CBR18 BINGO: Refuge, because Agnes runs a private cat shelter, which is the best kind of refuge
Whoever designed the cover of Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter deserves a medal. I’m not entirely sure what the crossover is between fantasy lovers and cat lovers, but it must be substantial, and I don’t see how anyone who falls in that space could look at that cover and not pick it up. All those cats, doing cat things, sitting in nooks, stretching, sleeping–it’s irresistible!
I’m happy to say the novel is every bit as charming as the cover. In this alternate version of Montreal (the time period is a little vague, but I get a late Victorian or Edwardian vibe), magicians are not well loved. In fact, most people hate them due to the destruction they cause. Agnes Aubert, Type A personality and cat rescuer extraordinaire, has recently lost the space she rented for her shelter when the building was damaged by two magicians dueling in the street. Unfortunately, her landlady had been one of the last people willing to rent rooms to someone filling that space with cats. Desperate and out of time, she finds a vacant location in a chic neighborhood (one she should not have been able to afford), which a man named Yannick is willing to rent to her for an absurdly low price. He tells her just don’t go through that trap door into the basement because of the rats and mould and other nasty things there, nothing to worry about, mind you.
Now, Agnes is not so silly as to think this isn’t a suspicious setup. In fact, the owner of the shop next door had explicitly warned her away from the vacant space. But when you are out of options and you have cats depending on you, you’ll do almost anything!
I mean, look at that face! I’d brave demons, frat houses, and gun nuts for that face.
As Agnes thinks to herself, “Even if the woman had informed me that bloodcurdling screams could be heard emanating from the shop in the dead of night, I still would have made my enquiries. This likely sounds absurd, akin to the follies of silly fairy-tale heroines who cannot stop themselves unlocking doors they have been expressly told not to open, but the fact those stories often leave out is that paying heed to vague warnings is the prerogative of those comfortably situated in life.”
Catnip ain’t free, am I right?
Not long after Agnes and her cats move in, odd people start wandering into the shop and making a beeline for the trapdoor, for which Yannick makes lame excuses (he’s a terrible liar). Agnes and her sister Élise suspect that Yannick is selling magical artifacts illegally out of the basement, but they adopt a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy towards strangers who visit the shop with non-cat inquiries. After all, where else can they go, and so far nobody is getting hurt. When a police officer named Laurent visits and starts asking questions, Agnes and her cats become complicit.
Move along, nothing to see here, what what!
The situation escalates when a mysterious woman shows up asking after a magician named Havelock Renard, the Witch King. Whoa! This guy is the most infamous magician of all, having nearly initiated the Apocalypse not too long ago. Agnes is stunned by the suggestion! “I gave a burble of laughter. I couldn’t help it–it was so absurd. The Witch King, in my cat shelter. Where was he lurking, in the litter cupboard? Hiding in the basement?” Oh, right the basement. From here, Agnes gets embroiled in conflicts between wizards and matches wits with one of the most dangerous magicians of the age, assisted by cats and next-level filing skillz.
What I loved most about this cozy fantasy is that the cats aren’t merely a plot device or background noise. The felines have distinct personalities and are often integral to the action. Additionally, the book touches on the challenges faced by people involved in animal rescue. Characters are befuddled by Agnes’s earnestness when it comes to rescuing felines. “Cats?” they say, in shock. “Whatever for?” Agnes even explains the importance of TNR (in so many words): “To put a dent in the population, we’d need to start neutering the feral, but we don’t get nearly enough donations to afford that.”
This is a wonderful story filled with scores of cats, plenty of magic, a little romance, and a heroine who is an ace at project management. So far a sequel hasn’t been announced, but you can add my voice to the clowder calling for one.
While we wait, let’s have a nap.
