Overall a cute story, but all the animal talkings kinda threw me after awhile. Hard to keep track of them plus the human characters. Also confusing is that the animals had their preferred names plus their given names. Not sure why it mattered, but confused me. Still though, I enjoyed the basic plot of the book and wanted to see who the killer was. Would recommend.

Fear on Four Paws

by Clea Simon

Fear on Four Paws easily drops into the category of “really good cozy mystery.” Main character Pru Marlowe, an animal behaviorist working towards a master’s degree and certification, has a sensitivity for communicating with animals, understanding their feelings, and opening herself up so that they understand her. Although actually a gift, like a good sense of direction or the ability to play music by ear, when Pru’s aptitude for communication with animals first manifests itself, she thinks she is going crazy. Realizing what others might think of this special ability, she is careful to conceal it.

In Fear on Four Paws, Pru is working a number of jobs to support herself. She assists the game warden, the animal control officer, and the local vet, supplementing her various incomes with freelance work as a dog trainer and walker. She finds herself enmeshed in a murder investigation in which the Beauville animal control officer is a person of interest. While Pru could benefit by his being found guilty, she is more interested in understanding what is happening to the young male bears in the area, the animal control officer’s ferret, and an unusual number of dogs and cats who suspiciously disappear and reappear in a well-to-do neighborhood. Meanwhile she has to sort out her love life between Game Warden Greg and her current flame, Detective Jim Creighton, who is as wrapped up in his job as Pru is in hers.

The interaction between Pru and the variety of animals in the book takes top billing and is an integral part of the storyline and the successful resolution of the mysteries. Pru does not hear the animals directly talk to her, so her efforts to fine tune her understanding of them is quite interesting.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #7 in the Pru Pet Noir Series but works well as a stand alone.

Publication: July 3, 2018—Poisoned Pen Press

Memorable Lines:

We’re all animals, after all, and our vulnerabilities are heightened when we’re tired, hungry, or scared.

Outside my own open window, the birds were getting busy. Food and childcare, love and rivalry playing out in trills and whistles.

Animals don’t rework the past the way we humans do. While they experience longing and grief and sadness, they understand, better than we do, that time doesn’t go backward, for all our wishing.

Pru is called to the forest to help out with an illegally trapped bear. She also finds a colleague passed out drunk, his pet ferret locked in his truck. Then one of her old friends is found dead, and the pets in Beauville are starting to be missing. What is going on in this small town? It's always been so safe. Frank, the ferret, might know something be he isn't talking to anyone. Not even Pru. She also gets a job offer from a very good looking warden that complicates her life. Her own grumpy cat, Wallis seems to adding his own two cents worth on what she should do. Can Pru find out who killed her friend and who is taking the pets and why? You will need to read the book to find out. I voluntarily read a copy of this story from Net Galley.

Mystery with a hint of the paranormal, as Pru Marlowe attempts to find the individuals responsible for trapping a bear, while trying to stay in the good graces of her police detective lover. Intriguing mystery is a must for animal lovers.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Clea Simon definitely has a dark side and when this series is described as a pet noir, it is a true statement. If you like your cozies light and cheerful and happy endings, this may not be for you. Pru is one very troubled and at times troubling soul. She relishes that she is a square peg in a round hole. There are no soft edges. She is one tough cookie and she loves being who and what she is.
The one thing she has some difficulty with is how to keep the rest of humanity at bay as she communicates with the animals around her. She is a pet psychic and it helps her establish a growing rep and business as an animal trainer and behaviourist. As she would put it, what she really does is try to train the humans not the animals. I am a qualified human trainer myself and I can attest to the fact that it is difficult for a cat to train humans properly so I give her a high paw for her efforts.
Of course, she has an excellent assistant in her room-mate Wallis. Each story Wallis gets more to do and since she is a great mixture of catitude and wisdom, I love it. Growler and Frank, dog and ferret, are also there to help as are some new characters including a particularly wonderful kitty. It is the humans that give her all the grief. Between trapping innocent bears and selling them to “collectors”, murder., and mayhem, everyone has their paws full trying to sort out things. It is no wonder that Wallis, Growler and Frank often throw up their paws in sheer frustration.
So, you can see, despite my acknowledgement of the darker side to her stories, I do enjoy this series and this particular book. In fact, I like it so much I give it five purrs and two paws up.

This is book number 7 in the wonderful Pru Marlowe series. This is a great animal mystery series and I highly recommend this next in series. Each in series I have read and loved them all. I recommend the entire series.

Our protagonist Pru has a special gift of being able to hear what animals are thinking. She works with animals in many capacities using her gift to save their lives, improve their lives and understand how to help them. In this next in series a serious crime of trapping bears for canned hunts has crossed her path. When she arrives at the scene of a trapped bear she finds a ferret who has the information for her on the suspects. When people in town are being murdered she depends on her communication skills with animals to help the police without them knowing where she got her information. She is in danger but determined with the help of the animals to solve these heinous crimes and save the bears. She also accepts a new position as a game warden which helps her investigate on her own . This gives her access to more animals who have information on the crimes. Her sidekick is her own insightful feline Wallis who helps her solve the crimes.

This series deserves 5 paws up ! It is done with well crafted mysteries, a great love of animals and wonderful atmosphere. The author writes with a fast paced well plotted mystery that captures this reader from the beginning. The trapping of animals for canned hunts is a very real problem and I appreciate how the author highlights this very real and terrible problem. The animals in each book are a delight and their part as protagonist is written with such care and love for each animal that they are all endearing.

5 paws up and great writing with a endearing love for animals that appeals to all animal lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

I absolutely adored this mystery, and it just cemented how much I enjoy this author's writing and basically everything she does! I've recently read one of her other books, and some from another of her series, but this one was a thrilling ride too.

I adore reading about cats and mysteries, and this one is perfect in that the main character can communicate with animals, including her cat! It makes for interesting reading as she solves the murder using Frank and Growler's insight, as well as Wallis, her own cat. It's an entertaining mystery too, and I wasn't sure how all the pieces came together until right at the end. Bravo!

This is obviously a great series you can pick up at any time; I didn't need to read the first books to enjoy it. Five stars!

You all know people who say they can talk to animals. Well, Pru can hear what the animals say and that's what makes this series unique. It's not just her own cat, it's a ferret and a bear, and the neighborhood pets. Beauville is a small town but there's someone doing rotten things AND murdering people so it's up to Pru, of course, to work with the animals to find out the real story. There are some twists but the best part about this is the interplay between species. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I'd read the last book in the series and very much enjoyed it= I enjoyed this as well. You can read it as a standalone but that will make you, like me, look forward to more. Two paws up!

Very interesting premise as Pru getsinfo from animals. Sounds fluffy and silly but the author writes in a way that makes it neither . Her relationships with owners is funny yet full. A good read with murder on everyone’s mind

Pru Marlowe is able to sense what animals are thinking. She has returned to Beauville with her tabby cat, Wallis. She earns her living as an animal behaviorist. Put also covers animal issues for the county. In the seven book, she is called to check out an illegally trapped bear. There she finds the bear, call the state game officer for help. But she finds Frank, a ferret and is a drunker owner. Pru is offered a job as an assistant to the state game officer. In the new neighborhoods of Beauville, family pets are disappearing and a short time later the animals are found before Pru can arrive. What is happening? Pru needs to find the answer. Who is trapping bears for the black market?
Is Frank's owner, Albert guilty of murder? Why won't Creighton, Pru's boyfriend tell her about the murders? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book and series.

Disclosure: Many thanks to Poison Pen Press for a review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.