Cat’s Claw: Never wear your good shoes to Hell

Cat’s Claw by Amber Benson

Never wear your good shoes to Hell

In Cat’s Claw, Amber Benson picks up right where she left off in the tumultuous life of Calliope Reaper-Jones: office drone, wannabe fashionista, and daughter of Death himself. As the novel begins, Calliope learns that her maybe-boyfriend Daniel may not be as dead as he seems, Cerberus wants a favor in return for the hellhound puppy Calliope stole, and her parents have enlisted an eccentric “aura specialist” to train her in magic. Of course, everything is even more complicated than it sounds, and soon Calliope is on a mission to right a wrong that dates back to ancient Egypt.

Benson paints a vivid picture of the strange locales to which Calliope travels. Purgatory gets its turn to shine here — I loved the Hall of Death — and so does the (very real) Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. We follow Calliope as she gets into potentially deadly supernatural trouble… and ruins her Missoni sweater beyond recognition.

Calliope can be a little annoying, mostly in her tendency to leap before she looks. There came a point when I wanted to shake her and say, “Don’t make any more bargains without reading the fine print, and don’t go off on any more wild goose chases when you’re on a tight deadline!” Then again, she has good reasons to do these things, and she wouldn’t be Calliope if she weren’t impetuous at times! Just be prepared for a few “oh no, not again” moments.

The plot is byzantine — twisty to the point of being confusing at times with all its double- and triple-crossing. I’m still not sure I understand everything that happened! But it’s fun, and has some heart-tugging moments as well. The characters are great (my favorites are Clio, Runt, Kali and, after this book, Cerberus). With its breezy tone and humor, Cat’s Claw — like its predecessor, Death’s Daughter — can be a delightful break from heavier, gloomier books.