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(In the compilation Cat Tales)

In this story from the Jane Yellowrock universe, undercover agent Rick LaFleur has been working on gaining access to Leo Pellissier, Master of the City of New Orleans. But he wakes up naked and bound in an old barn, at the mercy of a magic-working tattoo artist and an insane vampire.

2 pages, Audible Audio

First published December 10, 2013

1 person is currently reading
629 people want to read

About the author

Faith Hunter

93 books5,723 followers
Faith Hunter's Junkyard Cats novella series is available in Audible, eBook, and "ridiculously expensive" (her words) trade paperback books at this time.

Faith's Jane Yellowrock series is a dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats. 15 books and several compilations of shorts

The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy / paranormal police procedural /para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and Special gent of PsyLED. 6 books

Her Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.

Faith is a full time writer who finally hired a housekeeper when the dust bunnies multiplied, She bakes homemade bread and loves to cook.

Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, Japanese maples, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.

Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her FaceBook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. She has a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, a boar skull, a deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. Her prize skull is a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) hit by a car in the wild.

Her latest love is Japanese maples, and she has managed to collect over thirty.

She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers to kayak all over the Southeast. Whitewater Kayaking is her very favorite sport, discovered when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of being upside down trapped in a boat—discovered she loved the sport.

Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam, among other awards. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.

For more, including a list of her books, see www.faithhunter.net , www.gwenhunter.com . To keep up with her daily, join her fan pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/official.fait... and see her website blog at
www.faithhunter.net

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5 stars
341 (31%)
4 stars
381 (35%)
3 stars
307 (28%)
2 stars
53 (4%)
1 star
5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
Profile Image for Choko.
1,499 reviews2,683 followers
March 2, 2017
*** 3.25 ***
Profile Image for Maria Dimitrova.
748 reviews148 followers
February 21, 2017
There's not much to be said about this story. Rick gets in trouble because he can't keep it in his pants. It would have been a wonderful story if he actually took this lesson to heart. There was an implication that this is a defining point for him and that it changes his future somehow. I guess that it means that he is tied to Jane in some way but after the events f the third book I'm not sure they have any sort of future together.
Profile Image for Lyn.
2,009 reviews17.6k followers
July 28, 2016
Faith Hunter provides some backstory for Rick LaFleur in her Jane Yellowrock series.

LaFleur is a central supporting character and a charismatic role player in the Yellowrock universe. Hunter tells us how he got his unique tattoos.

LaFleur wakes up with a bludgeoning hangover, naked and supine. But he’s not in a Big Easy hotel room, but rather tied down in an old unused barn, and he’s in the middle of a witch’s circle.

Then we meet an insane vampire with some grudge issues with one of LaFleur’s ancestors. The witch is the vamp’s blood slave – sort of. Hunter’s narrative and characterization powers are tuned in for this short work, blending the Yellowrock mythos with some later day noir writing.

For Yellowrock fans.

description
Profile Image for Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ .
1,293 reviews9,002 followers
October 29, 2023
4.0 stars

Oh, look. Ricky-bo got himself in trouble b/c chasing tail. SHOCKER.

This one is told from Rick's POV, and if you've been curious about how he got his mountain lion/bobcat tattoo:

Rick didn’t know what it meant to have the cats here on his body, beneath his skin, part of him.

IT MEANS NOTHING.

I like this one b/c lot and lots of PAIN for Rick.
Profile Image for Angela (Angel's Book Nook).
1,672 reviews972 followers
February 6, 2017

** Read in Cat Tales.

— Cat Tats #0.4

This one we get a backstory on Rick LaFleur who we meet in book one, Skinwalker.

Rick has gotten himself into trouble for chasing tail. What a surprise!!!

In Cat Tats we get Rick’s POV, learn how he got his tattoo’s, and who he’s related too. It was interesting to see how he got his cat tats and that they, Rick and Jane, where fated to cross paths. Their is a lot of pain that Rick goes through in this one.

