Clea Simon continues her Blackie and Care feline mystery series with As Dark As My Fur. Intriguing dystopian paranormal in which a young girl takes up a living as a detective in a decaying city. Her sidekick is Blackie, the cat, who has become the next body to contain the spirit of her former mentor and trainer, a detective. Care has to pursue a case in which none of the actors is honest and the trail is a twisted corkscrew. Great reading.

The review appears in the July issue of Gumshoe Review, an online eMagazine that covers the mystery genre.

This is the second book in the Blackie and Care cat mystery series by Clea Simon.
The first book in series I highly recommend to all cat and mystery lovers. This book is
as delightful as the first in series. Cara is a young private investigator and our protagonist who shares her protagonist duties with her new friend a black cat who communicates both with her and the reader throughout the book.
Clea Simon is a cat enthusiast who understands the feline way. She has written this book
based on a black cat who must interact with Cara to help her solve a crime. The writing is well crafted ,, very smart and fun to read. The mystery has many twists and turns that will surprise every mystery fan, The interaction of Blackie with Cara is catnip to every cat lover. Blackie is smart and able to understand what his side kick needs.
Clea has created a fascinating series that is not your usual animal cozy but part mystery and part crime fiction noir. Its delightful from page one to the end. I look forward to the next in series with purrs and whisker kisses to the author. Thank you for the advance reading copy that did not influence my review. Well done to the author.

Finding the lost, uncovering the hidden - Care has taken to her mentor’s profession with alacrity. But her youth and her gender make her vulnerable in the tumultuous urban landscape where predators reign. Blackie may remember little from his previous life, but he still has his instincts and his desire to guide and protect Care. As a cat, his ability to communicate is limited, as his is his ability to help. It is through his wise eyes and feline perspective that we see events. Care has been hired to find a missing worker for the owner of a sweatshop. The case is promising in appearance, but is in reality a sinister trap. Gravitch is seeking papers - papers with information that threatens him and the system that runs the city. Care is in great danger and Blackie is her only hope for survival.

As Dark as My Fur is part fantasy, part noir - an entirely unique blend much different from the pet cozies animal lovers are accustomed to. This series is amazing. I wanted to savor every page. I was almost disappointed at the end, because now I will have to wait another year until the next novel comes out. Clea Simon is an incredible author. Her animals mysteries stand head and shoulders above the rest.

5 / 5

I received a copy of As Dark as My Fur from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

As Dark as My Fur

by Clea Simon

I looked forward to the novelty of a mystery narrated by a cat in As Dark as My Fur. I had read positive reviews and thought the cat’s perspective might add interest as well as a touch of humor. It didn’t contribute any amusement, but that was the author’s choice and is acceptable. The cat is, in fact, a man who has been murdered and reincarnated as a cat with only partial memories of his prior life.

The author, Clea Simon, has a remarkable command of the English language, excellent powers of description, and insightful views into the frustrations of being a cat. Unfortunately, she calls upon the latter strength over and over again at the expense of the plot. The average reader can easily grasp the difficulties of trying to communicate with a human from a cat’s body. The author belabors the point in every chapter. I easily put the book aside multiple times with no sense of loss. Finally, at the end of chapter thirty-one (88% through the book), the author inserted a hook that made me want to finish reading the book. Simultaneously, the plot pace picked up and I completed it. I was disappointed that the active mystery has resolution, but the main villain is not revealed.

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

Rating: 3/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: Blackie and Care #2

Publication: April 1, 2017—Severn House

Memorable Lines:

Silence elicits speech.

As I have noted, I am a cat. And while I may be frustrated by my inability to communicate directly, at least with the girl with whom I have forged a bond, I do enjoy my superior senses.

There is joy to be found in a bright morning, in the company of one who may be trusted.

An orphaned girl and a reincarnated cat team up to solve mysteries. As a cat lover, I rather enjoyed this story told from the watchful, perspective of the cat.

This is a mystery, written from the perspective of a cat. The cat used to be an old detective in his former life and now is belong to a young woman, the former student of that old detective. If you like mysteries, you will enjoy reading this one.

This is another intriguing book featuring Blackie whose past reincarnation as a PI shines a light on his ability to help Care. The way the mystery was staged, it kept my interest as each action caused a reaction and helped move the story along. There were a few scenes where I was on pins and needles hoping for the best outcome. I like the development of the two main characters and their relationship which is so believable, especially if you are a pet owner. It’s a good mystery one that is deeper and dark but pulled me in and I had to see how it would all end.

