Review of "Look What The Cat Dragged In: A Horror Story" by Jason Rekulak

 

 

Philadelphia resident Penny Padgett is 27-years-old and a graduate of the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, where she studied illustration. Penny also volunteers at an animal shelter/coffee shop called Caffeè dei Gatti, and has a mischievous cat named Popcorn.



Penny's funny cartoons about herself and Popcorn, spread on social media, drew the attention of a publisher. Now the 'Penny and Popcorn' books are very popular.





Penny creates the Penny and Popcorn books in her art studio in the home of her boyfriend, Dean Everhardt, where Penny and Popcorn have lived since rich handsome Dean swept Penny off her feet.



One morning, during a huge snowstorm, Popcorn gets out a window and disappears. Penny sends an SOS to Caffeè dei Gatti, and three co-worker friends hurry over to help. The trio includes:

Margo - an efficient young woman who arrives with flashlights, handwarmers, extra scarves and hats, staple guns, a thermos of hot coffee, and instructions about calling the neighbors and offering a reward;

Margo's grandmother Angie - a grey-haired spiritual lady who hugs Penny and promises, "Everything's going to be okay. I said a prayer to Saint Gertrude of Neville, the patron saint of missing cats";

and Greg - an animal lover who insists, "Popcorn won't last in this blizzard, We need to get out there."



Penny and her friends search day and night, but Popcorn isn't found, and Penny falls into a deep depression. To draw Penny out of herself, her boyfriend Dean takes Penny to a cocktail party at the home of his wealthiest client Evelyn Bruehl. Evelyn's cat Godfrey takes a liking to Penny and stays near her all evening. Later, when Evelyn mentions needing a cat-sitter while she takes a long trip, Dean immediately says, "We'll do it!"



Penny is hesitant but Dean insists he'll clean the litter box and the deal is sealed. A couple of weeks later Godfrey's veterinarian brings Godfrey to Penny and Dean's place, and the vet's assistant carries Godfrey's food - a cooler containing plastic packets of bloody raw meat.



Godfrey's visit starts out okay, though (of course) Dean doesn't help a single bit. Soon enough, though, Godfrey starts bringing chewed up dead animals into the house through his cat flap, and Godfrey's litter box stinks and becomes infested with beetles and centipedes. At the same time, Penny has nightmares; her face breaks out in pimples; she feels sick; strange music comes from the basement; and more. And during all this, Penny yearns for her beloved Popcorn.



To make things worse, Penny feels compelled to draw troubling cartoons, and her publisher balks, saying he can't use them.





Despite everything, Dean insists everything is hunky dory, and Penny's friends don't seem to take her concerns seriously....until they do.

The latter part of the book is deliciously ghoulish and creepy, with blood-curdling scenes that will stick in your mind. The novel has over 80 pages of illustrations along with a memorable story, so it's a twofer. Recommended to horror fans.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Stephanie Németh-Parker, who does an excellent job with the human voices and cat meows.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jason Rekulak, and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of the book.

Rating: 4 stars