REVIEW: A Good Dog's Guide to Murder

 A Good Dog's Guide to Murder
Author: Krista Davis

I have loved this series ever since the first book came out in 2013! Fun characters, cute pets, fun background premise, excellent amateur sleuthing -- perfect set up for an excellent and entertaining cozy series!

A Good Dog's Guide to Murder is the 8th book in the Paws & Claws Mystery series. This time the citizens of Wagtail, VA are all excited because the Gingerbread Dog & Cat House contest is coming to town over Thanksgiving! The event is enough to overshadow a slight kerfuffle over the new convention center. A Wagtail resident gifted the land to the city, and his relatives are a little upset over not getting the property themselves. The whole thing becomes a lot more serious when......you guessed it.....a dead body is found in a very strange place. Will a murder ruin Thanksgiving in Wagtail??

Loved this book! This series never disappoints me! Favorite characters? Trixie and Twinkletoes, of course! I love the idea of a tourist town that caters to pets. I would vacation there, if it were a real place! Very entertaining read. Definitely going to continue reading this series until the very last book!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing and then bought my own copy when it came out! Love this series! All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: On Skein of Death

 On Skein of Death
Author: Allie Pleiter

As I write this, it's late September. The weather is getting rather fall-ish, and every year when that happens I get in the mood for knitting and reading murder mysteries. :) I saw book one of the Riverbank Knitting Mystery series on the shelf at the library and knew this series would be a great way to mix two of my favorite Fall activities!

The basics: Libby Beckett returns to her hometown in Maine to follow her life-long dream of owning a yarn shop. She names her new shop Y.A.R.N. which has a special meaning to her, but she puts up a blackboard so customers can leave their own definitions for what the letters mean. Things are going great at first. The town even declares an entire day as Yarn Day to honor her shop! And, a special famous guest is coming to host a knitting event. But then things go horribly wrong. Her famous guest is murdered! Libby finds herself doing some amateur sleuthing to discover a killer, save her shop and make everyone in town feel safe again. Will she be successful before everything in her life unravels?

I enjoyed this book! I like the characters and the setting, and definitely love the mix of amateur sleuthing and knitting! This is the first book by Allie Pleiter that I've read. I will definitely be reading more! I already have book 2 in this series on hold at the library! :) Can't wait to read it!

REVIEW: Academy Assassin

 Academy Assassin
Author: Audrey Walker

Academy Assassin is a prequel story to the Shelby Griffin series. The novella is a quick read and a great introduction to the characters.

Shelby and her friends, Maya and Tracy, are nearing graduation at the police academy. Shelby excels at athletics, but her academic performance is slipping. In fact, if she doesn't score high on her final test, Shelby won't graduate from the academy. She's distracted from her need to study when a fellow recruit is found dead. The death is announced as a suicide, but Shelby knows the recruit didn't kill herself. Maybe solving the case will not only stop a murderer but also get Shelby back in the good graces with her superiors.

The story kept my attention from start to finish. There is plenty of investigation, a good plot and some interesting twists along the way. I will definitely be reading more by this author. Very entertaining!

REVIEW: American Demon

 American Demon
Author: Daniel Stashower

Cleveland. 1934. The Depression. A famous investigator pits his wits and skills against a serial killer. 12 dismembered bodies. A panicked public. The American Ripper case....The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run.

After listening to the audio version of this book, I had two main questions. Number one -- how had I never heard of this case before?? In all my true crime reading and listening, before this book I had never once come across this case. A serial killer who dismembered 12 people over 4 years and was never caught -- even by the legendary Eliot Ness. And number two -- how have I never read a book by this author before?

This is an excellent book. It tells the story of the brutal killing of 12 people on the fringes of society in a rough time in American history. Stashower obviously did copious amounts of research into this case and presents the facts in an interesting way. The story kept my attention from start to finish. The fact this killer was never caught is chilling and disturbing.

At times, the book does seem to be more about Eliot Ness and less about the murders, but any case involving Ness is going to have that problem. He's almost a larger-than-life character. In this case, it didn't matter how famous he was or how skilled an investigator. The killer was never officially caught, although there were several suspects. The appalling conditions in Kingsbury Run, the impoverished victims targeted by the killer, and the brutal tactics used by law enforcement (including burning down Kingsbury run, a shanty town inhabited by addicts, the homeless, prostitutes and the poor) made this a rough book to listen to. It was a brutal era. And the killer may have easily moved on to another area of the country to continue his killing spree....it was easy to hop a train or just fade into a crowd back then. Many murders like this -- the Villisca Axe Murders for example -- went unsolved.

The audio book is just a bit over 12 hours long and is narrated by Will Damron. Damron does an excellent job of narration. He has a pleasant voice and reads at a nice, steady pace. Very interesting listen...although the subject and brutality of the killings makes this a rough one.

I will definitely be reading more by this author.

