This is a very enjoyable fantasy especially if you like cats!
In a more or less Olde Norse background, Jutta is 'banished' to spend some time with some distant relatives, and she is sure she will be miserable out in the 'boonies.' Sure enough, just as she suspected, her old grandmother and aunties are really peculiar, there aren't any servants, she has to get up early and do chores, and even the numerous cats are treated with more respect.
But, for an isolated spot out in the hinterlands, there sure are a lot of people wandering here and there. A bunch of women studying magic wander the neighborhood (mostly at night.) A very strange. one-eyed old man has romantic designs on her old grandmother. Two strangers from an alternate universe seem to have gotten lost nearby, and have been taken in by the local lord, who longs for battles as in the olden days---while the Lord's son hates even the thought of violence, so the two are constantly at odds. Then there are the grave robbers digging up Jutta's ancestors . . .
But, for an isolated spot out in the hinterlands, there sure are a lot of people wandering here and there. A bunch of women studying magic wander the neighborhood (mostly at night.) A very strange. one-eyed old man has romantic designs on her old grandmother. Two strangers from an alternate universe seem to have gotten lost nearby, and have been taken in by the local lord, who longs for battles as in the olden days---while the Lord's son hates even the thought of violence, so the two are constantly at odds. Then there are the grave robbers digging up Jutta's ancestors . . .
pub. 1994. Based on Norse legend with the author's own twist. Jutta doesn't quite fit in at home yet when she's sent off to live with her aged relatives she doesn't quite fit in there either and proceeds to make some bad decisions. But with the help of the very special cats living with these relatives Jutta meets danger, violence, magic, and mayhem successfully.
