Pru Marlowe Series by Clea Simon

Pru Marlowe isn't your ordinary animal psychic. A tough girl on the  run from her own gift, Pru left the big city to return to her   picturesque Berkshires hometown looking for a little peace. Too bad   that her training as an animal behaviorist got her mixed up with  Lily, a rescue dog, and Charles, her person. Now Charles is dead, and   Lily looks good for it... morePru Marlowe isn't your ordinary animal psychic. A tough girl on the  run from her own gift, Pru left the big city to return to her   picturesque Berkshires hometown looking for a little peace. Too bad   that her training as an animal behaviorist got her mixed up with  Lily, a rescue dog, and Charles, her person. Now Charles is dead, and   Lily looks good for it. After all, Lily is a pitbull, a fighting-ring   dropout, and way too traumatized to give Pru a clear picture of what   she has witnessed. But Pru knows something about bad girls trying to  clean up, and, with a sense of justice strong enough to overcome her dislike of human society, she takes the case. Listening to the animals, Pru picks up clues--and learns there are secrets in the  pretty little town that make murder look simple. Unable to tell  anybody about her psychic abilities, uncertain at times about her own  sanity, Pru comes to realize that if she clears Lily, she’ll likely   become the prime suspect--or the next victim. While the only  creature she can totally trust is her crotchety tabby Wallis, Pru’s  got to uncover the real killer--and find a way to live with her gift--before the real beasts in the town savage her and those she   has come to love. The first in the Pru Marlowe “pet noir” series. less

When Pru Marlowe gets the call that there’s been a cat shooting, she’s furious. Animal brutality is the one thing that this tough animal psychic won’t stand for, and in her role as a behaviorist she’s determined to care for the traumatized pet. But when Pru finds out that the cat did the shooting – accidentally setting off a rare dueling pistol – she realizes something else is going on... moreWhen Pru Marlowe gets the call that there’s been a cat shooting, she’s furious. Animal brutality is the one thing that this tough animal psychic won’t stand for, and in her role as a behaviorist she’s determined to care for the traumatized pet. But when Pru finds out that the cat did the shooting – accidentally setting off a rare dueling pistol – she realizes something else is going on. Could the white Persian really have killed her owner – or did the whole bloody mess have something to do with that pricey collectible? With the white cat turning a deaf ear to her questions, Pru must tune in to Beauville’s other pampered residents – from the dead man’s elite social set to their equally spoiled pets – and learn the truth before her ex, a former New York cop, gets too close. In a world where value is determined by a price tag, the pedigreed puss may have a reason for revenge, and only Pru Marlowe and her trusty tabby Wallis can figure out if this was a case of feline felony – or if some human has set up the Persian as the ultimate cat’s paw. less

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... moreThe 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?" less

Winter is hard in Beauville, where the melting snow can reveal much more than last season's dead leaves. So when a wealthy, obnoxious tourist and his ski bunny girlfriend surface in Pru Marlowe's little Berkshire town, she knows she should stay out of their way. The bad-girl animal psychic has to focus on more immediate concerns, including a wild rabbit named Henry, supposedly tamed and illegally living with an eighty-four-year-old lady in her home... moreWinter is hard in Beauville, where the melting snow can reveal much more than last season's dead leaves. So when a wealthy, obnoxious tourist and his ski bunny girlfriend surface in Pru Marlowe's little Berkshire town, she knows she should stay out of their way. The bad-girl animal psychic has to focus on more immediate concerns, including a wild rabbit named Henry, supposedly tamed and illegally living with an eighty-four-year-old lady in her home. Henry, who seems to be acting out and hiding, avoids responding to Pru. Yet when Pru discovers the tourist murdered and his girlfriend's high-maintenance spaniel falls to her care, she gets dragged into a complicated case of crime and punishment that involves some new friends, an old nemesis, and her own shadowed past. A recent museum art heist draws the feds into the investigation along with a courtly gentleman radiating menace, who represents secretive business interests in New York and shows a surprising awareness of Pru. Her on-again, off-again romance with police Detective Creighton doesn't stop him from warning her to steer clear of the inquiry. The spaniel, however, lures her in. Pru lives in a world where only her crotchety tabby Wallis knows the whole truth about her past, her flight from Manhattan, and her unique gift that surfaced abruptly one day. Fearing the worst, Pru now comes dangerously close to being exposed. With everything in motion, Pru, Wallis, and everyone they hold dear will be lucky to escape...by a hare. less

There's trouble brewing in the woods of Beauville, and the only witness isn't talking.When Pru Marlowe is called to a forest clearing to help with an illegally trapped bear, she finds a colleague passed out drunk, his pet ferret locked in his truck. When one of her old running buddies turns up dead as well and then the town's pampered pets begin to disappear, Pru can't tell if her heavy-drinking colleague is involved - or how much the ferret, a wise little creature called Frank, knows... moreThere's trouble brewing in the woods of Beauville, and the only witness isn't talking.When Pru Marlowe is called to a forest clearing to help with an illegally trapped bear, she finds a colleague passed out drunk, his pet ferret locked in his truck. When one of her old running buddies turns up dead as well and then the town's pampered pets begin to disappear, Pru can't tell if her heavy-drinking colleague is involved - or how much the ferret, a wise little creature called Frank, knows. Frank's not communicating - even to her - and for once the bad-girl animal psychic is at a loss.The offer of a job - and maybe something more - from a hunky warden only complicates Pru's life as she goes on her rounds between her small Berkshires hometown and the woods that lie beyond. And although her crotchety tabby, Wallis, would have her make some changes in what has become a familiar routine, Pru knows her special skills set her apart as the only one who can shed light on these crimes - and save the animals at risk.But as the mysteries pile up, Pru is forced to admit that even a city-hardened animal communicator can't understand everything that's going on, and that a small town may be as dangerous as the darkest woods when a predator is on the prowl. less