The Better Mousetrap: J.W. Wells & Co. Book 5

J. W. Wells & Co. #5

by Tom Holt

'Tom Holt's comic fantasy is a great, uplifting read, fit to grace any reader's book collection' - Waterstones Books Quarterly'Holt's quirky characters and whimsical voice successfully infuse life into this entertaining romantic comedy' - Publishers WeeklyIt touches all our lives; our triumphs and tragedies, our proudest achievements, our most traumatic disasters. Alloyed of love and fear, death and fire and the inscrutable acts of the gods, insurance is indeed the force that binds the universe together.Hardly surprising, therefore, that Frank Carpenter, one of the foremost magical practitioners of our age, felt himself irresistibly drawn to it. Until, that is, he met Jane, a high-flying corporate heroine with an annoying habit of falling out of trees and getting killed. Repeatedly.It's not long before Frank and Jane find themselves face to face with the greatest enigma of our When is a door not a door? When it's a mousetrap.A madcap comic fantasy from one of Britain's funniest writers.Books by Tom Walled Orchard Series Goatsong The Walled Orchard J.W. Wells & Co. Series The Portable Door In Your Dreams Earth, Air, Fire and Custard You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps The Better Mousetrap May Contain Traces of Magic Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages YouSpace Series Doughnut When It's A Jar The Outsorcerer's Apprentice The Good, the Bad and the Smug Novels Expecting Someone Taller Who's Afraid of Beowulf Flying Dutch Ye Gods! Overtime Here Comes the Sun Grailblazers Faust Among Equals Odds and Gods Djinn Rummy My Hero Paint your Dragon Open Sesame Wish you Were Here Alexander at World's End Only Human Snow White and the Seven Samurai Olympiad Valhalla Nothing But Blue Skies Falling SidewaysLittle PeopleSong for NeroMeadowlandBarkingBlonde BombshellThe Management Style of the Supreme BeingsAn Orc on the Wild Side

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Comedy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Magic

367 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Tom Holt (Thomas Charles Louis Holt) is a British novelist.
He was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel Holt, and was educated at Westminster School, Wadham College, Oxford, and The College of Law, London.
Holt's works include mythopoeic novels which parody or take as their theme various aspects of mythology, history or literature and develop them in new and often humorous ways. He has also produced a number of "straight" historical novels writing as Thomas Holt and fantasy novels writing as K.J. Parker.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit like J.W. Wells & Co: The Next Generation as the protagonist in this one is the son of the protagonist of the original trilogy. Of course, to call it J.W. Wells & Co. anything is a little inaccurate, as the titular firm no longer exists at all at this point in the series (although some of its ex-staff do make appearances).

Despite the change in status quo, tonally this is more of the same. If you liked the earlier books in the series, you’ll like this. If you didn’t, it’s unlikely to win you over. Personally, I’m having a really good time with this series.

My next book: The Countess Cathleen

[Melissa McShane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm slowly working my way through this series, and thoroughly enjoyed this one, in which Frank Carpenter, son of Sophie and Paul, uses the Portable Door to try to save the life of veteran monster-killer Emily. Only someone really wants her dead, so he has to keep trying. And trying. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the ending: It's stupid for Paul and Sophie to claim the Portable Door is only safe with them, because Frank was doing an excellent job using it, and since they used it plenty of times for selfish reasons, they hardly have a fair argument. Though it was funny that "eternal youth," for them, meant eternal awkward adolescence. Fun, funny, and worth reading.

[Solar · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend lent me this book because she wanted somebody else to read it, and the day I was done I went to the library and checked out Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages. I wanted to get The Portable Door, but the one copy was checked out. What I noticed immediately when I started was the similar writing style to Douglas Adams, another of my favorites. I also appreciated how modern the story is.

