Publication May 23, 2024
Has not just a clever amateur sleuth but a cute puppy and talking dog. Daisy, the talking dog, and Mustard, the adorable puppy Gina rescues from a dumpster on her way home from rescuing her son Jacob from ... well, more on that later ... are players in the story. While I rarely read stories with elements of...What genre are talking dogs? Fantasy? .... I find this series a fun, quick read. Gina is feisty and ready to take on just about anyone to save both dogs and the humans she cares about, though her mouth frequently gets ahead of her brain. I have to admit to being a bit taken aback by her revealing so much of what should be held back for the police investigation, including names and events. Maybe that's because she has so little respect for the Sheriff although, ironically, she's in a blooming romance with Trevor, who is an underling and forced to answer to said sheriff. Oh, my, the complications that creates for both, even when Trevor is on Gina's side.
For me, having read previous books in the series, the major event in the story wasn't the inevitable murder but Gina's long delayed, unwanted encounter with her long-missing mother, Brandy. Trevor has been trying to share what he'd discovered when he looked into her mother's disappearance but she kept refusing to listen to his efforts to share. So, it's rather a shock when her mother shows up on her porch with her father. Gina is returning from the hospital where she's just been confronted with the fact the Sheriff Mallory is determined to charge her son with a murder. Let's just say, Gina and the sheriff have butted heads throughout the series and it's become downright nasty at times. Of course, maybe the sheriff is a tad more intense this go-round after Gina manages to outmaneuver her and help her son escape the hospital room where the sheriff had left him securely handcuffed to the bed. I won't spoil that bit of fun for you other than to say kudos to Gina for her efforts to establish an alibi. It's on her way home that she finds the cruelly abandoned puppy that Daisy, the talking dog, dubs Mustard. Dog lovers, not only do we get Daisy, the talking but very much a dog in impulse and behavior, but there's been another dog in every book, so extra fun. This time, whoa, Daisy even likes this pup.
So, who killed Ava, the seemingly perfect daughter? Even scarier, who drugged other party goers? Gina's son is found unconscious but holding the rope used to strangle the victim. It's up to Gina and Trevor, with help from Daisy and always interesting Annabelle. Her parents even play an interesting role, revealing a bit of their pasts in the process. So what it it involves a few, uh, shady actions in the process. There are several suspects and Gina is desperate to save her son from arrest. And, oh, no more hints/teasers. It's a fun story with a desperate, feisty amateur sleuth with intriguing characters and dogs. And, oh, boy. That ending. Thanks #BookSirens for letting me this advance peek at Gina's word once again. My own dog is named Daisy, the name I use on my review blog, so my smile is always extra big when I read the talking Daisy's antics. Toss in a (probably) Golden Retriever puppy and it was all the better.
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