First published 2001
A young woman discovers a dismembered magpie in her apartment, killed by her mischievous cat. The gruesome find leads to an even more disturbing revelation about her fiancé's secret nature. Across town, a pregnant housewife endures a tense visit from her troubled brother-in-law. Her usually gentle house cat begins acting aggressively, mirroring the anger she keeps buried inside. Meanwhile, a newlywed struggles to adjust to married life, clinging to her pampered Himalayan as the last remnant of her comfortable past. When a stray cat appears, it forces her to confront what marriage truly means. Through these interconnected stories, feline behavior becomes a mirror for human relationships, exposing the complexities that simmer beneath polite surfaces between women and the men in their lives.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, interconnected-stories, psychological-drama
256 pages · Hardcover · The Dial Press
Content warnings: animal-death, domestic-violence