Dogs Don’t Lie

The Pru Marlowe Pet Noir Series, Book 1

By: Clea Simon

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

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, the dog’s guardian. Now Charles is dead, and Lily appears to be headed for the same end, for after all, Lily is a pit bull, a fighting-ring dropout. And Lily is far 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 anyone 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 cat, Wallis, Pru must 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.

©2011 Clea Simon (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Her clever thirteen-year-old tabby, Wallis, provides snarky paws-on assistance…but [Pru’s] no slouch as a detective.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Good Light Read

A pleasent audio-read with a great narration. This is a a well done light mystery with a target audience of pet lovers

A good listen

If you could sum up Dogs Don’t Lie in three words, what would they be?

I was a little annoyed at the main character's lack of insight, after all she is a dog behaviorist

What about Tavia Gilbert’s performance did you like?

easy voice to listen to, she separated the character's well

Entertaining, though not cozy, mystery

Any additional comments?

I liked Dogs Don't Lie. The narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life for me. That said, I do prefer a more cozy style mystery, and neither Pru nor her cat are really the cozy sort. Still it held my interest. I'm not sure I 100% bought into the killer and motive presented at the end, but I plan to try the next in the series anyway.

Nice mystery for animal lovers

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It took me a while to warm up to this reader. At first it sounded like she was declaiming from across the room. There were a few times where I had to re-listen because I think she used the wrong voice. By the end, though, I was swept up in the action and didn't notice as much.

Entertaining

Very entertaining well spoken enjoyed the book looking for the next I'm hoping it keeps me just this involved in guessing

ugh

Could not decide which was worse, the reading or the writing. Possibly the 10 and under crowd would enjoy!

Ugh

Would you try another book from Clea Simon and/or Tavia Gilbert?

Probably not.

Would you ever listen to anything by Clea Simon again?

Probably not

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Dogs Don’t Lie?

I only got 1/3 through the book and I really didn't like any of it.

Any additional comments?

Just not for me.