Reviewed by Jeanne
I always look forward to a new entry in the Pru
Marlowe Pet Noir series. For the uninitiated, Pru works as a dog walker, animal
behaviorist, trainer, and—more often than her on again, off again police
officer lover Creighton would like—detective.
Pru has a bit of an advantage in some cases: she can communicate with
animals psychically, an ability whose sudden and confusing onset caused her to
check herself into a mental hospital.
It’s fear of being considered mentally unstable that causes Pru to keep
her talent to herself, though Creighton has begun to suspect.
And while she can understand animal thoughts, the
communication tend to be somewhat chaotic, to say the least, except from
Wallis, Pru’s sardonic feline companion.
This time around, Pru has been searching for Albert,
the local animal control officer, who is not the most diligent public servant
(to put it mildly). She finds him passed
out cold and an illegally trapped bear near by. She doesn’t figure Albert has the gumption
to be the brains behind such an operation, but a new complication swiftly
arises in the form of a dead human in the same vicinity. Albert’s pet ferret, Frank, is a probable
witness but Frank isn’t talking.
Angered by the thoughts of what was probably in
store for the bruin, Pru starts to investigate but she soon has more than one
complication on her hands: pets are disappearing from an upscale neighborhood,
and Greg the local game warden is interested in offering her a job—and maybe
something more.
As usual, the animals take center stage. I always enjoy Wallis, whose observations on
human life in general and Pru’s in particular, give the books some zest. Pru is a complex character who is suspicious
of most of the human race and especially wary of emotional entanglements. She is more attuned and compassionate toward
animals, who suffer not only physical hurt from humans but indignities:
Growler, a bichon she walks on a regular basis, is called Bitsy by his human
and treated more like a stuffed toy than a living creature. Despite being
confined most of the day, Growler knows most of what goes on in the
neighborhood and is a good source of information for Pru though he, like
Wallis, is disdainful of Pru’s lack of awareness of all the things that go on
around her.
However, I have to say that Bunbury Bandersnatch
stole the show this time.
This series is often called a cozy, though that’s
not the label I would give it. It’s a
bit darker and grittier, not to mention that Pru is no chaste virgin maid. I think of it more as a straightforward
mystery with a light dose of social commentary and a dollop of
supernatural. It’s an excellent series
and comes highly recommended.
While I think any
of the books in this series could be read as a stand alone, I am one of those people
who likes to start at the first and read in order. The other books are:
All
are available from the library.
Full
disclosure: I am acquainted with the author, but that did not influence my review.
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| I think Tessa was Wallis in a previous life. |
I think Tessa wants full credit!
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