Blackie and Care

Introducing Blackie, an unusual feline hero, and his companion Care in the first of this dark new mystery series. Three figures, shadowy against the light. That's all I remember from my past life, as I am dragged, dripping and half-drowned, from the flood. My saviour, a strange, pink-haired girl, is little help. She can barely care for herself, let alone the boy she loves. And although she has sworn to avenge the murder of her mentor, she must first escape the clutches of drug dealers, murderers and thieves. I would repay her kindness if I could. But we are alone in this blighted city – and I am a cat. The past is an enigma to Blackie, the voice of Clea Simon's dark new mystery. Combining elements of feline fantasy and cozy whodunit, The Ninth Life introduces this unusual hero and his companion, Care: two small creatures in a nightmarish urban landscape, fighting for their lives, and for the lives and memories of those they love.

In this mystery set a nightmarish urban landscape, a seemingly routine case for an apprentice PI and her enigmatic cat becomes something far more twisted. Blackie does not trust Care's new client, factory owner Mr. Gravitz, who has hired the teenage private investigator to shadow one of his workers, a man he suspects is stealing from him. With his feline sixth sense, Blackie knows the client is not telling the truth-but how can he protect and warn his companion, Care, when he is only a cat? Combining elements of feline fantasy and traditional whodunit, As Dark As My Fur continues the adventures of this original and unusual detective duo as they fight for their lives and for the memories of those they love.

An old enemy from the past spells trouble for a young PI and her enigmatic cat in this dystopian noir mystery from the author of The Ninth Life. Care's reputation as a private investigator is growing, and clients are starting to beat a path to her door. An elderly woman seeks her help in finding out what happened to her missing brother. Blackie senses that he has met this woman before, some time before he became a cat. But who is she-and what is their connection? At the same time, a dockworker asks Care to find a colleague who has gone missing. But how does a poor laborer have the funds to pay for Care's investigative services? As Blackie and Care delve further into each case, it becomes clear that neither client has been telling the whole truth. Then a body is discovered at the waterfront, and the investigation takes a disturbing new twist... "Cat-loving fans of grim post-apocalyptic tales will best appreciate Simon's third Blackie and Care mystery."-Publishers Weekly