What do you think?
Rate this book
Catalyst
#1 in the 'Avenging Cat' series
Catalyst, a person that precipitates events.
That's Catherine Vibrissae. Orphan. Chemist. Model. Avenging Cat. She seeks revenge against Loup Malefice, the man responsible for the takeover of her father's company. An accomplished climber, Cat is not averse to breaking and entering to confound her enemies.
Ranging from south of England to the north-east, Wales and Barcelona, Cat's quest for vengeance is implacable. But with the NCA hot on her tail, can she escape the clutches of sinister Zabala and whip-wielding Profesora Quesada?
The Avenging Cat series:
#1 Catalyst
#2 Catacomb
#3 Cataclysm
#4 Cat's Eye (coming in 2016)
Catalyst, a person that precipitates events.
That's Catherine Vibrissae. Orphan. Chemist. Model. Avenging Cat. She seeks revenge against Loup Malefice, the man responsible for the takeover of her father's company. An accomplished climber, Cat is not averse to breaking and entering to confound her enemies.
Ranging from south of England to the north-east, Wales and Barcelona, Cat's quest for vengeance is implacable. But with the NCA hot on her tail, can she escape the clutches of sinister Zabala and whip-wielding Profesora Quesada?
The Avenging Cat series:
#1 Catalyst
#2 Catacomb
#3 Cataclysm
#4 Cat's Eye (coming in 2016)
212 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 5, 2014
12 people want to read
About the author
Nik Morton
69 books41 followersNik Morton is the author of a collection of 23 crime short stories collected in Leon Cazador, P.I., a romantic thriller series Catalyst, Catacomb and Cataclysm, Write a Western in 30 Days, three psychic spy Cold War thrillers Mission: Prague, Mission: Tehran, and Mission: Khyber, a romantic crime thriller An Evil Trade, a vampire thriller set in Malta, Chill of the Shadow, and five other collections of his short stories: Gifts from a Dead Race (sci-fi, horror, fantasy), Nourish a Blind Life (sci-fi, horror, fantasy), Visitors (westerns), Codename Gaby (historical), I Celebrate Myself (crime and adventure). He is also the author of the noir western Cash Laramie adventures, Bullets for a Ballot and Coffin for Cash, and two sci-fi novellas in Continuity Girl. His fantasy novels Floreskand: Wings, Floreskand: King and Floreskand: Madurava are co-authored with Gordon Faulkner.
Writing as Ross Morton, Nik has 6 Robert Hale western novels published: Death at Bethesda Falls, Last Chance Saloon, The $300 Man, Blind Justice at Wedlock and Old Guns, and The Magnificent Mendozas. He’s the editor of A Fistful of Legends, 21 stories of the Old West.
He sold his first story in 1971 and has had many articles and 120 short stories published, 88 of them in the 5 collection books.
Nik served in the Royal Navy for over twenty years and now lives in north-east England with his linguist/musician wife Jennifer. Their daughter, son-in-law and grandson live nearby. Nik was Editor in Chief of a US Publisher 2011-2013.
Writing as Ross Morton, Nik has 6 Robert Hale western novels published: Death at Bethesda Falls, Last Chance Saloon, The $300 Man, Blind Justice at Wedlock and Old Guns, and The Magnificent Mendozas. He’s the editor of A Fistful of Legends, 21 stories of the Old West.
He sold his first story in 1971 and has had many articles and 120 short stories published, 88 of them in the 5 collection books.
Nik served in the Royal Navy for over twenty years and now lives in north-east England with his linguist/musician wife Jennifer. Their daughter, son-in-law and grandson live nearby. Nik was Editor in Chief of a US Publisher 2011-2013.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 13, 2018
Cat Vibrissae is trying to revenge the death of her father. Changing her name and working as a model, on off times, she’s investigating Loup Malefice, the empire head of Cerberus Worldwide. Along the way she meets Rick Barnes, a Ceberus lawyer who may be trying to bring Malefice down himself. Together they get into many dangerous situations, and fall into traps that almost lead to their deaths, but miraculously they survive. Cat is the adventurous one, trained in martial arts, mountain climbing, archery, and other things. We even see her climb a forty-story building to break into a window.
There is lots of action, and I loved the character, the plot, and the story telling. My only gripe with the story is that it is a continuing plot and story line. The bad guys escape at the end, so the good guys have to chase them all over again in the next novel. Personally, I think this is okay for television, but when I read a novel, I want the story to come to a complete conclusion at the end, with the bad guys getting what’s coming to them. I don’t want to wait for another novel, or a series of novels. But I highly recommend this book for mystery and adventure lovers; I think you’ll like it. I did, except for the end that didn’t happen.
There is lots of action, and I loved the character, the plot, and the story telling. My only gripe with the story is that it is a continuing plot and story line. The bad guys escape at the end, so the good guys have to chase them all over again in the next novel. Personally, I think this is okay for television, but when I read a novel, I want the story to come to a complete conclusion at the end, with the bad guys getting what’s coming to them. I don’t want to wait for another novel, or a series of novels. But I highly recommend this book for mystery and adventure lovers; I think you’ll like it. I did, except for the end that didn’t happen.
