Dachshund To Death: A Dog Lover's Cozy Mystery. by C.B. Wilson

 

Who knew a gingerbread recipe could lead to murder? 

Not sure how I've missed this series until now but it was a quirky, fun read. The premise seems to focus around Catalina/Cat, the only cat person in a town seemingly dedicated to dogs. It's probably no surprise that Cat winds up fostering two feisty, adorable dachshunds after their chef owner is murdered.  Cat has apparently had some bad experiences with dogs, so she's anxious but FBI consultant and new husband Russ, who is said to be allergic to dogs, jumps right in without hesitation and they somehow make it work. I ultimately liked them both.

Perhaps it was because I was new to the series, but the beginning seemed slow, even after the murder. It wasn't until later that the pace seemed to really pick up. That said, the slow build gave me time to sort out the new-to-me characters, not to mention all their dogs (and they are lots of them) as well as connections between them all. I definitely appreciated the town map provided as the book opened as well as two lists of characters, one human, the other canine. Yep, Barkview is dog focused. The characters themselves were intriguing and the dogs seemed to have individual personalities, too, adding to the fun. Don't make the same mistake Cat did, though, and underestimate small dogs. I happen to own a short legged corgi and know that for a fact. Loyalty and courage isn't limited to big dogs. 

As for the murder, though the suspects seemed somewhat limited, the inter-connections were intriguing. Even Cat's friend Sandy's sister is a suspect. But, seriously, would someone kill for a recipe, even an award winning one? I just knew there had to be more to this mystery and, boy, was there. Voodoo? Confederate gold? And, whoa, World War II? None of it quite makes sense initially, true, but Cat is doing her best to get to the truth while running the town's annual gingerbread dog house competition. The twist here is that it's ultimately judged by dogs. Hey, fair is fair, right? Toss in two feuding sisters and two now homeless dogs and, well, the story was fun with enough twists and turns to capture my interest. Even if I hadn't been into figuring out whodunit, the canine antics of the story were entertaining, especially seeing non-dog-person Cat deal with them in the midst of the contest and ongoing investigation.Thanks #NetGalley and #BooksGoSocial for introducing me to Cat and Russ. I'll definitely be back and hope to hear more, much more about Skye.