Look What the Cat Dragged In: A Novel by Jason RekulakPublication Date: October 13, 2026
Narrator(s): Stephanie Németh-Parker
Duration:: 8 hrs and 28 mins
Pages: 352
Add the Book on:Goodreads
Rating: ★★★½
Source: From the Library
Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Supernatural
Publisher: Flatiron Books / Macmillan
Synopsis:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Pictures and The Last One at the Wedding comes a new supernatural thriller about a young woman pet-sitting a cat with a mysterious secret, featuring more than eighty pages of illustrations.
Meet Penny Padgett, a twenty-seven-year-old cartoonist in Philadelphia who agrees to pet-sit a very peculiar cat named Godfrey in her home. At first, he’s a warm and affectionate companion who follows Penny all around the house and insists on sleeping by her side every night. But soon strange things are happening: Penny is haunted by disturbing and violent nightmares. There’s a terrible insect infestation in her basement. Her cute cartoon illustrations turn dark and surreal, as if influenced by some invisible hand. And her health starts failing, as if her mind and body are under attack by a sinister, malevolent force.Penny may be a cat person, but she’s starting to think Godfrey is no ordinary cat. . . .
Fully illustrated with more than eighty pages of original artwork, Jason Rekulak’s new novel is intensely plotted, wonderfully frightening, and wildly clever. He more than lives up to his reputation as having “a freakishly fertile imagination” (The New York Times).
REVIEW
I went into the audiobook of Look What the Cat Dragged In expecting cozy cat-sitter horror and got demonic possession with whiskers. Jason Rekulak, the New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Pictures, does it again. An illustrated horror novel that masquerades as a tame little kitty cat tale. This time we meet Penny Padgett, a twenty-seven-year-old cartoonist in Philadelphia whose feel-good children’s series about her and her very real cat, Popcorn, has made her up-and-coming. Then a window is left open during a blizzard, though Penny swears she didn’t leave it that way, and Popcorn disappears.
In a spiral of grief after her own pet cat goes missing and desperately behind on the fourth book in her series, Penny agrees to pet-sit a very peculiar cat named Godfrey. He belongs to one of her boyfriend Dean’s clients who needs someone to cat-sit while she’s overseas for a few months. At first, Godfrey seems like a godsend, even warms up to her instantly, and Penny wonders if it could be just what she needs. But strange things begin happening around the house. Violent nightmares and disturbing imagery creep into her art; Penny starts to fear that Godfrey may not be an ordinary cat.
On audio, Stephanie Nmeth-Parker absolutely carries this. She gave the story an energy and urgency that had me completely enthralled. She fully commits to the craziness of it all, giving depth and actual character to not just the human characters but the feline and the, well, not so human. She makes Penny’s spiral feel real and makes Godfrey’s meow at that dinner party genuinely chilling. Rekulak writes a novel that gets pretty darn close to being a dark comedy. It’s weird, a bit over the top, occasionally absurd, and Nmeth-Parker’s award-worthy performance makes that tonal swing work.
My only complaint is the same one every audio listener will have: this is an illustrated horror novel collaborating with Doogie Horner and Will Staehle, and you do miss the visuals. If you have the option, grab the physical copy for the second read. Still, as a haunt-season listen, it’s spooky and ridiculously fun. As the blurb teases, “A simple cat-sitting job becomes a living nightmare.” Believe it.
Disclaimer: Links on this page may contain affiliate links, and purchasing a copy through them may generate a small commission for the site owner. A free copy of this book was provided by Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
