"That ain't mine." Here it is, the real final (sans a review quote) cover for Cats Can't Shoot, the second Pru Marlowe pet noir, out April 3, 2012.
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World Enough: Boston rock 'n' roll noir
As Dark As My Fur: the second Blackie and Care mystery
The sixth Pru Marlowe pet noir
The new Dulcie Schwartz feline mystery
Now, where's that mouse?
"Probable Claws," April '09
Crime fiction, animal issues, and rock & roll. What more do you need?
COMING SOON: WORLD ENOUGH
World Enough: Boston rock 'n' roll noir
OUT NOW: AS DARK AS MY FUR
As Dark As My Fur: the second Blackie and Care mystery
Where I'll be
Thurs., Nov. 2, 7 p.m., World Enough book launch, Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, MA
Wed., Nov. 8, 6:30 p.m., Mysterious Bookshop, New York, NY
For more, please click here.
Stay informed: sign up for my newsletter here.
OUT NOW: WHEN BUNNIES GO BAD
The sixth Pru Marlowe pet noir
OUT NOW: INTO THE GREY
The new Dulcie Schwartz feline mystery
Welcome!
I'm Clea Simon, the author of three nonfiction books and four mystery series. The Theda Krakow books are Mew is for Murder, Cattery Row, Cries and Whiskers, and Probable Claws, all published by Poisoned Pen Press. My Dulcie Schwartz series, featuring Dulcie and the ghost of her late, great cat Mr Grey (from Severn House) are: Shades of Grey, Grey Matters, Grey Zone, Grey Expectations, True Grey, Grey Dawn, Grey Howl, Stages of Grey, and Code Grey. More books are in the works! My Pru Marlowe pet noir series began with Dogs Don't Lie, Cats Can't Shoot, Parrots Prove Deadly, Panthers Play for Keeps, Kittens Can Kill, and (March 2016) When Bunnies Go Bad. And my new darker series, featuring Blackie and Care, debuted in 2016 with Ninth Life and continued with As Dark As My Fur. Look for a third Blackie & Care, Cross My Path, in 2018. My Boston rock noir, World Enough, will be out in the US on Nov. 1. More info as I have it, friends!
Musetta at work
Now, where's that mouse?
Posts
Praise for Clea's books
"Simon’s best known for her cat mysteries like hardboiled (or should I say tough mouser?) The Ninth Life but she is equally adept evoking the gritty past of the sleazy rock clubs of our youth." – Do Some Damage on World Enough
"I consider Clea Simon to be an absolutely brilliant writer, regardless of what genre she writes in. Writing in a cat’s voice is an art form, and few writers manage to do it well. In this series, Simon takes this art into a new realm. The way she sets scenes from Blackie’s point of view, and the way she describes how he takes in the world around him, reflects not just a thorough understanding of feline behavior, but also a connection to the feline soul that I have rarely seen in other cat books. The best writers paint pictures with their words. In As Dark As My Fur, Clea Simon paints a sweeping emotional cityscape that will stay with you long after you put the book down." – The Conscious Cat
"This intriguing series launch from Simon, best known for her cozy Dulcie Schwartz mysteries (Into the Grey, etc.), introduces Boston journalist Tara Winton, who back in the 1980s covered local punk rock bands … Vibrant descriptions of Boston’s former music scene … readers with a taste for noir are sure to want to see more of the edgy Tara. " –Publishers Weekly on World Enough
"Mystery, music, nightclubs, animals in danger: on a certain level, it’s an unlikely combination, yet, somehow, it works very well. And why? That special blend, I think: passion, heart, understanding and voice, voice, voice. Simon’s is as strong and clear as the passion she brings to the stories she tells." – January Magazine on Probable Claws
"With panache and perception, Simon delivers another best-in-show entry." – Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Music journalist Theda Krakow once again proves a feisty and determined sleuth in Simon's lively fourth cat-themed mystery. ... Well-drawn characters, a plot with many strings to unravel and plenty of appealing cats make this another winner for Simon." – Publishers Weekly
"As usual, Theda uses her investigative-journalist skills to save herself and help the cats of Cambridge, all while keeping in touch with the rock-music scene and negotiating an increasingly serious relationship with boyfriend Bill." – Booklist
"Clea Simon does an excellent job creating believable characters in Probable Claws. Theda and the rest of the cast of characters could each be someone the reader already knows in everyday life, or might bump into tomorrow." – Mystery Scene Magazine
"Once again, Clea Simon skillfully brings together the various aspects of Theda Krakow's complicated life. ... Readers who appreciate complicated characters, and intricate plots, will appreciate Simon's latest crime novel, Probable Claws." – Lesa's Book Critiques
About Me
- Clea Simon
- Cambridge, Massachusetts
- I'm the author of four mystery series, as well as such nonfiction books as The Feline Mystique: On the Mysterious Connection Between Women and Cats.