August 14, 2018
A fast-paced thriller that opens with an exciting vertical climb up a building. Sounds like a regular cat-burglar? No, this is Catherine Vibriissae, more accustomed to rock climbing and desperate to get revenge for her father’s death.
There are several themes to the plot including murder, animal rights and environmental abuses, as well as huge corporations running riot (these last three are subjects which I too would fight against). The plot lines are all nicely tied up by the end – although this is a series and will continue into the next book.
With the protagonists (who are perfectly portrayed and felt very real) hopping around England, Wales and Spain, this novel offers up an exciting and enjoyable read.
There are several themes to the plot including murder, animal rights and environmental abuses, as well as huge corporations running riot (these last three are subjects which I too would fight against). The plot lines are all nicely tied up by the end – although this is a series and will continue into the next book.
With the protagonists (who are perfectly portrayed and felt very real) hopping around England, Wales and Spain, this novel offers up an exciting and enjoyable read.
February 25, 2024
This is fast-paced and it’s easy to like the main character. There are also some very convincing settings with Nik Morton referring to several places I know.
The cast is quite large for me and I struggled at times to figure out who was who.
Nevertheless, what a fantastic adventure.
The cast is quite large for me and I struggled at times to figure out who was who.
Nevertheless, what a fantastic adventure.
September 26, 2016
Catherine is a talented woman. Smart enough to be a biochemist. Beautiful enough to be a top-class catwalk model. Physically skilled and strong enough to free-climb a sleek city office block. Determined enough to avenge the financial ruin and deaths of her parents. Yup, she’s a thoroughly modern girl.
But Cat is also a wonderful throwback to Emma Peel of the Avengers TV series. Indeed, the whole atmosphere of Catalyst is resoundingly retro and it shares a lot of style with The Avengers and The Saint, and even the early Bond movies. Catalyst is not a pastiche nor a parody but feels instead like a loving tribute to the sensibilities and sly humour of those 1960s spy series. Yet it’s most definitely set in the 21st century and it doesn’t lampoon its influences so much as cherish them.
There’s a coherent plot to push the action along, one which touches on animal rights, science running amok, corporate abuses of the environment and human trafficking alongside good old-fashioned love, jealously, betrayal, intrigue and, of course, murder. The writing is straightforward and easy to follow, although occasionally it gets bogged down a little bit in everyday minutiae.
Author Nik Morton can deliver a gripping action set piece; the opening sequence involving Cat’s incredible climb is outright excellent and skilfully pulls the reader straight into the fray.
I particularly enjoyed: the role reversal which gleefully subverts gender stereotypes and sees the leading man tied helpless to railway track (yes, really), relying on the all-action heroine to come to his aid. I was also intrigued by the police officers who follow Cat's path as it zigzags across the UK and onwards to Spain. One of them is known as ‘Inspector Mushroom’ because he only comes out after dark – can’t wait for that back-story to be explained in a future episode. In fact, he’s such an interesting character that he probably deserves a spin-off story all of his own.
Catalyst made for an enjoyable afternoon’s light-hearted entertainment. It’s wry and witty, well observed, and fast paced. The violence and intimate action all leans towards the delicate end of the scale so there’s nothing here to shock or horrify. Good, old fashioned fun, in fact. Steed would certainly approve.
8/10
There's a longer version of this review over at
https://murdermayhemandmore.wordpress...
But Cat is also a wonderful throwback to Emma Peel of the Avengers TV series. Indeed, the whole atmosphere of Catalyst is resoundingly retro and it shares a lot of style with The Avengers and The Saint, and even the early Bond movies. Catalyst is not a pastiche nor a parody but feels instead like a loving tribute to the sensibilities and sly humour of those 1960s spy series. Yet it’s most definitely set in the 21st century and it doesn’t lampoon its influences so much as cherish them.
There’s a coherent plot to push the action along, one which touches on animal rights, science running amok, corporate abuses of the environment and human trafficking alongside good old-fashioned love, jealously, betrayal, intrigue and, of course, murder. The writing is straightforward and easy to follow, although occasionally it gets bogged down a little bit in everyday minutiae.
Author Nik Morton can deliver a gripping action set piece; the opening sequence involving Cat’s incredible climb is outright excellent and skilfully pulls the reader straight into the fray.
I particularly enjoyed: the role reversal which gleefully subverts gender stereotypes and sees the leading man tied helpless to railway track (yes, really), relying on the all-action heroine to come to his aid. I was also intrigued by the police officers who follow Cat's path as it zigzags across the UK and onwards to Spain. One of them is known as ‘Inspector Mushroom’ because he only comes out after dark – can’t wait for that back-story to be explained in a future episode. In fact, he’s such an interesting character that he probably deserves a spin-off story all of his own.
Catalyst made for an enjoyable afternoon’s light-hearted entertainment. It’s wry and witty, well observed, and fast paced. The violence and intimate action all leans towards the delicate end of the scale so there’s nothing here to shock or horrify. Good, old fashioned fun, in fact. Steed would certainly approve.
8/10
There's a longer version of this review over at
https://murdermayhemandmore.wordpress...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews