Pru has a gift with animals. She “senses” things they think- and through this they can communicate back and forth. When Pru is called out for a “life or death” emergency, she’s not sure what she will find. But a frazzled woman and an African-Grey who hurls insults was probably not it.
Randolph, the parrot, caretaker, Polly Larkin, has recently passed away and the family is hoping that Pru can perform some behavior modification on Randolph. This would enable Randolph to be able to have a new nice and happy home life. Pru takes the job, but is unsure of her ability to help modify the parrots behavior. Then Randolph begins repeating phrases that lead Pru to think the parrot may have witnessed the event that took Polly Larkin’s life. And that it was murder!
Pru teams up with Wallis the cat, a raccoon, and other animals to find out what Randolph the parrot really saw. One of the animals lets Pru know that “no likes a blabbermouth” which makes Pru worry about Randolph’s safety. To complicate matters further, Pru’s boyfriend, Jim Creighton, is trying to find out how drugs are getting around town so easily. Between the drugs and the murder, Pru has her hands filled trying to find out what happened to Polly Larkin and if there is more to the story than meets the eye. Pru may not know the answers yet, but she knows she needs to find out for her sake as well as the animals.
Clea Simon writes a cute book filled with funny animal characters (especially Wallis) and a mystery that is enjoyable. While I enjoyed the book and the characters, I’m still on the fence about whether I’ll visit Pru’s world again- it’s very different from my normal cozy picks. However, I found the world that Clea Simon created for Pru and Wallis to be a fun place- and one that many cozy readers will enjoy.
** Blogger note: I don’t read cozy books for the plausibility factor- I read for the enjoyment. This book does have some enjoyable moments- however, I theorize that I’m too used to the type of cozy books I read (the cupcake, coffee making, bakery type of books that also solve crime) to fully appreciate the cozy where a woman can communicate with the animals. I did, however, give it a fair review on Goodreads and my blog- because while it may not have been a 5 star for me- for another fellow cozy reader, it may very well be!
Traveling With T 
I’m with you – I don’t know how I would feel about the plot line of talking to animals (although when I was a kid, it was amazing)! I’m sorry you didn’t love it, but if you loved every book you would’t appreciate great ones!
It just wasn’t for me. Nothing wrong with writing. SL was actually not bad. But I didn’t love it- although I could see where others might find the appeal in it. And no- you’re not going to love every book you read! It’s great when you do- and with a series- you can love the first few, and then start not liking them as well!