[Hank Quense · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a typical Tom Holt plot; one that is extremely difficult to summarize. It takes place in modern England where everyone accepts the existence of magic and supernatural creatures.
One of the main characters, Emily Spitzer, works for a pest control company, only the pests she controls are dragons who invade bank vaults and incinerate anyone who comes near their new treasure horde. While doing this dangerous job, she is hampered by thousands of pages of EU regulations dictating the humane treatment of the monsters. The other main character, Frank Carpenter, owns a Portable Door that allows him to travel anywhere and anytime. He works for an insurance company CEO. Whenever the company faces a large payout due to some event, the CEO summons Frank to undo the event for ten percent of the estimated insurance payout.
Emily is killed rescuing a treed cat and since the pest control company has insured her life for 11 million pounds, Frank gets called to undue her death. He does so only to see her promptly get killed again. On his third try, he manages to keep her alive. By now Frank and Emily know someone is trying to kill her. That's when things get really complicated. the complications involve a gorgeous woman who is really a goblin, her son, bauxite mines, a dog who is a part-time human and other bizarre happenings.
This is a great read although it is sometimes hard to stay with Holt's plot convolutions.
I rate if 4 out of five starts.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably shouldn't have skipped so much around in this series (from book 1 to book 5), but there are gaps in the library's connection. So I missed some gaps in the plot because of that. Still highly enjoyable. I found it to be less laugh-out-loud funny than the Portable Door, as well.

But I liked the looks at time traveling and pest management. I like how there is all this paperwork and office politics thrown into the dragon slaying. I like the worlds these books are set into. I like how easily magic and normal life are thrown in. I like how Frank just pops around between different times, where his favorite breakfast place might be in a different century. Although I missed a little in the middle books--I would like to learn more about exactly how many people know about the different magical creatures--after all, how do the banks know to call the companies when dragons invade? That was a question I had in The Portable Door, but since that was mostly about intraoffice politics, that thought didn't arise as much when reading that book.

And defeating the dragon by playing poker! That was great!

[Mary Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Spitzer has devoted herself to a career in pest control--dragons, hydras, giant spiders, etc. Frank Carpenter works for a pal in the insurance business, preventing expensive claims by going back in time and undoing the sequence of events that led to them. Their paths intersect when Emily keeps getting killed and Frank keeps undoing her death so her company can't file a claim for the multi-million pounds of insurance they've taken out on her. Time is fluid in this novel and so is the narrative, presenting enough twists and turns in the past and present to make things quite confusing at times. But Frank and Emily are unique, appealing characters, making it easy to suspend disbelief and live with a little chaos as they find their way back and forth through time.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so difficult to summarise Holt books, he has a lot of stuff happening and going around and it's hard to keep track.
I really enjoyed the book, it made me laugh so much from page 3 to the end. It also got confusing at some point, with all the Door issue and time traveling and the insurance people. But, it all came down to a nice conclusion, a very satisfactory ending.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant enough, with fairly engaging characters and a twisty plot which was quite fun. Apparently it's a sequel, but it was easy enough to pick up what had happened in the previous book.

[MisterFweem · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://misterfweem.blogspot.com/2020/...

There's my review. I liked this one a lot better than the last Holt book I read.

[Henna · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason books that suite the comic fantasy sub-genre tend to be quite mind boggling reads, they can confuse the reader a fair bit and so you end up having to stop and thing, hang on there, that's odd - then flick back a few pages or chapters and re-read sections of the story. I used to find this annoying but now, having read a great many of these funny fantastical stories, I think its pretty clever, and unique really, making the reader go back and re-read a previous bit in a book, if only to get in its entirety what is going on.
I didn't have to do that with this book, surprisingly, simply because at each point where I would be confused, the character very conveniently thinks through the confusion, and you are presented with what had happened either between previous pages or actually on pages already read. Very neat.
Also, the writer Tom Holt, takes things a step further, combining modern fantasy with comic fantasy to get something that is full of satire, dark humour and a lot of interesting ideas as to how stuff, like the portable door works (most of which makes no sense whatsoever to me).
Frank Carpenter and Emily Spitzer alternate between the role of hero and damsel (dis-regard the cliché gender associations (please), they just happen to really like each other (insert L-word) and of course their work puts them into direct contact with each other, so that is how they meet Further on into the story you'll find these characters both hilarious in their own way and characters with a great tonal range within them, from black to white with a large amount of grey.
Whilst Emily is off being a infestation exterminator, Frank is an contractor, getting jobs from an insurance company where he must ensure the insurance company does not have to pay out such large sums of money. Turns out they both have a knack for getting into tricky situations.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a couple other books by Holt before, but none in this series. There may have been a few parts of the book that went over my head because of the first book (The Portable Door) but Holt’s books usually are a little confusing in terms of plot and motivation and there was just enough there to clue me in on what happened that it wasn’t too bad.
The story is of Frank Carpenter, who inherited the Portable Door from his parents (who I believe were the main characters in the first book). The Door takes him to wherever and whenever he wants, and he is employed by an insurance company to prevent deaths that would otherwise mean the company must pay out a lot of money. He is tasked with preventing the death of a dragonslayer named Emily, only to have her die again and again. Together they must find who wants her dead and why.
Fun fact, my library’s copy calls Emily Jane on the back cover.
If you’re familiar with Holt, you know that this isn’t a straightforward read. Each book I’ve read seems to be about testing a rule or two of the magic/sci-fi system, and these are usually complex ideas that play out messily. Some of the business goals and deals were also confusing, as people seem to specifically prefer keeping secrets. While things do clear themselves up near the end, it can be hard to remember it all while reading. But if you’re willing to deal with the confusion, it’s definitely a fun read!

