Catamorphosis

by Shannon Knight

Cancer was the start of Jasmine’s life falling apart. Her body betrayed her, her husband left, and as she lay dying, the only one remaining at her side was her orange tabby, Otto.

Then something uncanny occurred.

At a fishing lake in the Oregon Coast Range, Jasmine is ready to reassess her priorities when a stranger catnaps Otto. One transgression leads to another, and Jasmine has never believed in turning the other cheek.

Jasmine is transforming, but whether the cancer still has anything to do with her mutating cells is beyond her. Otto has given her something, and anything from her sweet boy can only be a boon.

Jasmine may have died, but she came back.

And when a cat’s around, no one is surprised by a body count.

Genres: Horror

296 pages, ebook

Published April 7, 2026

About the author

Shannon Knight lives in the Pacific Northwest with her most excellent cat. Their adventurous lives include coffee, reading, ribbon games, and K-dramas.

Reviews

[Tabitha Tomala · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Catamorphosis

Thank you to Netgalley and Shannon Knight for providing me with a copy of this book! I voluntarily leave this review!

Catamorphosis captures the raw emotion of cancer recovery and the cruelties those battling it may endure. When Jasmine received her cancer diagnosis, her life fell apart. Her husband emotionally checked out, and she mentally spiraled amidst the side effects of treatment, pain, and lack of support. With so much to handle on her own, she reached a dark place where she couldn’t bear to involve her friends. The only one there through the whole ordeal was her cat, Otto.

Readers will soon find Otto is the catalyst for decisions Jasmine makes, and the key to how her life starts down a new path. Though she does go through horrific circumstances from antagonistic men that will turn stomachs. The horror of this novel isn’t just about what Jasmine survived in her past, but her continued survival against those who objectify women.

The plot takes many turns readers will not see coming. Shannon Knight is great at ending scenes on abrupt cliffhangers that drive the reader onward. And a creeping sense of wrongness is instilled in the reader as Jasmine begins behaving differently. But the characters did not seem to fully fit with the situations they were put into. It may just be that their personalities were not for me as a reader. There were also times where the situations felt too over the top .

Despite this not being the read for me, I do think there are readers who will become engaged with the horrors Jasmine faces. There are strong ties of friendship that bind the main characters and cat lovers will appreciate the role Otto plays in the story.

[Paul Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

“First, illness was not a cause for shame. Second, the actions of other people was not a cause for shame. And finally, shame was useless and stupid.” -Jasmine

Jasmine needed to get away. Dealing with breast cancer, marital problems, and other issues left her and her cat Otto seeking out seclusion at her uncle’s fishing cabin. Unfortunately that isn’t what she found.

I loved Jasmine and her two friends, Hayley and Chloe. They were all united and not going to put up with any nonsense from the local riff-raff, almost to the point of being lackadaisical. It really worked for them as they defended themselves and didn’t mind getting dirty.
Otto…this is a cat that we all want, a cat that you sacrifice yourself for to protect. (And I am a dog person)

This book got to where I assumed the conclusion would be with only a third of the book gone. There was so much more and I was happy to have it. Always good to see more ass kicked than expected.

[Eunice Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catamorphosis blends horror, mystery, and thriller elements into a surreal, fast-moving story that kept me curious from start to finish. The premise alone caught my attention, but what really pulled me in was the emotional connection between Jasmine and her cat, Otto.
As someone who has cats, Jasmine’s panic and desperation when Otto goes missing felt incredibly real to me. If you love pets, especially cats, that fear of not knowing where they are hits instantly. It made the story more personal and gave the suspense extra weight. I found myself reading while hugging my own cats (who, of course, were not thrilled with all the affection).
One thing readers should know is that this book gets darker and more graphic than I expected. I went in thinking it would be a lighter horror story, but there are some gruesome and disturbing moments. The violence is intense in places, so if you’re sensitive to gore, it’s worth keeping that in mind. That said, those scenes do succeed in making the story feel dangerous and unpredictable.
There’s also one particularly unhinged character who genuinely unsettled me. I read a lot of thrillers, and it’s rare for a book to actually make me feel scared, but this one did. Maybe it was because a cat was involved, which raised the emotional stakes for me, but there were moments where I could vividly imagine myself in Jasmine’s position—and I did not like that feeling at all.
The pacing is mostly fast, especially at the start and in the more shocking scenes. However, the middle section slowed down for me. I started wondering where the story was heading, and at times it felt like the focus was split between several different threads—Jasmine’s illness, her choices, her transformation, and her bond with Otto. That sense of confusion may have been intentional, reflecting Jasmine’s own state of mind, but it occasionally made the story feel uneven.
I also wish some of the supernatural or transformative aspects had been explored more clearly. There are fascinating ideas here about change, survival, and the mysterious role Otto plays in Jasmine’s life, but I wanted a little more depth and explanation. Those elements had so much potential and could have been even more chilling if developed further.
Still, when the suspense lands, it really lands. Some of the later twists and high-stakes moments made the slower parts worth pushing through. Even when I wasn’t sure where the story was going, I was never bored enough to stop reading because I wanted to know how everything would come together.
Overall, I enjoyed Catamorphosis. It’s twisted, gripping, emotional, and definitely memorable. It may not be perfectly consistent in pacing or clarity, but it has originality and enough shocking moments to stand out in the horror-thriller genre. If you like stories with cats, body horror, revenge energy, and morally messy characters, this one is worth checking out.
And yes, after finishing it, I immediately gave my two boys (my cats) an extra squish.

[Susan Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Fuzzypants here: Jasmine is dying. Cancer is eating her up but the betrayal from her husband is far worse. She and her loyal companion cat, Otto, seek peace in the fishing cabin where she spent many summers in Oregon. Peace is the last thing she is going to find. A truly evil man who has been fixated on Jazz since she was a teenager stalks and strangles her. When she wakes Otto is breathing life back into her. This is not the first time and there will be others when she dies and Otto resuscitates her. What is the source of his supernatural power is not explained but with each time, Jazz takes on more and more cat features.

She has memory lapses so she is lucky she called her two best friends who have flown up to join.her. The trio have an interesting backstory and together they “take care of business”. And that includes taking out the trash in some extremely novel but satisfying ways. When I started the book I was concerned that Otto might be harmed. They were each hyper protective of each other . Together, with the help of her friends, they made a strong team. In a way, it was very gratifying tale.

How her dying and then being brought back has impacted her cancer is left vague. The same thing with her cat-like abilities. But no one is going to mess with Jazz and Otto. Five purrs and two paws up.

[90'S Mukussi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got it as an arc and was not expecting this type of story.

It makes us think of the phrase "not always a man, but a man." I'd like to say that reality isn't always like that, I'd like to say that sometimes we can trust the law. But then I remember that we're talking about American reality and that perhaps fiction is very close to reality. The action in the book took a while to pick up, but then I couldn't put it down. I loved the relationship between Jasmine, Chloe, and Hayley. An inspiring story that left me curious to read more of the author's work.

[Amber Raynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has thrown me a lot. I love the cat elements and mentions throughout and I love the way the story itself was weaved. I'm happy with the ending and I love the friendship displays throughout as well.

What has thrown me was the unusual plotline, I really didn't know what to expect. It was a good read overall, I just really didn't know what to expect next! It's a great suspense filler and also good at building shock when the outcome is revealed.

[Joy Kie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a mix of supernatural and horrors that woman deal with all the time in the wild. Corrupt cops and shit ex husbands. I loved this book so much. Otto is the bestest guy on the planet.