“Simon does an excellent job of mixing humor, romance, and mystery into one coherent and exciting tale.”
Sometimes it takes a while for a review to surface. This review of my 2016 mystery, “When Bunnies Go Bad,” ran last week in the San Francisco Review of Books. Something to be thankful for, indeed!
Despite almost having her degree as an animal behaviorist, Pru Marlowe still struggles to make ends meet. By taking odd jobs walking dogs and helping out around the town, she finds a way to keep herself – and her cat, Wallis – fed and happy. She knows Wallis is happy too, and not just by the tabby’s contented purr. No, Pru has a limited psychic connection with animals of all varieties, which makes her day to day jobs both more difficult and more entertaining. So, when she stumbles across a murdered tourist, it’s only natural she’s going to enlist the aid of the critters all around her.
This was my first Pru Marlowe novel and I can safely say it won’t be my last. Although Pru herself is pretty problematic – she has a million and one personal issues – she’s also kind hearted, intelligent, and loyal. The relationship she has with her cat, Wallis, cracked me up because it reminded me so much of how I interact with my own feline. But the way she conducts herself around other animals’ people is probably her greatest strength. Even when the humans don’t deserve it, she’s polite and straightforward for the sake of the animals she cares for.
Some of the best characters in this novel were the animals. Wallis, Pru’s tabby cat, is a constant source of disdain and entertainment since he serves as Pru’s main confidante. Growler, a dog she walks regularly for a rather unpleasant woman, gives her great insights into what other animals might do and think in certain situations. He’s actually one of my favorite characters in this story because he’s such a gossip, giving Pru a running commentary on the neighborhood animal’s activities every walk. Stewie is a little spaniel who is wrapped up in the murder mystery and all he wants is to go back to his person, and you never really know for sure who that is, until the very end.
Cozy mysteries are one of my favorite genres to read. Adding animals and a touch of the paranormal to it only makes it more fun, as far as I’m concerned. Clea Simon does an excellent job of mixing humor, romance, and mystery into one coherent and exciting tale. The humans are engaging and fun, but the non-human characters are even more so. That the author was able to infuse so much personality into animals that really have no voice – as sometimes all Pru can get from them is a vague sense of their emotions – really amazed me. I’ve already purchased the first book in this series because I can’t wait to start at the beginning and discover how this all started.