Greville Book, the central human in the story, is not a cat and therefore it is possible he may have an extensive vocabulary lurking within his foggy intellect. His wife doubts the possibility; having not seen him read anything beyond a tabloid newspaper in twenty years of marriage. Muriel, as many a husband can testify, can be cunning, manipulative and unscrupulous. But then, as Greville suspects, she is quite possibly a cat in human form."e;Eight Cats At Number Twenty-Seven"e; is a novel about the waning of married love, the long-forgotten mystery of Elisabeth Norbutt's disappearance, bigamy, and tips on cat husbandry.