Thursday, May 1, 2014

Clea Simon's "Panthers Play for Keeps"

Clea Simon is the award-winning author of three feline-centric mystery series, the Theda Krakow mysteries, Dulcie Schwartz feline mysteries, and Pru Marlowe pet noirs, the last two of which are ongoing. (She is also the author of three nonfiction books, including The Feline Mystique: On the Mysteries Connection Between Women and Cats [St. Martin's]). Simon's latest books are Grey Howl, the eighth Dulcie mystery (for Severn House), and Panthers Play for Keeps, the fourth Pru Marlowe, which was just released by Poisoned Pen Press.

Here Simon dreamcasts an adaptation of Panthers Play for Keeps:
Pru Marlowe, the protagonist of my new Panthers Play for Keeps, is such a strong woman. Dark, sexy, a bit of a bad girl… plus she loves cats. While I can imagine several actresses vying for the chance to play her, I can really only see one star in the role: Gina Gershon.

That generous, provocative mouth, always ready to give her opinion? That raised eyebrow, skeptical of everyone – every human – she meets, particularly the men? No question. All she would have to fake – maybe – would be Pru’s special gift, her ability to hear the thoughts of the animals around her. It’s that special sensitivity that gets Pru into so much trouble, and also what urges her to work so hard for the animals she meets.

Gershon – the sexy star of Bound and many other movies – may be more like Pru than we think. For example, the actress has already proven her willingness to go out on a limb for the feline in her life. In her 2012 book, In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Love My Mind, the actress relates the extent she was willing to go to reunite with a lost pet. Playing Pru in a film version of Panthers, she’d have Wallis, her curmudgeonly tabby, right by her side. But she could use that wit and persistence in the hunt for the rare Eastern panther – or mountain lion – that appears to be bringing death and destruction on a western Massachusetts town. I have no doubt that Gina would relate as much to the beautiful wild beast as she would to the townspeople. And that, after all, would be the point.
Visit Clea Simon's website.

Writers Read: Clea Simon.

The Page 69 Test: Panthers Play for Keeps.

--Marshal Zeringue