[Scott Pinzon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow Tom Holt has escaped my notice, but I am thrilled to have encountered him in this book. Holt scratches my "Douglas Adams" itch like no author has since Adams himself passed away.

The premise of "The Better Mousetrap" is that Frank, a fairly unimaginative bloke, has inherited an Acme Portable Door. You put it on any sizable flat surface, and you can go anywhere in space and time by stepping through the door. Since Frank is British and lacks ambition, all he uses it for is to help highly insured people Not Die. In exchange, an insurance company pays him 10% of what they WOULD have paid had the catastrophe occurred.

This imaginative and humorous concept gains interest when Frank saves Emily from dying, only to see her die again. And again. Some master of space and time is intentionally murdering Emily in every alternate universe and timeline. Very much in the spirit of Arthur Dent, Frank keeps trying to save Emily, despite having no idea what he's up against.

In addition to an intentionally baroque plot, Holt provides loads of prose zingers. He's got it all: the concept, the plot, the wordplay, and the overall execution are all hilarious.

Delightful light reading when your mind insists upon a book unencumbered by any educational value or life lessons. Pure fun! I can't wait to try more Holt books.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Tom Holt's work, you'll like this book, if you haven't read Tom Holt it's a good entry into his work.

I preferred this to the YouSpace series. For me, Holt doesn't do endings well. This one isn't great but it's a lot better than the ones in the YouSpace series, which always leave me disoriented. Other than the ending I did enjoy the book.

I read Tom Holt for the same reason I read Jasper Fforde: because I love Terry Pratchett and they both have elements of his worlds. They all must have Douglas Adams as inspiration, they tell stories where the ridiculous is normal, real human foibles are explored using metaphor and satire and the violence isn't real-world violence. Holt is more about crazy plots, Fforde favours dystopia, neither has Pratchett's fascinating characters and astounding use of English, but there's satire and pathos and solid story telling and I'll take it.

[Robin]

Did you know "The Portable Door" isn't avaiable on Kindle in the US?

Did you know that "The Better Mousetrap" is part of a series that includes and started with "The Portable Door"? Because I didn't know that. I can already tell that this book isn't going to make a ton of sense, in the way that Tom Holt books have. I'm already behind. I'll keep y'all posted. This should be interesting.

If anyone has any kind of connection at Amazon, I'd be willing to bribe some people until "The Portable Door" is available here. Failing that, I have a kindle international edition, and I'm not above bribing someone with a British address to get a UK kindle copy.

Honestly.


UPDATED!! Tom Holt's books become available on Kindle in the US on September 4. I'll be shelving this one until I catch up the rest of the series.

I'm glad we could have this talk.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up from the local used bookstore, as I'm a fan of Holt's writing. In this novel, Holt plays with the concept of corporate magic, where dragonslayers are hired by pest control companies (and are buried in paperwork), and a chap with a Portable Door can earn considerable cash from an insurance company by making accidents Not Happen.

