The City That Barks and Roars by J.T. Bird – Review | Blog Tour

A good mystery.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

Animals rule the world. They hit cafes for breakfast then nine to five at the office, and fritter away evenings at jazz clubs. But paradise is still a distant dream, for there are devils amongst the angels.

Lucas Panda is missing; clues on the riverbank suggest he was probably kidnapped.
Enter Frank. Who else you gonna call? Hard-boiled penguin and the finest detective in town.

And meet his new partner, Detective Chico Monkey – yeah, the wisecrackin’ kid with all the snappy suits.

But the stakes have been raised; three more creatures are missing and the citizens of Noah’s Kingdom are faced with possible extinction. Can the grouchy bird and plucky young ape save the city from doom? Or, will evil prevail and escape the claws of justice?

The City That Barks and Roars by J.T. Bird – Review | Blog Tour

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

What if animals ruled the world?

Frank Penguin and Chico Monkey are detectives in Kingdom Police Force. Frank’s partner, Lucas Panda, has been kidnapped. So have three beaver brothers. Are these disappearances connected?

The intriguing premise led me to pick up The City that Barks and Roars by J.T. Bird. While the book delivers on many fronts, it fails on a few.

The biggest thing that struck me while reading the book was how rich Bird’s imagination is. He has created a vibrant world full of intricately detailed, colorful characters. You will not miss the humans here, for sure.

The alternate world in this book is Noah’s Kingdom, “home to nearly two million walking talking animals”. However, you cannot just replace them with walking talking humans. Every animal character has its quirks, appearances, and clothing. I warmed up to them in no time.

The language is lucid, and the pace is neither too slow nor too fast. Bird led me through the investigation step by step. Beware, deceptions abound. You never know who the wolf in sheep’s clothing is. However, there is also plenty of humor in this animal noir to keep the darkness at bay.

The plot thickens as we move towards the climax. It is a thrilling ride which the middle grade or even the young adult audience will savor.

And this is where I had a problem with the book. In my humble opinion, this book is more suited for middle grade or young adult audience. As a result, I did not find it as engaging as I wanted to. I wanted a more gripping read.

Overall, The City that Barks and Roars by J.T. Bird was a good mystery. Moreover, it has the potential to be translated into a blockbuster movie.

The City That Barks and Roars by J.T. Bird

BOOK DETAILS

Genre: Mystery || Pages: 202 || Published on on 1^st August 2020

Buy on Amazon.in || Amazon UK || Amazon US || Barnes and Noble || Waterstones

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Many thanks to Emma @ damppebbles blog tours for organizing this blog tour. Many thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book. This does not affect my opinion on the book. I opted to provide an honest review on my blog.

AUTHOR BIO

J T Bird

J T Bird is an award-winning stand-up comedian from North London, where he lives with his wife and child. His humble abode sits neatly between the former homes of HG Wells and Robert Louis Stevenson…so there’s no pressure to write something utterly successful and wonderful. He runs a comedy show for fresh new acts but has taken a break from performing to focus on writing novels – because it’s much more relaxing, and there’s far less chance of being heckled or struck by a bar stool.

Author Link(s): Website || Twitter

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