Home
/
Fiction
/
The Ratcatcher (A Roald Dahl Short Story)
The Ratcatcher (A Roald Dahl Short Story)
Nov 16, 2025 5:32 AM

Author:Roald Dahl

The Ratcatcher (A Roald Dahl Short Story)

The Ratcatcher is a short, sharp, distrubing story from Roald Dahl, the master of the shocking tale.

In The Ratcatcher, Roald Dahl, one of the world's favourite authors, tells a sinister story about the darker side of human nature. Here, a ratcatcher has a most unusual way of dealing with these pests . . .

The Ratcatcher is taken from the short story collection Someone Like You, which includes seventeen other devious and shocking stories, featuring the wife who serves a dish that baffles the police; a curious machine that reveals the horrifying truth about plants; the man waiting to be bitten by the venomous snake asleep on his stomach; and others.

'The absolute master of the twist in the tale.' (Observer )

This story is also available as a Penguin digital audio download read by Jessica Hynes.

Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.

Reviews

A very promising new author

—— New Books Magazine

Elle Newmark tells a powerful tale of romance and mystery

—— News of the World

Murder Mile is the second outing for DI Rob Brennan, a complex and brooding character who makes Rebus look positively chipper by comparison ... With Murder Mile Tony Black has put the heart back into the serial killer novel. It’s dark, yes, and deeply unpleasant in places, as it should be, but he hasn’t played to shock and there’s a refreshing lack of cheap gore. Rob Brennan is the perfect guide to follow through the criminal underworld, a bundle of rage and righteousness, and after reading Murder Mile the next fictional DI you come across will have a lot to live up to

—— Crime Fiction Lover

A convincing portrayal

—— Sun

Brennan’s Edinburgh roils and seethes with violence

—— Metro

One of the best of her early novels... it is written with luminous intensity

—— Jane Shilling , Evening Standard, Books of the Year

This is Nemrovsky's most autobiographical novel...recalled in hauntingly atmospheric detail

—— Peter Kemp , Sunday Times, Books of the Year

It's an unerring portrait of a neglected, baleful and punitive daughter

—— Julian Barnes , Guardian, Books of the Year

Nemirovksy captures the rootless existence of emigres beautifully

—— Shirley Whiteside , Herald

Sandra Smith's translation is mellifluous and certain passages - the opening lines describing dusk in Kiev, for example - are breathtaking

—— Angel Gurria-Quintana , Financial Times

Némirovsky excels at describing this dysfunctional household

—— Marianne Brace , Independent

Sandra Smith’s translation of the novel faithfully reflects Nemirovsky’s talents as an astute portraitist and storyteller

—— Emma Hagestadt , Guardian

Nemirovsky evokes a time and a place when domestic upheaval could prove every bit as tragic and bloody as those played out on a wider stage

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved