Cat Out of Hell - Lynn Truss

If you have ever kept a cat then it will come as no surprise that they are in fact a species of evil geniuses. Cat Out of Hell is an absolutely brilliant novel that tells the story of the rise and fall of cats as masters of the world. It is very difficult to write a review of this book without spoiling the story, it is framed as a mystery after all. If you don't want to risk spoilers then please don't read further, simply go grab a copy of this and find out for yourself. What will be clear from all write ups though is that you can expect to meet at least one talking cat, a charmer called Roger, who just happens to be immortal. What you also get is a whole cast of brilliantly dastardly, hopeless and very funny characters who come together to take us through this simply wonderful story. It doesn't matter if you love cats or if you hate them, either way you will be able to appreciate this tale of murderous, devil worshipping felines and their human (and canine) minions. The whole thing is laugh out loud funny; one of those books that maybe shouldn't be read in public for fear of the strange snorting noises you may make while reading. The humour is dry and I'd say uniquely British in flavour, based largely about the ridiculousness of the whole situation that the human characters find themselves in.
For example in a moment of high tension one human finds himself trapped in his car by the murderous Captain, a large black cat on a killing spree....

'My only option was to put the car in gear and gingerly move off. Surely the Captain would jump clear once we were in motion? But he didn't. In fact, he seemed to think nothing of balancing on the snowy, slippery bonnet of a slow-moving Volvo driven without much conviction by a recently retired periodicals librarian who hadn't had a meal for days.'

In my opinion this is absolutely calling out to be televised, and there are some wonderful cameos available for British stars like Daniel Craig, Christopher Lee and  Stephen Fry, it's just a shame that Vincent Price will never be able to take the starring role required. Once you've read the story you will understand where I am coming from with this one; maybe we should start a petition?

While I read this, something that seemed to take no time at all, I was surrounded by my two cats, who both seemed rather keen to distract me from the book as much as possible. I can't help wondering if maybe they weren't that keen on my learning the truth about the cat/human hierarchy...... If I should die any time soon, there will at least be this record to lead those in the know to my killers!