9 Lives by George M. Moser

Is it true cats have 9 lives?

A cat has nine lives – three to play – three to stray – and three to stay.

Author Unknown

Jenny could remember when her and Michael first met at the library. She was studying and he was with his friends, drunk. She told him the name of her dormitory house, the Mayflower, thinking he’d never remember. But he did. When she turned up pregnant, he was happy.

Jenny had called Michael at work telling him about the cat JR had found under the deck. It didn’t seem to be able to find its way out and needed rescuing.

He had a 66 blue Ford Mustang Shelby GT his dad had given him and he called it his cat’s meow. How ironic that would prove to be. While Michael and Max, his lab, were trying to scare the cat out its hiding place, it made a run for it. A chase ensued. Unfortunately, his attempt to catch the cat was a complete failure and he accidentally killed it. He hurriedly disposed of it before Jenny could see what happened.

Near the Valley of Kings in the Sahara Desert was an excavation site. Among the artifacts were small mummies of cats or maybe small dogs. Marty McAndrews was heading up the dig. He had accidentally stumbled upon the site and began digging illegally thinking to get the permit if they found anything.

Marty had found 250 cat mummies They were usually buried because they were loved or someone wanted to protect them. The door they had come across had a warning telling them not to go in, but Marty would anyway. He felt there was a great treasure inside, just waiting for him to come and take it.

They had not gotten the necessary paperwork done and Mohamed was trying to get Marty to slow down, use caution. Money would not buy them out of trouble this time, even though Marty’s arrogance had always allowed him to have his way before.

Michael called Shaun, Jenny’s brother, to come over and when he did, he gave him the cat in a plastic bag and told him to get rid of it. He was drunk, but took it to the forest preserve thinking it was a perfect place to dump it. He thought he heard it move, but nothing happened so he threw it in the bushes and left, not realizing a cop had seen him.

After Shaun had left, the cop went to see what he had done. The saying “curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought it back,”, proved so true. Unfortunately for Steven Case. He opened the bag, sure the cat was dead, but it hissed and spat at him before he could pull his gun and shoot it.

Michael was waiting for Jenny to finish dressing for the block party. A cat jumped on the ledge outside the window. It looked like the one he killed,, but he knew it couldn’t be.

Everywhere he turned he saw the cat with its head bashed in and its funky eye, except now he brought a friend. He must be imagining it.

Ever since Michael got his promotion and accidentally killed the cat, his life began going downhill. He had been scratched by the cat and the scratches had become infected. He was getting rabies shots, just in case, but had told no one about it. Not even his wife.

The fortune-teller at the party told him about the cat in the garbage and Krista, the town hussy. She mentioned other things, but Michael was not really paying attention. Who believed in fortune-tellers anyway?

His first day of work in his new position turned into a nightmare. When he left work he decided to stop for a bit to eat before heading home. He sat down by his favorite statue, Picasso, in the center of Daley Plaza. Cats began appearing from everywhere. As he ran, he kept turning back and saw all the cats still chasing him, but where were all the people? It was like in a dream, where you’re running as fast as you can, but it feels like slow motion.

The fortune-teller, Zara, had written down Reland, His car was parked on Ireland, was she behind this?  There was a man in the parking structure in a long black coat. His hat covered his face, just like the fortune-teller had mentioned. When lightning flashed, he saw the man was deathly pale with catlike eyes and fang-like teeth. Cats were swirling all around him. The man and cats vanished into thin air, but written on the windshield was Valafar. What or who was that?

He was caught in a nightmare and it just kept getting worse. Everywhere he went, the cats were there attacking him and getting meaner and meaner.

“Look, why would I take a cat from the zoo and release him into the Wagon, only to kill the damn thing in a blender? Sounds like a book to me.” Made me laugh, even through the gruesomeness.

“Snakes! I hate snakes” copied from Indian Jones.

Sneak up on prey – efficient, silent.

I think cats are already creepy, so go ahead and add a supernatural one. LOL

Techniques – stalk, run, pounce, ambush .

What’s not creepy about that?

    4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others

Won on Goodreads First Read Giveaway. The author was gracious enough to sign it for me. Thank you. I have been wanting to read this book ever since it arrived in the mail, but I just got to it.

The cover is eye-catching. If I had been in the library, I would have pulled it off the shelf without even looking further. If I saw it in the book store, I definitely would have investigated further. And after reading the book blurb, I would have bought it. The blurb  put a smile on my face, but I’m not sure if it was appropriate considering the gruesomeness and horror of the book, even though I’m smiling as I write this.

What happens when you forget your dreams? So many people grow up and trade their dreams for the things it takes just to survive and provide for your family.

It seemed Michael did like most of us, put aside his dreams and entered the “real world”. But who’s to say what is right or wrong when you are talking about the rest of your life. Sometimes there will be a moment in our lives that will lead us to the path we wanted to take in the beginning.

He talked about pulling a Bruce Willis in Die Hard, strapping the gun to his back. Only real life isn’t like in the movies.

I really like that I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen next. The tension created by the anticipation of the cat’s attack kept building throughout the book. More than once I found myself saying to myself don’t turn around, don’t go there, don’t open the bag. I could feel the chills running up and down my spine and the hairs rising on the back of my neck as the cats stalked him, creeping around, unafraid and so bold.

Right up there with Stephen King and Dean Koontz, who are two of my favorite horror writers.

This is a caracal cat – one of the Kings of terror in 9 Lives.

About The Author

George M. Moser graduated from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa with a degree in Business Finance. He enjoyed a successful career in real estate in the Chicago area and became an active and upstanding member of the community, making charitable donations to local hospitals, churches and community projects. He lives with his wife and children just outside Chicago and spends his free time writing. Nine Lives is his first novel and he is currently working on a further two titles.

Website:    http://www.gmmoser.com

Author Profile Page:   http://www.gmmoser.com/the-author.html
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