Cat Tats was enjoyable. Fans will like the backstory on Rick and that fate was preparing him.

Rated: 3 Stars

angelsgp-seethisreview-blure
Profile Image for Hollie Smurthwaite.
Author 7 books56 followers
June 24, 2022
This is the story of how Rick got his tattoos. Psycho vamp and a sympathetic witch. Nice dip into the series.
Profile Image for Trisha.
347 reviews33 followers
July 11, 2020
Great short that explains the beginning of Rick's journey
Profile Image for Thenia.
4,406 reviews180 followers
October 15, 2019
The story of how Rick, an undercover agent, got his magic tattoos.

I don't remember if Rick has been introduced in any of the stories I've read in the series so far, but I liked this story.

He gets in trouble after .

The series continues with Kits, a short story starring Jane and Molly.

Previous book reviews:
The Early Years (Jane Yellowrock, #0.2) ~ ★★★ (30/10/2018)
WeSa and the Lumber King (Jane Yellowrock, #0.1) ~ ★★★ (30/10/2018)
Profile Image for Lila.
926 reviews9 followers
May 14, 2015
Read as part of Cat Tales anthology.

3,5 stars

Ok, this story is a bit more meaty comparing to two that precede in timeline.
This is a story behind Rick's tats.
The most interesting thing about Rick's ink is the fact that it's depicting two of Jane's most important forms. It can't be a coincidence and this story put an answer to it:
It's a fate thing and they are meant to cross their paths.
I suppose it would be a bit different if witch who spelled his ink waved his future, but the way I figured it out of this story is that it was out of her hands. It puts a certain gravity on their relationship as it is.

It also opens a possible plot in future since his ink is a dangerous thing.
Cat Tats is told from Rick's pov in third person narrative style. I was never a big fan of his (more like completely indifferent towards him), so I was consciously making an effort to get invested.
The fact that his family is influential and that he is a good Catholic boy was mentioned in books, but here we get some confirmation on that. That he is reckless and that there is no line he wouldn't cross in order to finish his mission is mentioned, shown AND again confirmed here. All in all, I got to know some things about him, but I am still not sold. I find that every book set in NOLA apparently has to have ladyman, "Gambit" character and Rick is playing the part. I hope that events from Mercy Blade will make his character develop in some other, more interesting direction.

On whether you should read this: If you are fan of Rick - definitely yes. If you are fan of series, it wouldn't be bad, but it's not really necessary, imo.

Profile Image for Paulina.
458 reviews4 followers
February 14, 2017
And now we know why Rick has wild cat tattoos. As with most of the short stories, it's not a must read to understand the main series, but it adds insight to some secondary plot points.
Profile Image for Amanda Croley.
804 reviews46 followers
July 17, 2016
Cat Tat's is a little back story on Rick Lafleur. He started out in the New Orleans police academy but was picked up to work for the federal government in some undercover infiltration of the vamps. After chatting up a pretty vamp Isleen he wakes up in a barn restrained by his hands and feet. The psycho vamp apparently has an old grudge with Katie who happens to be a long lost relative of Rick. Isleen has a young witch Loriann tattooing his skin with a spell to bind him to her, not sure why she isn't able to do it the normal way other than she has to be sick in some way. Where she has taken blood from the Loriann and Rick the skin hasn't healed but became infected. Loriann reveals that Isleen has her brother locked away with her scions and won't give him back until she completes the binding. For some reason, she trusts Rick after spending a few days with him and provides him a weapon and also provides Katie with the address of the barn. Rick stakes her but misses. Luckily Katie and Leo show up in time to kill Isleen and save them all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
5,870 reviews146 followers
January 21, 2019
Cat Tats is an audio short story from the Jane Yellowrock series written by Faith Hunter and read by Khristine Hvam. It takes place some time before the first novel, Skinwalker and centers on Rick LaFleur. It was first uploaded on her website and later collected in the Cat Tales anthology.

