Tag: Clea Simon

When Bunnies Go Bad by Clea Simon

June 14, 2016 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Winter is hard in Beauville, where the melting snow can reveal much more than last season’s dead leaves. So when a wealthy, obnoxious tourist and his ski bunny girlfriend surface in Pru Marlowe’s little Berkshire town, she knows she should stay out of their way. The bad-girl animal psychic has to focus on more immediate concerns, including a wild rabbit named Henry, supposedly tamed and illegally living with an eighty-four-year-old lady in her home. Henry, who seems to be acting out and hiding, avoids responding to Pru. Yet when Pru discovers the tourist murdered and his girlfriend’s high-maintenance spaniel falls to her care, she gets dragged into a complicated case of crime and punishment that involves some new friends, an old nemesis, and her own shadowed past. A recent museum art heist draws the feds into the investigation along with a courtly gentleman radiating menace, who represents secretive business interests in New York and shows a surprising awareness of Pru. Her on-again, off-again romance with police Detective Creighton doesn’t stop him from warning her to steer clear of the inquiry. The spaniel, however, lures her in. Pru lives in a world where only her crotchety tabby Wallis knows the whole truth about her past, her flight from Manhattan, and her unique gift that surfaced abruptly one day. Fearing the worst, Pru now comes dangerously close to being exposed. With everything in motion, Pru, Wallis, and everyone they hold dear will be lucky to escape by a hare.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC!

The Queen of Pet Noir is back! BUNNIES is a little darker outing this time, with Pru choosing to do most of the work herself, with minimal input from Wallis. It also seemed that everyone was untrustworthy – whatever things seemed to be on the surface turned out to be the opposite.

Author Simon has a lot going on in this tale, and at times I felt it took a while for the plot to advance. Pru struggles with understanding the “why” and “who”, despite a seemingly simple murder. In the beginning, things appear to be just another murder. But just as snow will melt away, uncovering more detail underneath, the murder turns into two, Pru’s cop beau is taken off the case, and a mysterious gentleman gangster keeps showing up.

For those that haven’t read the first few installments of the Pru Marlowe story, things may not make sense quickly. However, as you read, you will see Pru become more aware of where she is in her life, and what she has become due to her dubious “gift” of being able to communicate with animals.

She learns to accept that things don’t always go as they should; and becomes even closer in a way to those animals that identify as prey. Gangster Benazi continues to keep Pru off balance as he continually alludes to her “gift” – and refers to it openly, much to her dismay. She is terrified of anyone finding out the truth about her, and through these thoughts Pru understands how prey animals must feel.

It takes a strong person to let your vulnerability show – and Simon shows us Pru in all her incarnations. We see not just a cute story about a woman who can talk to animals; we can see the character evolving and growing into someone more aware of her place in the bigger picture of the world.

Enjoyable as always are the regulars: Growler, Frank, and of course Wallis. We also meet a sweet spaniel who just wants to be next to the man he loves – if only Pru could figure out who he is!

Simon dangles some interesting things in front of us at the end, leaving things open for another book. I know her many fans will be grateful for this, including me!

Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”1464205353″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

Dogs Don’t Lie: A Pru Marlowe Pet Noir by Clea Simon

September 1, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 2 Comments

Pru Marlowe isn’t your ordinary animal psychic. A tough girl on the run from her own gift, Pru left the big city to return to her picturesque Berkshires hometown looking for a little peace. Too bad that her training as an animal behaviorist got her mixed up with Lily, a rescue dog, and Charles, her person. Now Charles is dead, and Lily looks good for it. After all, Lily is a pitbull, a fighting-ring dropout, and way too traumatized to give Pru a clear picture of what she has witnessed. But Pru knows something about bad girls trying to clean up, and, with a sense of justice strong enough to overcome her dislike of human society, she takes the case. Listening to the animals, Pru picks up clues–and learns there are secrets in the pretty little town that make murder look simple. Unable to tell anybody about her psychic abilities, uncertain at times about her own sanity, Pru comes to realize that if she clears Lily, she’ll likely become the prime suspect–or the next victim. While the only creature she can totally trust is her crotchety tabby Wallis, Pru’s got to uncover the real killer–and find a way to live with her gift–before the real beasts in the town savage her and those she has come to love. The first in the Pru Marlowe “pet noir” series.

Thanks to the author for this review copy! When I met her at BookCon 2015, she was signing copies of two books. Fans got to pick which one they wanted and Ms Simon graciously shared a few words with each person as she inscribed their copy. I was intrigued, since I never heard of “pet noir”, and knew right away I wanted to review this book.

Pru is an animal trainer who just happens to be able to “hear” thoughts in her head, thoughts that come from the animals around her, wild or tame. She’s also hovering on the edge of misanthropy, a trait that has carried her through dark times in her past. The author alludes to Pru’s past with tantalizing bits here and there, and the reader must put everything together, like a puzzle with a few missing pieces.

Pru’s tabby cat Wallis, is a typical feline: reticent, self centered, and slothful. She sneeringly communicates with Pru in such a way that her comments seem disingenuous, until Pru makes the connection and it all makes sense. This was a bit hard to get used to in the beginning, until I realized it was being written intentionally in that fashion–I wasn’t missing things due to lack of brain cells.

Simon’s attention to detail in writing about Wallis’ behavior is a joy to behold. She truly describes a cat’s attitude, movements (Wallis “delicately splays a toe” while grooming herself) and complete disinterest; exactly like every cat I’ve ever known! Some of Simon’s best writing is done as she leads the reader into the mind of various critters, such as ferrets, dogs and birds. It was so easy to believe their conversations and mannerisms were true renditions. Every little quirk of dogs sniffing trees or the flock mind of starlings was rendered perfectly. Perhaps this story written in a different way would have seemed surreal or silly. Not so here. I seamlessly moved through the story in a state of belief that yes, Pru could hear these thoughts and the animals could pick hers up as well. No cartoonish Dr Doolittle thing going on here—-this is excellent writing.

The author can render people well too: the tippling town gossip, the sweet talking bad boy, the vapid gum snapping kennel attendant are all easy to picture. And let’s not forget about the plot. There is drama, suspense, and lots of red herrings. Absolutely delightful.

I had a fun time reading DOGS DON’T LIE. It sounds like Ms Simon had a fun time writing it too. I’ll be picking up more of her work in the future.

Want your own copy? Do yourself a favor and read this. You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”B0056KOCZ8″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].