Book six of THIRDS finally hands Calvin and Ethan the spotlight, and this audiobook's reviews, several of them years old, treat that turn as a long time coming.
The Review
Calvin Summers and Ethan Hobbs have been best friends since childhood, and the synopsis frames book six as the moment that friendship tips into something more, triggered specifically by the Therian Youth Center bombing that makes Calvin stop keeping his feelings secret. Ethan's side of the equation is more complicated: the synopsis describes him managing selective mutism and social anxiety most days, and Calvin's confession adds a new struggle on top of a friendship that has been, in the synopsis's own words, his whole world for as long as he can remember.
This is a direct sequel to Against the Grain, published by Dreamspinner Press LLC as the sixth entry in a series built around Defense Agents on a unit called Destructive Delta. Nicole's review captures what keeps readers coming back across six books: a major soft spot for the series, and a world whose characters, in the review's own words, "wormed its way inside of me," enough to keep returning to Destructive Delta even in installments that focus on side characters rather than favorites.
Cristina T.'s review captures the tonal range fans should expect: written from Calvin and Hobbs' points of view, focused on their relationship, but with Destructive Delta and the wider Therian world still fully present. That review promises action, excitement, a lot of fun shenanigans, and, in its own words, so much pain, going so far as to recommend having chocolate, coffee, or a blanket on hand before starting.
Zane Kage's review gets at what makes this entry different from earlier THIRDS books: "FINALLY I get Cal and Ethan's story," a reaction that only makes sense if you already know these two from five books of buildup. Zane Kage rates it 4.5 stars and calls it par for the course for a THIRDS book, meaning the humor and sexiness readers expect from the series are still present alongside the more personal stakes of this specific pairing.
This audiobook runs 8 hours and 9 minutes, on the shorter side for a series entry, which fits a story that leans on an established cast rather than introducing a new one from scratch. Mark Westfield takes on the narration for a book built around two specific, already-familiar voices finally getting their turn at the center of the story rather than supporting someone else's.
Charlie Cochet gets a specific, affectionate ribbing from reviewers rather than generic praise. Cristina T.'s review puts it as "Fact #2: She is an evil author," and Soulgal's review agrees from a different angle, saying Charlie is dead set on making readers cry buckets and crediting her with making people care about every character in a cast this large. That kind of specific, personality-driven reader loyalty is usually a good sign for how the material plays performed rather than just read.
Edga's review, from a reader in the United Kingdom, singles out how Ethan's condition is explained and handled, calling the result heart rendering rather than exploitative, and makes a point of saying Ms Cochet included every conceivable emotion without losing track of Cal and Ethan's long friendship as the foundation underneath it. That balance, comedy and found-family stakes without losing the emotional throughline, is what the series' longtime readers keep coming back for.
Specific, sourced terminology is worth knowing before pressing play: THIRDS is the organization Calvin and Ethan serve as Defense Agents, Destructive Delta is their specific unit, and Therians are the group at the center of the setting's central conflicts, including the youth center bombing that kicks off this entry's plot. Six books in, the synopsis assumes listeners already hold that vocabulary rather than re-teaching it, which is one more reason this specific installment rewards existing fans more than curious newcomers.
What to Watch For in Catch a Tiger by the Tail
Worth flagging before anything else: three of the five reviews on file are dated before this audiobook's own release day. Zane Kage's and Cristina T.'s reviews are both dated February 5, 2016, and Nicole's is dated March 2, 2016, all ahead of the April 29, 2016 audio release, which means they almost certainly describe an earlier ebook or print edition of the same book rather than Mark Westfield's specific recording.
Only Soulgal's review, posted in 2021 from India, clearly postdates the audiobook itself, and even that one focuses on the writing and the emotional impact of the wider Therian storyline rather than on Mark Westfield's reading specifically. Soulgal's review also goes further than the others into the series' larger arc, calling this entry better than the one before it and pointing to ongoing moral and ethical questions about the Therian world that surface between the action scenes. That leaves the actual audio performance the least documented part of an otherwise well-reviewed series entry.
Emotional intensity is the other thing to calibrate for. Cristina T.'s comfort-item advice, chocolate, coffee, a blanket, is only half a joke given how much weight the Therian Youth Center bombing and Ethan's ongoing struggles carry through the plot. Nicole's more measured 3.5-star review is useful counterprogramming here too: a genuine fan of the series overall who still was not fully invested in Calvin and Hobbs specifically, which suggests reactions to this particular pairing vary even among readers who like everything around it.
Who It's For
Series regulars who have been waiting for Calvin and Ethan's turn are exactly who this book is for, especially readers already invested in Destructive Delta and the broader Therian world built up across five earlier THIRDS entries. It rewards patience more than it welcomes newcomers, and the shorter-than-average runtime works in its favor for a reread once the earlier books are fresh again.
Newcomers should start elsewhere in the THIRDS series rather than here, since book six leans entirely on established relationships and history the synopsis does not re-explain. Series regulars who want Calvin and Ethan's overdue story, delivered with the emotional weight Cristina T. and Edga both describe, will find this a satisfying, if not painless, payoff, and the shorter-than-average runtime makes it easy to fit in right before or after revisiting the five books that came before it.
- Performance: Mark Westfield narrates the shift from ensemble action to Calvin and Ethan's dedicated storyline across a compact eight-hour runtime.
- What it covers: friends-to-lovers, selective mutism and social anxiety represented with care, found-family action-romance
- Feel: emotional and bittersweet, with the series' usual action and humor still mixed in
- Our call: a rewarding payoff for THIRDS series regulars specifically; not the entry to start the series with.
Before You Listen
How long is the Catch a Tiger by the Tail audiobook?
It runs 8 hours and 9 minutes, narrated by Mark Westfield. As book six of the THIRDS series and a direct sequel to Against the Grain, it centers on established characters Calvin Summers and Ethan Hobbs rather than introducing new leads to a first-time audience.
Do the reviews for the Catch a Tiger by the Tail audiobook predate its release?
Three of the five reviews do. Two are dated February 5, 2016, and one March 2, 2016, all before the April 29, 2016 audiobook release, which suggests they describe an earlier ebook or print edition rather than Mark Westfield's specific narration of this recording.
Does this audiobook handle Ethan's selective mutism carefully?
Based on the reviews, yes. Edga's review specifically calls the handling of Ethan's condition heart rendering rather than exploitative, and credits author Charlie Cochet with explaining it clearly while keeping Cal and Ethan's long friendship central to the story throughout.