Princess Fuzzypants:

It is a dark, cruel world that Clea Simon has created in this series. It is very noir so it is only appropriate that the hero of the series is a black cat named Blackie by the young heroine. He was her mentor when he was still in his human form but was transferred into the body of the old cat just as he was about to die. Care, the girl, saved him from drowning and the two have been partners since.
Care is trying her best to survive in this nasty world as best she can. She is smart and savvy and manages to have a big heart despite all the betrayal and cruelty around. It is her big heart that puts her time and again in danger's path. Blackie attempts to share the wisdom he earned.as a human and the heightened senses that he has acquired as a feline.
His greatest frustration is trying to communicate with his limited resources as a cat. He does an exemplary job, but then he is a cat now. If it was not for him, Care would be in worse trouble than she is.
This book continues the storyline as Care tries to save her young friend and find out what happened to her parents. It turns out that her father was a hero in his own right. He tried to reveal the dirty dealings beneath the dirty dealings. Care not only gets as far as her father but is able to use the information she has gleaned. However, as the book winds down, her newly found knowledge may put her even more in the cross hairs of the really BIG baddy.
It is a dark world so do not go there if that sort of stories depresses you. It is very compelling and as each book takes us farther, it is almost like being caught in a web but it is one from which I do not want to be released.
I give it five purrs and two paws up.

This is a very unique story. It is told entirely from the perspective of a cat, Blackie. His patterns of speech are very formal and antiquated. He uses phrasing such as "I would that it were not so". Because the story is told entirely from the cat's perspective, and he is unable to communicate with his human companion, Care, I think the story is much more one-dimensional. The reader sees Care's actions through the eyes of Blackie, but any information about her motives and thoughts are derived solely from Blackie's assumptions and conjectures.

I liked this story, but I liked it more for its unique perspective than I liked it as a mystery. I feel like this book is missing a lot of what I typically expect from a mystery. Most of my favorite mysteries are told from varying perspectives, and what makes them so exciting is seeing the story coming together from all sides. I also found Blackie to be somewhat repetitive in his frustrations about not being able to communicate with Care - almost the same phrasing was used each time Blackie pondered this dilemma.

That being said, I did enjoy the story for its unique point of view. It is a credit to Ms. Simon that she is able to convey the entire story just from the perspective of Blackie. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the story had been told in alternating points of view, by Care and Blackie. However, I certainly recommend this story to any cat lovers - I have two cats, and was able to see a lot of their personalities in Blackie, and it was fun to read his thoughts and think of my own cats following the same trains of thought.

I've read all the books in this series, and while they may not go down in history as timeless literature, they ARE entertaining and well-written. How could anyone not like Blackie?? Having a story told through the eyes of a man-now-cat is intriguing, and you just can't help rooting for him as well as the orphan waif he's chosen as his human. Their interaction through good times and bad is heart-warming without being cloying, and I enjoy every minute of reading. Highly recommended.

She found Blackie almost drowned and brought him back home to nurse him to wellness. Her mentor had just died and she was lonely, a cat would help. What she doesn't know is that the soul of her mentor is in the black cat...

Severn House Publishers and Net Galley allowed me to read this story for review (thank you). It will be published April 1st.

When she gets a notice she will be evicted for nonpayment of rent, she's desperate and desolated. How can she pay that when she has no money? When an old man asks for her aid, she tells him she will help. She finds his magnifying glasses and returns them to him. Then another man approaches her and he wants her to find a missing employee. She agrees to look for three days (thinking she can find him by then) and asks for half payment up front. The man pays her. She should have thought more about how he found her and why he wanted such a young one to do the work. The money was just too attractive, though. The first thing she did was buy food for both herself and Blackie. Then she goes out on her quest.

This is a bit different theme than Ms. Simon usually uses. It's set in Victorian times and the backstory is sad. It's very good read and I really enjoyed watching the young girl upset the plans the bad man had in mind. She's just starting out, so I look forward to reading more about her and Blackie. They make a mean team.

I had trouble getting into the book. Too much repetition about how the old man had become a cat, etc.

A strange dystopian noir narrated by a mysterious cat, who was not always residing in feline form.