John Scalzi (2023)
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
This was a Pandemic Book Club book. The ebook became available pretty quickly.
A capsule review: If you like John's Scalzi's Redshirts but though it fell apart toward the end, then this book is for you!
That might not be the greatest of reviews, but fans of Redshirts will buy and love this book. People who liked the idea of Redshirts but not necessarily the execution will enjoy this one more.
The one thing off about the book is the cover. As much as I like the picture of the cat in a suit, the tagline "Meet Your New Boss" is misleading. Also, the main cat we interact with is female, and cover cat is wearing a male's suit and tie. Granted, that could be how the most enterprising female cats dress. In any case, the cats aren't the boss, although they might rank higher in the company than others, including the dolphins (who aren't happy about that).
Charlie is a substitute teacher who's living in his deceased father's house while he gets his life together. His much older half-siblings want the house sold already as the estate attorney keeps reminding him. (There's a clause in the will that allows Charlie to remain there.)
The one thing Charlie wants to do is buy an old pub now that the current owner is thinking of retiring. He hasn't got the money for it, and his piece of the house isn't enough collateral. His family would have nothing to do with it (or for that matter, with him, being a much younger half-brother).
His life changes when Mathilda “Til” Morrison shows up, introducing herself as the assistant of Charlie's estranged Uncle Jake who recently passed. Charlie initially wants nothing to do with him since Jake couldn't be bothered with Charlie. He finds out that this wasn't entirely true and that there were reasons. Morrison wants Charlie to stand for Jake at his wake and Jake's company would make it worth his while. For one thing, they'd buy Charlie's house through a shell company and then gift it to him.
The wake fills with business associates including one guy who is ready to stab Uncle Jake's corpse just to make sure. Charlie, in the heat of the moment, prevents it by pushing the guy. The stabber, suitably impressed, allows Charlie to live. Apparently, no one is there to mourn and everyone is there to make sure that Jake is actually dead.
By the time it's over, Jake heads home where he finds his two cats, Hera, who he's had for a long time, and Perseppone, who he recently found and adopted, sitting on the curb across the street from his house. He stops to get them, then sees someone in his bedroom. That someone sees him looking back and disappears. And then the house blows up.
Charlie isn't doing so well.
And then he finds out that his Uncle Jake was a Villain, like in James Bond, and that there's an entire community of villains, like SPECTRE, which might've been influenced by the real group.
Charlie flies to a volcano island lair and starts to learn the business. In a couple of days, he's expected for a special convocation in Italy where the other members will size him up and decide what to do next.
Antics ensue.
It was a fun novel and a quick read. I didn't really have any problems with it. Scalzi played with the usual tropes.
...
Anyway, this should've been posted a while ago. I don't remember if there was anything else I wanted to add.
The book club hasn't met yet to discuss this book, but I've already started on future possible books.
If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs.
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