Our Cats in Amsterdam – Review

Our Cats in Amsterdam is the sequel to The Diary of a Buddhist Cat.

This is the link to the review on Reedsy:

Freddie and Gemma’s combination of daring rescues, apprehension of thieves, and stealthy listening skills have come to the attention of the crows at Europol. Recruited to spy on the mafia, diamond smugglers, and human traffickers in Amsterdam, our heroes face many dangers.

With the help of some Stoic philosophy, Gemma adapts quickly to spying. She also finds a fondness for giving away other people’s money at every available opportunity. It’s all thanks to her amazing memory and keyboard skills.

Some crows, squirrels, a parakeet, a kingfisher, and even a dog help Freddie and Gemma as they keep their eyes on Amsterdam’s underworld. When the stakes rise, both Freddie and Gemma are threatened. Can their friends save them as the menace escalates?
The sights of Amsterdam are always present, even as the team fight to save two Van Gogh paintings from thieves.

If I could describe this book in one word, I would say absolutely delightful. Okay that’s two words. If you haven’t had enough of looking at cat videos on your Facebook or Instagram and other social media, then this book is definitely for you.

An appropriately charming sequel to The Diary of a Buddhist Cat, Our Cats in Amsterdam by Julian Worker traces the travels and travails of Freddie and Gemma as they spy on diamond smugglers going all the way to Amsterdam.

So if you like all the many quirks of cats from being aloof or being lovable but at the same time indifferent or downright dramatic when hungry, then you will enjoy reading about the many quirks of Freddie and Gemma too.

Worker characterizes Gemma as a typical cat with an icy, cold demeanor which makes it difficult for her to as Freddie says, “humans call it breaking the ice”. I liked this funny wordplay but also because it is so true for cats that once you break the ice with them, break through their icy glare, they can be the fuzziest of all creatures!

Freddie’s quirk that I enjoyed was his love for reading different kinds of books from detective novels (which is apt since they were recruited for a spying mission!) to serious, deep ones like Heart of Darkness or Orwell’s 1984 or Animal Farm.