The Ninth Life: A New Cat Mystery Series: 1 (A Blackie and Care Cat Mystery) - Hardcover

"I loved the writing perspective of this new series. I can't imagine the creativity of Clea Simon. She is amazing. . . Never thought that I would be reading a cozy/thriller strictly narrated by a feline. BRILLIANT!"--P Marks, reviewer

THE NINTH LIFE is a tour through a criminal wilderness of alleys and gutters, guided by a hunter as canny and fierce as they come. While Care is a smart, tough, and vulnerable young protagonist, narrator Blackie steals the limelight, showing us these dark places through his sharp feline eyes. A good noir tale will reveal a shadowy existence that parallels our own; Clea Simon goes many steps beyond, creating a terrific story that draws us in and makes us relate to a narrator whose life is a world away from our own--Dana Cameron; multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity award winner

"Clea Simon has twisted my brain with this book. I have been taken to the dark, damp underbelly of a drug infested, money greedy, mob-like world. My tour-guide, a cat. Normally, this would sound silly to me, but Blackie is amazing. Anyone else telling the story would be all wrong. We would know nothing like we know had she written in a different narrator. My mind is blown by this angle and I love it. Brilliant Clea, just brilliant."--S Booth, reviewer

"The Ninth Life is a unique mystery and I am definitely curious to see where the Clea Simon goes with the characters next."--Wendy R, reviewer

"Forget everything you think you know about 'cat mysteries.' THE NINTH LIFE is a dark and gritty story of life on the streets, told from the unique point of view of a narrator who sees things humans can't. Clea Simon has given us a window into a world of constant and surprising dangers, frustrations and almost unbearable tension, and it's one I won't soon forget."--Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of The Fixer and Suspicion

"A tour de force of point of view--the talented Clea Simon flawlessly portrays a main character the likes of which we'e never encountered! With skill and style and profound understanding, she entertains readers with an exciting, compelling, and utterly unique adventure."--Hank Phillippi Ryan - Agatha, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark Award winning author

"If Sherlock Holmes were a cat, this is the sort of cat he would be."--Jeanne, Bristol Public Library

"Noir fans who are fond of felines will find a lot to like."--Publishers Weekly

"Overall the world woven by the words of this sensible cat create such an immersive sense of tragic melancholy, intrigue and constant fear that I'm far too involved in the story to analyse the style and content. I can only see this 'world of casual violence and retribution' that these children are forced to inhabit. My reviewing abilities are fully compromised by becoming so thoroughly engrossed in a wonderful reading experience."--Breakaway Reviewers

"Clea Simon has clearly spent some time considering what it's like to be a cat. Blackie (and Care, ultimately) moves through the city as both hunter and prey, vulnerable and dangerous at the same time, depending on who the foe is."--S Andrews, reviewer

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.