J.T. Bird – The City That Barks And Roars

‘The City That Barks And Roars’ by J.T. Bird is a mystery/crime story with a fresh twist. The characters are all animals and it is set in a community aptly named Noah’s Kingdom! In this book, humans are gone and animals have evolved to be as human-like as possible and built themselves communities.

We begin in the 1950’s meeting Chico Monkey a stranger to Noah’s Kingdom who has been requested from West Bay to help in the case of a missing officer Lucas Panda. Chico Monkey has been paired with Lucas Panda’s former partner Francis ‘Frank’ Penguin. Chico isn’t certain that this partnership is for him. As the story unfolds and they are faced with the many twists and turns of their investigation we see them begin to become ‘real’ partners, working on solving the case together. This mystery becomes more unexpected and complicates than they could have foreseen but the main characters prove they can take these things in their stride to get to the bottom of this case.

A unique take on a truly ingenious mystery novel. The characters, all animals provide so many laughs! They all have their strengths and weaknesses that go with their particular personality, just as we do. I enjoyed the humour which I would say made the book. I would say older teens and adults would probably enjoy this, I think the humour would probably go straight over a younger child’s head that’s why I would say older children.

It has a brilliant colourful cover, this attracted me in the first place and the synopsis was enough to draw me in. I was immersed in Noah’s Kingdom and the case of Lucas Panda. These animals and this story kept me hooked until I finished the book. This was a combination of the world-building, character development and the story itself, with the intrigue and mystery.

Thank you to Damp Pebbles Blog tours and J.T. Bird for the copy of this funny and unusual book for my review today.