes it suitable for almost all ages and the sentences and vocabulary are basic. If there are shades of gritty it’s definitely more the film Bugsy Malone than Sam Spade, with no offensive language and some creative insults. It could even be read to younger children, although the dogfighting ring may take some explaining.

The characters are interesting and it has a strong supporting cast: there’s the rough-tough former police dog running the canine neighbourhood watch, the arrogant abrasive stray, the timid mouse (and working for two cats he has reason to be). Just for once, in a world of talking animals, everyone is not good friends and their behaviours are animal rather than human. A talking mouse is no happier around a talking cat than his real-life counterpart around our cat. The plot is a little simple and I called the twist early but it was so much fun I kept going anyway.

I spotted a few grammar errors, usually around speech (e.g. loc 62 “I’m sorry” She said) but the story was enjoyable enough to skip them and simply read on. I didn’t spot any spelling errors.

What I did do was thoroughly enjoy the book. It is not flawless, but it is enjoyable. The plot, characters, and dialog are all sharply written and enough to hold this reader to the end, when I put the book down with a smile.