Cat Tats centers on Rick LaFleur and how he got his unique tattoos. Undercover Agent Rick LaFleur has been working on gaining access to Leo Pellissier, Master of the City of New Orleans, but he wakes up naked, bound in an old barn, with a bludgeoning hangover. An insane vampire with a grudge with one of his ancestors captured him and a witch eventually marked him.

Cat Tats is written rather well. It is a somewhat interesting examination and backstory of Rick LaFleur. However, while written and narrated well there lacked substance to the story and this defining moment of his life seemed a tad lackluster.

All in all, Cat Tats is a well written, but more importantly, well portrayed short story about Rick LaFleur and the story behind his mysterious tattoos.
Profile Image for Karen.
1,314 reviews41 followers
April 2, 2024
In this tale from the Jane Yellowrock universe, undercover agent Rick LaFleur is on a mission to infiltrate the inner circle of Leo Pellissier, the Master of the City of New Orleans. However, he finds himself naked, bound, and at the mercy of a sorcerous tattoo artist and a deranged vampire in an old barn.

While I've never delved into a full-length novel by this author, I've enjoyed a number of novellas and short stories. It's unclear what that suggests, but they've been delightful companions during my commutes, often prompting a laugh or at least a smile through the characters' situations or dialogue. This isn't to say there's a lack of serious moments; there are plenty, and I find all the characters, Jane included, quite engaging.

Their adventures are diverse, contributing to the stories' appeal. I plan to read the novels—I have a collection waiting on my Kindle—but I'm frequently sidetracked by other things.

Nonetheless, this story had it all and managed to entertain me thoroughly, even though it concluded before I reached home, which is something that happens, but it was still a great pleasure.
Profile Image for Anniken Haga.
Author 10 books90 followers
January 26, 2021
I was never Team Rick, but that doesn't mean I want him to be tortured - as I've seen some others say. It's a little scary how emotional some people become over fictional characters.
But I digress.

This is the story of how Rick got his tats and what they mean. It also has some general Rick-backstory.

While the story is interesting, and I really like the magic here, it is a little too long for my taste.
Profile Image for Lelouch.
432 reviews28 followers
June 3, 2019
I'm not a huge fan of the flower. He's basically a useless pretty boy who stands around just to look pretty. Even in this story, which revolves around him, he's still useless. He ends up in trouble sleeping with a vampire girl, and Leo and Katie have to bail him out. I do think it's an improvement not to have jane in this story.
Profile Image for Gabby.
2,524 reviews26 followers
May 15, 2021
A very cool short that really brings some life and history to Lorainne and Rick giving them far more of a presence in the books. A good introduction as well to some of the balance, rules and infected in the vampire community. Overall a short that really expands the series.
Profile Image for Alex Shrugged.
2,753 reviews30 followers
February 23, 2022
The description says it all. I generally don't like short stories, but this one was long enough to fill out the characters and the plot. I enjoyed it.

Any modesty issues? None that I recall.

I might listen to this audiobook again.
Profile Image for TinaMarie.
3,514 reviews38 followers
May 25, 2018
Rick LaFleur's story on how he got his cat Tats
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jeanine.
1,047 reviews33 followers
July 21, 2019
This is a great short that adds to the whole series. I enjoyed this one very much
Profile Image for Megan Cutter.
383 reviews
June 29, 2020
Reading this one between Mercy Blade and Raven Cursed gives good insight into how Rick is different when it comes to the were-cats.
Profile Image for babab.
565 reviews
September 29, 2021
2.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
710 reviews1 follower
May 28, 2022
A slightly longer one and although it is from the Jane Yellowrock universe, she is not in it. This is Rick's backstory and I really enjoyed it. I wish I had found it before I read Skinwalker.
Profile Image for Allison ☾.
449 reviews17 followers
January 3, 2023
Backstory on Rick and why he was in New Orleans. Also, why he has cat tattoos. I've only read book 1 so I don't really care about him or his backstory at this current moment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews

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