I’m Clea Simon, author of the rock ‘n’ roll noir WORLD ENOUGH (coming soon); the Theda Krakow, Dulcie Schwartz, Pru Marlowe, and Blackie & Care cat/amateur sleuth mysteries; and also a handful of nonfiction books. Please browse around, click on the covers below or the categories above for excerpts, reviews, and more, and make yourself at home. I’ll also be posting readings and signings as they are scheduled, and I’d love to hear your feedback.
As featured in the Wall Street Journal and on NPR
A seemingly routine case becomes something far darker and deeper for novice private investigator, Care, and her feline companion, Blackie.
Readers who enjoy the prickly pleasure of stepping into a strange alternate universe will welcome Simon’s hypnotic second Blackie and Care mystery … perilously walks the line between dream and nightmare.
– Publishers Weekly
“Absolutely brilliant … Clea Simon paints a sweeping emotional cityscape that will stay with you long after you put the book down.” – Conscious Cat
“I could kill Roland Fenderby”. Dulcie Schwartz has reason to regret those words when she discovers Professor Fenderby’s battered body in his office – and finds herself the prime suspect in the ensuing murder investigation.
Well-plotted.
Publishers Weekly
Plenty of red herrings … keep the pages turning.
Gumshoe Review
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. With everything in motion, Pru, Wallis, and everyone they hold dear will be lucky to escape…by a hare.
Once again Simon’s wacky humor—darkish but surely not black—provides more than enough entertainment.
Booklist
Pru’s wry voice, sharp intelligence, and empathy for animals
guarantee that this elaborately plotted mystery will entertain with
its good humor and compellingly quirky characters.
Kings River Life
The past is an enigma to Blackie, the voice of Clea Simon’s dark new mystery. Combining elements of feline fantasy and classic whodunit, The Ninth Life introduces this unusual hero and his companion, Care: two small creatures in a nightmarish urban landscape, fighting for their lives, and for the lives and memories of those they love.
Forget everything you think you know about ‘cat mysteries.’ The Ninth Life is a dark and gritty story of life on the streets.
New York Times-bestselling author Joe Finder
Compelling and utterly unique.
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark award winner
A delight for anyone who relishes cat mysteries.
Library Journal
These are darn good mysteries.
