Panthers Play for Keeps

A Pru Marlowe Pet Noir Mystery, Book 4

By: Clea Simon

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

When Pru Marlowe takes a dog for a walk, she doesn't expect to find a body. But Spot, a service dog in training, has a good nose that leads her right to the remains of a beautiful young woman. Despite her best instincts, Pru can't avoid getting involved. The young woman seems to have been mauled by a wild cat, but Pru knows there have been no pumas in the Berkshire woods for years. And while Wallis, Pru's curmudgeonly tabby, seems fixated on the idea of a killer cat, Spot has been sending strange signals to Pru's own heightened senses, suggesting that the violent death was something more than a tragic accident. As motives multiply, a cougar of a different sort sets her eyes on Pru's sometime lover, and another woman disappears. With panther panic growing, Pru may have to put aside her own issues - and her own ideas of domesticity - to solve a savage mystery.

©2014 Clea Simon (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Imaginative mystery and Dr Doolittle in one

Where does Panthers Play for Keeps rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right at the top of my A+ list.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Panthers Play for Keeps?

When Spot blocks Pru from walking forward when there is danger ahead. Really shows how wonderful these helper dogs are and how they can be totally trusted by someone that has to rely on them completely.

What does Tavia Gilbert bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

OMG Tavia Gilbert is fantastic. I love everything about the way she handles the entire series. Her animal depictions are wonderful and all her other characters really come to life under her narration.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Can't say there is a particular moment. I just enjoy the animal interactions with Pru.

Any additional comments?

Although I love animal books like Pru Marlowe I think that the narration by Tavia Gilbert is 99% of my enjoyment just by the way she interprets the story.

Entertaining

The book is funny and entertaining I was guessing the killer but I sluthed it wrong. keep the books coming it's a good series.

Great narration, Same series flaws

I have loved the narration on this series - even the voices that annoy me seem just right. However, the things I have disliked in the past continue. We have a situation wherein Pru is investigating a murder, for no clear reason other than that she feels like it. She continues to rush into situations with no plans other than to show up and ask inappropriate questions. I was bothered a bit by the way she uses the service dog she is training - even leaving him in a situation she doesn't think well of just to give her a chance to be nosy. But I guess what I liked least was how ineffectual she is at interpreting the clues both from humans and animals. Even Pru's cat has repeatedly pointed out how bad she is at understanding animals despite her gift of hearing them. But in this one, she even misunderstands really clear hints from humans. I don't even try to solve mysteries while I read them but the basics of what happened were really obvious to me long before Pru caught on. Not sure i would bother with any more in this series.