Like most of Holt's work, the plot is difficult to summarize, but entertaining; the characters are quirky and quite British, as is the sense of humour. I first got into Holt when I saw him compared to Douglas Adams; the comparison is reasonably fair, I think and consider everything I've read of his so far having been worth my time & something I'd consider re-reading.

[Kevin]

The usual Tom Holt fun and games as he riffs off the fantasy world again. Some of the jokes are becoming more contemporary so they date more easily which is a bit of a shame, but not enough to detract from the enjoyment of the book. My paperback copy had a shocking number of typos/printing errors for a book from a big publishing house though, and that did jar. I find it worrying enough in self-published books but it was positively bizarre in this case.

Still, the world of bureaucratic fantasy lives for another day. Holt has really made this angle work well for him, the books in this series stand alone confidently but they become much richer as the background builds. An enjoyable read, ideal for lazy summer days.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tad convoluted at times and it seemed to drag in the middle, but admittedly I haven't read any of the other books that take place in this universe. Still, even as a standalone book it was pretty good, with lots of characters that had their own distinct personalities and a clever (maybe occasionally too aware-it's-clever) narrative. I'll have to check out Holt's other books at some point.

[Daniel Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was fantastic. Inventive plot, clever writing. Similar to the tone of the Discworld books. It is obvious that Holt has written other books in this world, but he gives enough background that, similar again to Discworld, you can enjoy the book and the setting without having read any of the earlier books.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best book in the J.W. Wells & Co. series but a funny, entertaining read nonetheless. I did miss some of the old characters from the series but the plot is as silly as ever and Holt's writing flows effortlessly.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Carpenter has inherited the Portable Door from his parents. He never really knew what he wanted to do with his life, but with the Door in his hands he has decided to go into insurance. He really feels he can do some good there. That is until he meets Emily, a high flying monster killer that has suddenly developed a habit of getting herself killed. Repeatedly. No matter what Frank does to save her. Turning to his friend Derek Tanner for help, Frank realises that he and Emily are not just up agaisnt regular old fate here, but instead facing a Better Mousetrap.

This is book 5 in the J. W. Wells series, and I think my favourite so far. I've found some of the earlier books a bit hard to get into, but this one I was into straight away and found myself keeping up with the plot much better.

I found Frank a much more likeable protagonist than his dad, and Emily more so than Sophie which definitely made for a better read. I was glad to see Derek and his mum back though, even if it's a brief appearance until late in the book.

I thought this one was entertaining to read and I really liked how Frank uses his Portable Door. A quick look at the next few books in the series tells me that Frank and Emily don't make a re-appearance, and I'm OK with that because I think this book wrapped up their story nicely.
I do like the way Holt thinks. His satirical take on life, and some of the plot devices he creates (such as the Portable Door and Better Mousetrap) are ingenious.

[Leslie Hasty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too much fun!

I am consistently amazed at the complexity of the plots, the hilarious analogies, and the understanding of human nature that Tom Holt manages to stuff into every book he writes.
Also, it annoys my family when I fall off my chair laughing.
Read it!

[Kelly Is Brighid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. If Christopher Moore is community college, Holt is is upper level baccalaureate.
Enjoy parentheticals such as “(heresy warning: secure all fragile preconceptions and evacuate sensitive areas).”

[Elaine Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a continuation of the J W Wells books and tells the story of the son of the protagonists from The portable door.

It's very much along the lines of the previous books, with a similar feel. If you enjoyed the other books, like I did, then you will enjoy this one!

[Ilka Demmler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An innovative and very creative novel that combines traditional fantasy elements such as dragons and magicians with a modern setting, creating a wonderfully imaginative world.
Very lovable characters and the fantastic confusion created by time travel and its influence on the present.

[Michal · Rating 3 out of 5]

humor Tom Holt style.
I was just getting into it and it ended. ???

[Lisa van Zyl-Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my kind of book. Didn't enjoy it at all.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love the portable door series.

[Sze Huei (Zoe) · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun read. fast pace.

[mark pugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Enjoyed the story and new characters good twists in the plot kept you wanting to read on just had ti keep turning pages and lost track of time

[Ink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Tom Holt books and started re-reading them 2 years ago. The Better Mousetrap is one of my favourite books of the JW Wells and Co series and is full of howlers and oop! moments and dragon dreams

A real treat to read over and over again