Review by gakkaur000 -- Cat Boss by Tayma Tameem

[gakkaur000]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Cat Boss" by Tayma Tameem.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Cat Boss: Paws for Action, written by Tayma Tameem, is a novel following Detective Devon Bates as he works with an eccentric woman and her feline friends. Despite his initial scepticism, Detective Bates soon learns to open his mind and work with the cats to solve crimes.

Although the idea behind the story has potential, the execution was poor and I had several issues with the book that detracted from my reading experience. The narration lacked flow and clarity, and there was a lack of character development that made the book tedious to read. The series of events and the timeline within which it takes place was also long and slow paced, and ended abruptly.

The character traits were not consistent or developed. For example, Detective Bates is introduced as a police officer who is dedicated and disciplined. He prioritises his work over family and friends, and most other aspects of personal life. He has a firm sense of righteousness and morals that motivate his drive and work ethic. This description of his character is impressed upon us lengthily in the prologue. Yet there are many scenes where his thought process is immature and petty, and does not reflect this initial portrayal of his character.

The premise of the book indicated that the story would be about crime, but instead the focus is on the Detective Bates journey of self discovery as he builds a relationship with Elaine and her cats. The crime aspect of the story appears to be an after thought, or simply exists for the sake of building the relationship between Detective Bates and the cats. The narrative is sometimes unclear as it jumps to and from different perspectives randomly without distinction. The writing style dampens the reading experience, as there is little left to the imagination - often too much insight is given into the thought process of the characters. The dilemmas proposed in the storyline are too simple, which was boring to read considering the amount of time dedicated to these dilemmas.

The book is well-edited and I did not note any grammatical or spelling errors. There was one instance however where Devon's name is mistaken for Mickey's.

I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. Any higher rating would be extremely misleading. The idea behind the storyline has potential had it been more developed and fast paced but unfortunately this was not the case. The book, however is not explicit and is appropriate for children.

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Cat Boss
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