Cat lovers everywhere will fall in love with this endearing tale about the way our feline friends enhance our everyday lives.   js-Buckingham-front-coverThe book focuses on the adventures of a handsome puss - the eponymous Buckingham - his kitty family and friends, and the humans whose lives they touch along the way.   Beautifully illustrated with black and white line drawings from Kiran Ahmed, it’s a witty and compelling novel that also holds some deeper messages about the way cats have a therapeutic value, bringing real joy and contentment to those around them.   At heart, though, this novel is as fun and playful as the cast of loveable cat characters within the pages.   It follows pedigree Buckingham from the moment he enters Angela Tillsworthy’s life, having escaped the clutches of a cat-thief who hoped to make a fortune from this handsome example of a rare breed.   Angela welcomes Buckingham into the home where she lives with her elderly father Oliver, oblivious to the fact his arrival will turn all their lives around.   She witnesses how the loveable cat manages to bring genuine happiness into the life of her deaf, blind and wheelchair-bound father, and is struck by the bond that quickly develops between the pair.   Meanwhile, Angela’s sister is in the process of opening a luxury retirement home and has little time to look after her own cat, Lily. Before he knows it, Buckingham is sharing a living space with a feisty female. Neither cat is happy about the move at first, but a kitty romance soon blossoms.   When Oliver moves to the nursing home and Buckingham and Lily become regular visitors there, Angela is amazed to see how Lily also forms a close bond with one of the female residents. Sensing that she has hit on a form of feline therapy, Angela has a bright idea, and Cozy Cats Cottage PLC is born.   Enlisting the help of Buckingham and Lily’s offspring, Miss Pretty and Dexter, along with pal Tyson Cuddles, the company teams up charismatic cats with locals in need of a little TLC.   The events that ensue - including a cat wedding and an emotional brother-sister kitty reunion - are both touching and amusing.   Author John Schroeder has a light, witty style that keeps this book fun throughout. It could only ever have been written by a true cat lover, and the author has even given the cats their own voices. Their thoughts and conversations are dotted throughout the narrative, so we get an interesting ‘cat’s eye view’ of the goings on.   Although it’s a work of fiction, Schroeder was inspired to write Buckingham after seeing how interaction with a pet cat improved the quality of life of his own elderly and sick father. Schroeder is better known as an Ivor-Novello award-winning music producer,  but he clearly has a gift as a storyteller.   The tale of Buckingham and his friends - both human and feline - is funny and highly readable as well as touching and celebratory of the humble moggy. To paraphrase a famous advert, ten out of ten cat lovers will prefer it.   Buckingham by John Schroeder (Matador) is out now, price £10.99 in paperback. For more information visit johnschroeder.co.uk.