This kitty loves playing with baubles…

Four years into being a mother, Kat needs a break. She’s barely killed anyone since she gave birth and the panther within her is frustrated. She needs blood, murder and mayhem.

When she’s offered the chance to infiltrate a strange cult’s annual festivities, there’s no stopping her. Along with her three devoted mates, Kat will have to look beyond the holiday cheer to find a serial killer. Not to arrest him. No, to make him her friend.

NOTE:
A Christmas sequel to the bestselling Catnip Assassin series, an urban fantasy reverse harem romance featuring a bloodthirsty cat shifter assassin and her hunky mates. A book to warm you in the depth of winter.

First let me say that in Kat’s world there are no religions per se.

In this book Kat and her guys are supposed to be relaxing, instead they are restless without their kittens around. Aunt Rose has taken them so Kat can have some real alone time with her guys.

Now Lily is the one now in charge of the business, Kat only consults. When Lily calls with a murder, she’s a bit vague about the cause of death other than to say the weapon is a tree.

The investigation of the crime scene is followed by information gathering at MEOW headquarters with Lily.

This is a favorite scene.

What interests me more is the quick summary about the victim.

Name: Geoffrey Baker
Age: 46
Relationship status: divorced
Profession: Cook

A cook. Not exactly a job that gets you killed. Unless you give a crime boss an overly salted meal, I suppose.  

“Who did he work for?” I shout.  

“Give me a second!” Lily sounds annoyed. Hey, I never asked her to make us tea. She could be sitting here with us. Instead, she’s treating us like guests or clients rather than family. We should have met at our house instead.  

“I’ll have the cats scout out his home,” Ryker says, his eyes fixed to the page. “Maybe they’ll pick up any strange scents.”

“Good idea. If we can’t get more information from his place of work, we can go to his home and take a look ourselves.”

Lily finally returns with a tray stacked with mugs and a chipped tea pot. Since when do I care whether crockery is chipped? I groan internally. I’m turning into a housewife. Worst. Nightmare. Ever.

“Let me do that,” Gryphon offers helpfully. Always the good samaritan. “You tell us what we need to know.”

Lily looks like she’s about to argue, then shrugs and takes a seat. “Alright. He’s a full-time employee at an organisation calling themselves the Womb of the Tree. Yes, you heard that correctly. The others are still collecting info on them, but it looks like they’re some sort of cult. On the outside, they portray themselves as a retreat and self-improvement centre, but everything I’ve seen so far screams cult to me.”

“What do they worship?” I ask. “Are they basically tree huggers?”

“It’s surprisingly hard to find out. I’ve got one of their brochures, but it only talks about going back to nature and how spending time in the forest can help you relax. How it can help in putting one’s life back together. It doesn’t go into more detail. I think we’ll have to do our own research.” She grins widely. “How do you feel about infiltrating a tree cult?”

I exchange a look with the guys. That sounds a lot better than lounging at home with nothing to do. I’m sure we’ll be done by the time the kids return.  

My mates all nod their approval. Lennox looks as if he’s ready to jump up right away. I know the feeling. This adventure can’t start soon enough.
Skye MacKinnon. Thud (Kindle Locations 168-188).

Now infiltrating this cult was interesting to say the least. The whole Father and Mother tree thing intriguing and a bit creepy. Taking tree decorating to a whole new level.

While not a traditional Christmas themed story, this was different, fun and sizzling.

5 Contented Purrs for Skye!

Skye MacKinnon

Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today & International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don’t have to choose.

She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she’s writing about Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh.

When she’s not typing away at her favourite cafe, Skye loves dried mango, as much exotic tea as she can squeeze into her cupboards, and being covered in pet hair by her two bunnies, Emma and Darwin.