"Kittens Can Kill" by Clea Simon / Reviewed by Dominique Chessor

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase "Kittens Can Kill" or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

"Kittens Can Kill" by Clea Simon
Reviewed by Dominique Chessor

Although the title of this book may seem a bit extreme, “Kittens Can Kill: A Pru Marlowe Pet Noir” is a surprisingly accurate title to this cozy mystery.

The novel follows the protagonist, Pru Marlowe, an animal behaviorist and excellent dog-walker whose most closely guarded secret is also the secret to her success: Pru can communicate with animals of all kinds.

Her introversion and preference for the company of animals allows Pru to skirt around the edges of a crime scene and insinuate herself into the family drama that begins to unfold after the death of a prominent lawyer, David Canaday.

Pru, who responds to a house call regarding a new kitten, walks smack into the scene of Canaday’s death and finds herself saddled with the now-unwanted kitten. Amidst the family drama that unfolds between Canaday’s daughters in regards to his will, Pru must rely on her peculiar sensitivity to animals in order to decipher what is true.

Was Canaday’s death an accident, a weak heart as one daughter claims? Or was it something more sinister - poison or overdose, as another daughter claims?

Pru must juggle the problems and perils of the other animals in town (as well as their far more troublesome owners) while she attempts to discern if a seemingly harmless fluffy white kitten could possibly have killed a man.

This story will have the reader eagerly flipping pages, anxious to solve the mystery of David Canaday’s death as first one daughter and then another falls under suspicion, until Pru is no longer certain that she can trust anyone in town - anyone human, that is.


Dominique Chessor is a married mom of two sassy cats. When she's not teaching little ones during her day job, she enjoys binge watching Netflix shows, crafts, cooking, and reading (anything and everything).


(If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the irreplaceable assistance of Meaghan Hill, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, and credited guest reviewers. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com)

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