Clea Simon's official home page
Support your local mystery bookstore!
![Support your local mystery bookstore!](<a href="http://www.indiebound.org/search/apachesolr_search/Clea+Simon?aff=cleasimon09"><img src="http://www.indiebound.org/files/blue-small.gif" alt="Shop Indie Bookstores" border="0" /></a>)
Coming soon...
"Probable Claws," April '09
Links we like...
- Cries and Whiskers on Amazon
- Barbara Vey on Publishers Weekly
- Bookbitch
- Caroline Leavitt's home page
- Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
- Cozy Mystery list
- Crime Fiction Dossier
- Damon and Naomi's alt sounds
- Deborah Grabien's Tales from the Writerverse
- Do You Write Under Your Own Name?
- Eric Ruben: actor, writer, entertainer
- First Offenders mystery fiction blog
- Galleycat
- Karen E. Olson's home page
- Allia Zobel's Kitty Literate blog
- Larry Karp's Mystery Exchange
- Lauren Baratz-Logsted's home site
- Lesa's Book Critiques
- Linda L. Richards: author and geek girl
- Music critic Brett Milano's home page
- Musings of a Bookish Kitty
- Nose to the Ground: Julia Szabo's dog news blog
- Off the Page: Mystery columnist Oline H. Cogdill's blog
- Poe's Deadly Daughters
- Poisoned Pen Press
- Reviewed by Liz
- Reviewing the Evidence
- Steve Dale's "Pet World"
- The Lipstick Chronicles
- The Scissor Men (our friend Ted's band)
- UCLA Writers Program (where I teach)
- Vicki Croke - animal author extraordinaire
- Working Stiffs
5 comments:
First of all, all the best for 2012 to you, Clea!
As for the cover, the white cat is beautiful (will there be a white cat in the book?) but (and I hope you don't mind me saying that) the cover of "Dogs Don't Lie" was truer to the character of the novel. And as I'm already nitpicking about covers, I received my copy of "Grey Expectations" a few days ago (YEAH!) and the illustration is really, really dark. You can hardly see the face of the cat. Poor job by the publishing house if you ask me (and I still feel the cat should have been long-haired). Also, I know that all Grey books have your name in a bigger typeface than the title, but this time this difference is way out of proportion, I feel. Do you generally have any say in how the covers look like or can the publisher do whatever they want?
But well, before you think that I'm a stupid, overcritical broad, let me tell you I was immediately hooked when I read the first page, and I already feel that the book will be a really great read!
Best from Katha who loves your books but not always the covers :)
Katha - Thank you for commenting -- and for being a faithful reader! Unfortunately, I have very little say about the covers. There is a white cat in "Cats Can't Shoot," though -- and the one thing I did point out and got changed was that the gun in the book is an antique. In the original cover, the gun was contemporary, so that was a change for accuracy. I have not seen Grey Expectations yet, so VERY much looking forward to seeing that (bummed about the cover though, and, yes, I did ask for a longhaired cat -- or at least a black and white, but... no luck). I think it is my best book yet (Sorry, Pru). Thank you and happy new year.
PS - Katha, if youlook on Amazon you'll see an earlier version of the "Cats Can't Shoot" cover, which I had suggested. The publisher ultimately decided that it might be confused with the first book (Dogs Don't Lie) and went in a different direction.
Clea -- I just took a look at the cover on Amazon, and I must say that I really like that far better. It would have so nicely underscored the fact that the book is part of a series while still adding enough variation (the color and the cat) to differentiate it from book 1. Oh well. But I already assumed that authors have very little influence on the cover. So it's great you could at least convince them to use the antique gun.
Isn't that odd that your readers have the actual book faster than you yourself? :) But I guess that's because "Grey Expectations" has come out in the UK earlier. I live in Germany and ordered it from the UK. I will keep my fingers crossed that the illustration of the American edition will be somewhat brighter and so come out better!
Glad to meet you, now I want to get my hands on your books. They sound right up my alley. Yay.
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