Waifs and Strays Audiobook By Helen Harper cover art

Waifs and Strays

The Cat Lady Chronicles, Book 1

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Waifs and Strays

By: Helen Harper
Narrated by: Ruth Urquhart
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Nobody is just a cat lady.

Kit McCafferty's life is quiet, unremarkable, and filled with cat hair. In the magical city of Coldstream, located on the border between Scotland and England, Kit is viewed as little more than mildly eccentric and mostly harmless. She passes her days caring for her family of five cats, feeding the local feral moggies, and maintaining relatively good relations with her neighbors.

All that changes, however, when a teenage werewolf shows up at her door in the desperate hope of renting out a nearby vacant flat. Kit knows that the smart move is to tell him to leave. The last thing she needs is to become embroiled in complicated shapeshifter politics. But something about the secretive young werewolf tugs at her heartstrings.

It's not long before Kit ends up caught in a maelstrom of mysterious crime and magical wrong-doing. Fortunately, there's far more to Kit McCafferty than meets the eye and she has a few dark secrets of her own.

Of course, anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that you underestimate a cat lady at your own peril.

©2024 Helen Harper (P)2025 Tantor Media Contemporary Fantasy Paranormal Paranormal & Urban Urban Cats Heartfelt Magic Werewolf Shifter
Engaging Mystery • Creative Storyline • Wonderful Narrator • Unique Premise • Fantastic Twists • Lively Storytelling
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The story was caught was engrossing and the characters were appealing especially the main characters.I .l liked the
maincharacter especially and it kept you guessing what kind of powers she had except being able to communicate cats.
i

The narrative

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She Who Love Books couldn’t put it down. Really appreciated having an older main character and the cat names were awesome. Great twists and turns as the story progressed. Perfect narration that brought the story to life. Can hardly wait for book 2!

Fun story!

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Helen Harper is such a good writer. Ruth does a masterful with each character and is a wonderful narrator. The book moves quickly and keeps you listening without pause.

Great new series

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It drove me a little crazy that the narrator said "sith" (as in evil Jedi) instead of the correct pronunciation of "shee" (e.g.: ban-shee, not ban-sith as it's spelled). Other than that small detail, everything else was fantastic and I've already pre-ordered book 2!

only one problem

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Not the best series by Helen Harper but still very enjoyable. And the ending twist was cute/ fun

Fun story

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Loved the main character and working with cats! Looking forward to more of these books!

Abilities of a Cat Sith.

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Another fun and engaging story by Helen Harper. Quick and easy with lovable characters set in the world most of her books are set in.

Delightful

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I enjoyed this book! I hadn’t heard of this author before but was recommended to me at the end of listening to a book by Lauretta Hignett (one of my fav. writers atm).

I appreciate this story not consisting of 20 somethings and an unlikely love pairing of “fated mates”, or whatever the were/shifter genre almost always consists of!
I mean it could happen down the road, but I appreciate the shenanigans of single women who happens to also be a sassy bada$$. Usually once a “mate” makes his way into the main character’s life it’s usually all about possession of one another, with the plot becoming secondary (which CAN be fun to read… sometimes). And honestly that’s just not something I really care to fantasize about!
But that’s just me.

I’m trying not to give the story away as it’s fairly creative but if you like cats and Lauretta Hignett’s stories, you’ll probably like this.

The only thing is, there are a few long stretches which became monotonous to me, and I’m not sure if it’s from the writing or the voice acting.
It happens when Kit is in “action” for an extended stretch and the story is being told from the lens of her internal observations and thought process.

PS - I had to translate a couple of British/Scottish terms throughout the story, so if you’re not used to their slang, just letting you know that it’s a thing here.
Enjoy!

Creative story in a well-written world! 9/10 ⭐️

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I love the mysteries, characters, worlds and stories Helen Harper develops in her books. The characters are relatable, but supernatural. The stories make you look at people differently - what if that 40 year old cat lady was really Catwoman in disguise? Kit is not Catwoman, but she's just as tough and she takes care of the people, animals and paranormals around her. The mysteries are fantastic and take you on a desperate chase through the supernatural world. Sorry, I'm a dog person so wasn't sure how I would feel about the cats, but they were magnificent. The names were a great touch.
Kit forms a friendship with a young werewolf, searches for him when he's kidnapped, has to deal with packs, lone wolves, vampires and other supernaturals to solve the mystery of what all of these characters have in common when they are normally mortal enemies. She's tough, she's caring and she's not afraid of anyone -what self-respecting cat lady, ex-assassin would be? She is determined to get her friend back safely while solving the mystery of why he disappeared. Great story and Ruth Urquhart does a wonderful job with the voices.

Not your average Cat woman

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Excellent world crafting. Love the sassy heroine. A fun listen with an interesting mystery. Will definitely read more from her.

Great report of leads.

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