**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Review: The Plot is Murder

 The Plot is Murder
Author: V.M. Burns

I read this book when it first came out in 2017. Then life happened and I lost track of this series. I saw this book recently in my local library, and decided to jump back into the Mystery Bookshop series. There are now 8 books! I'm glad I decided to re-read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Basics: Samantha Washington's life has completely changed. Her husband of 13 years died, but he made her promise to fulfill her dream of opening a bookshop. She keeps her promise, selling their house, buying a building and preparing to open her mystery bookshop in North Harbor, MI. Not only is she opening her dream shop, but Samantha is also writing a murder mystery. All her dreams are about to come true. Things are moving along smoothly until she discovers the dead body of real estate agent Clayton Parker in her enclosed patio. Parker tried to sabotage her purchase of the building, forcing her to get an attorney to help her complete closing on the property. Now he's dead. Parker had come to her door the day before asking to speak with her, and she had refused to open the door, walking away instead. Feeling guilty that there might have been a way to prevent the man's death (even if he was a shyster), she vows to find out who killed him.

This first book in the Mystery Bookshop series is actually a mystery within a mystery. As Samantha tries to discover who killed Clayton Parker, she is also writing her own British-style cozy mystery novel about Lady Penelope Marsh and her sister Daphne. As she works to discover who killed Parker, she's also working on her book. I enjoyed the snippets of Samantha's novel and thought the author alternating between the two stories was really creative and fun.

I love the characters in this book! Samantha is a strong woman, realizing her dreams while still grieving for her husband. Her grandmother Jo is a tough old bird, who enlists her friends at the retirement village to help in the investigation. My favorite side character is Irma....the lovely old lady who peppers her conversation with curse words.....well, the group stops her before she finishes saying them, but still....it's the thought that counts. ha ha. :) The colorful characters and humor sprinkled in with the mystery really made this an enjoyable book. The mystery moves along at a nice pace. There are plenty of suspects and sleuthing. Nana Jo's friends are really a huge help -- nothing like a gang of old ladies to dig up gossip and info on anybody!

There is only one thing about this book I didn't really like. One character is constantly called by an insulting nickname pinned on him in school. Over and over again. I don't like that sort of thing, and I hope that doesn't carry over into the rest of the series. It might have been funny if it was mentioned once and then stopped...but it was multiple times throughout the story. Yuck. But....only a minor irritant. Loved the book otherwise!

I already have book 2 checked out from my local library -- moving on to Read Herring Hunt!

For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.vmburns.com/

REVIEW: In Hot Water

 In Hot Water
Author: Kate Kingsbury

This series has been on my "I want to read this'' list for several months. I was at the library a few days ago and saw the second book on the shelf. I didn't see the first one so I pulled out my phone and looked it up. Yes...library has a copy it...but checked out and one other person in line waiting. Drat. Went to speak to a librarian to see if another library in the system had it. None available. But then the librarian smiled and said the magic words -  "It is available through our inter-library loan system from another nearby library though!" Huzzah! Hold placed....and I picked it up the following Friday. I told you that lengthy library saga just to add these next sentences:  I had to wait a week to get my hands on a copy of this book, and I'm glad I did. This story was worth the extra effort and the wait time!!

The basics: Following the death of her husband, Vivian Wainright fulfills a life-long dream and opens a British style tea shop, the Willow Pattern Tearoom, in Misty Bay, Oregon.Vivian is living her best life and doing her best to deal with her grief and loss. Problems arise when the ex-husband of her assistant is found dead on the beach. Apparently he fell from a balcony of a nearby hotel. And it wasn't an accident. When suspicion falls on her employee, Vivian and her staff jump in to do some amateur sleuthing. After all, they can't let Jenna go to prison for a murder she didn't commit!

This cozy mystery is entertaining and fun to read. I like the characters, the setting, and the plot. There is plenty of action, investigation, and suspects. The plot moves at a nice pace and the tearoom setting is an enjoyable background for a cozy mystery. I'm a huge fan of tea, so I loved the title and the premise.

Glad I finally got around to starting this series! It is a relatively new series..as I write this, there are only two books. I already have book 2, In Too Steep, on hold at the library!

REVIEW: Baxter - K9 Hero

 Baxter: K9 Hero
Author: Jodi Burnett

When a 10-year old girl disappears while on a school field trip, FBI Agent Kendra Dean and her K9 partner Baxter immediately jump into action to find her. This novella is a short, but action-packed introduction to the FBI K9 series by Jodi Burnett.

This is the first book I've read by Burnett. I was thrilled to discover the story is set where I live. I love reading stories that have places, roads, landmarks that I recognize! The story is paced perfectly and has plenty of action. I like Kendra as a main character. She is intelligent, skilled, trusts her K9 partner 100%, and knows just how to circumnavigate issues with other law enforcement officers. The story definitely kept my attention from start to finish. Favorite character? Baxter, of course! What a good boy!!

I'm a sucker for K9 thrillers, so I will definitely be reading this entire series and Burnett's Tin Star K9 series as well! Looks like I'm set for dog action/adventure thrillers for a little while! Yay!

This prequel story to the FBI K9 series is available for free through the author's website: https://jodi-burnett.com/  Navigate to the Giveaways tab and you can download 3 books, including a cookbook.

I already have the first book in this series downloaded to my Kindle. I can't wait to start reading Avenging Adam!