When Bunnies Go Bad: A Pru Marlowe Pet Noir

By: Clea Simon
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: March 2016
ISBN: 9781464205354
Reviewed By: Kristi Benedict
Review Date: March 28, 2016

After a long, cold winter Pru Marlowe finds herself wanting to be out enjoying every bit of sunshine she can find but she is not the only one. When a rude rich tourist, Teddy Rhinecrest, comes into town with his much younger ski bunny girlfriend, Pru hopes to stay out of their way until their little vacation is done and they go on their way. However, when Pru stumbles across the dead body of this rich tourist she can’t help but find herself in the middle of another small town mystery. A simple ski trip to the extremely tiny town of Beauville seems a harmless getaway but as details start to surface about the former Teddy Rhinecrest and his red headed girlfriend it turns out they were involved with some very dangerous characters.

On top of getting mixed up in this current web of mysteries Pru also has to keep her current clients happy, even if there are only a few of them. Luckily she also has the chance to work for a new client and of course Pru never turns down the opportunity to add to her client list. When Pru finds out what kind of animal this lady has she is not so sure she is the right person for the job, as this lady is keeping a wild cottontail rabbit illegally in her home. Pru’s secret skill to communicate with animals works well with domestic pets but it is a whole other ballgame to communicate with a wild animal. At least there is one person in town that Pru has come to trust and rely on but even her beau, Jim Creighton, seems to be acting strange with this case making Pru think that perhaps her trust in him is not the best idea. As always the clues will slowly piece together as Pru listens closely to the animals around her and takes what they know to heart.

After seeing that Clea Simon had come out with another Pru Marlowe mystery I was excited about scooping it up as I have read a couple of her books before and have enjoyed the fun and exciting stories. However, I do have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this most recent book of hers. The start of When Bunnies Go Bad was promising as Simon set up what seemed to be another fun and intriguing small town mystery but unfortunately there was never a point where the story turned exciting. In her other books there was a moment where I caught myself holding my breath but with this book I was consistently waiting for that moment and it never came. I have come to love the characters and plot in this series but this particular book just wasn’t one of my favorites.

Quill says: Unfortunately a mystery with an absence of excitement and suspense.