March Releases from Poisoned Pen Press!

Congratulations to my fellow Poisoned Pen Press authors with releases this month! I can recommend them both!

Kittens Can Kill, Clea Simon (find out more)

Partial description: The dead don’t keep pets. So when animal behaviorist expert Pru Marlowe gets a call about a kitten, she doesn’t expect to find the cuddly creature playing beside the cooling body of prominent Beauville lawyer David Canaday. Heart attack? His three adult daughters angrily blame drug interactions, feline allergies—and each other. And begin to feud over their father, his considerable estate, and that cute ball of fluff. 

This was the first of Clea's series that I read, and you can believe I'll go back to read the earlier titles in the series. A good story and a fun twist on animal mysteries.

Sherlock Holmes, The Missing Years: Japan, Vasudev Murthy (find out more)

Partial description: In a seriocomic novel that radically ups the ante, Sherlock Holmes and Watson find their match in more than one man (or indeed, woman) as a clock inexorably ticks. History, mystery, romance, conspiracies, knife-edge tension; a train in Russia, roadside crime in Alexandria, an upset stomach in Bombay, careening through Cambodia, nasty people in China, monks in Japan–here’s a thrilling global chase that will leave you breathless (occasionally with laughter) as the Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years series begins.

I'm looking forward to the next books in the series, because this one was a lot of fun and very cleverly done. Good job, Vasudev!

And if you're a reader of Mystery Readers Journal, look for Barbara Leavy's article in the March issue, titled "Some Thoughts About Depressed Northern Detectives."

Poisoned Pen Press Cover: Kittens Can Kill

Coming in March 2015, from Poisoned Pen Press!

Kittens Can Kill: A Pru Marlowe Pet Noir

The dead don’t keep pets. So when animal behaviorist expert Pru Marlowe gets a call about a kitten, she doesn’t expect to find the cuddly creature playing beside the cooling body of prominent Beauville lawyer David Canaday. Heart attack? His three adult daughters angrily blame drug interactions, feline allergies—and each other. And begin to feud over their father, his considerable estate, and that cute ball of fluff. While the cause of death is pending, each sister has an axe to grind –with arguments that escalate when David’s partner reads out the will.

Pru’s special sensory talents and sensitivity to animals that caused her to flee the cacophony of Manhattan for the quiet Berkshires add further problems. The local vet is overwhelmed with money running out. There’s that needy Sheltie and some invasive squirrels?  But the dead man’s kitten, his former partner, and his troublesome family keep drawing “wild-girl” animal psychic Pru back in. Despite the wry observations of her trusty tabby Wallis, now the wrongfully accused kitten’s guardian, and the grudging compliance of her cop lover, this may be one time when Pru can’t solve the mystery or save the kitten she wants to believe is innocent. A single witness knows the truth about that bright spring morning. How far can Pru investigate without risking her own hidden tale? 

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About the Author

Clea Simon is the author of the Pru Marlowe, Dulcie Schwartz, and Theda Krakow mystery series, as well as three nonfiction books. A former journalist, she lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, with her husband Jon and their cat Musetta.

Learn more about Kittens Can Kill and Clea Simon on her website.