It's been awhile since I caught up with the goings-on at Dani's Little Dog Diner. How long? Long enough that I only had a vague memory of how Pip came into Dani's life. I was vague enough on the various connections and characters that I treated this as a new-to-me read. As such, it worked well as a standalone as the author easily caught me up on the background and relationships between the characters, not to mention the town itself. It didn't hurt that I was catching up to Dani on her birthday, the day she enters her thirties. That surprise party wasn't the only surprise, however. There's been another murder and much against her will, Dani finds herself caught up into her amateur sleuth role again.
So, who killed Thorne Waite? A greedy brother? Could the murder somehow be connected to the black lab that Dani and Maggie rescued on the way to the diner after nearly hitting it with the car? Maggie is instantly taken with the dog and it seems mutual. She even names it, Bones. Cam's call meant to lure Dani to a surprise birthday party turned out to be all too real as the body is later found in Cam's newspaper office. Without really meaning to, somewhere between trying to enjoy the friendship and outpourings of her loved ones at the party (and lots of tasty food), Dani finds herself taking on the role of amateur sleuth once again.
I won't say much more about the plot other than to add that it somehow involves not just dogs, but a missing million dollar lottery ticket, a shaky romance, a detective all too good at playing the "bad cop" role, and breaking and entering. And that's all before it turns dangerous. While I found Maggie way past over the top of the jealousy scale about AJ's new detective partner (the "bad cop" personality), her fierce determination to protect and keep the lost dog won me over. I mean, even Dani had a few moments that were more middle-school level than thirty-something adult reactions. Despite this, I did enjoy the story and reconnecting to a series I'd somehow lost track of. Thanks #BookSirens for this early peek and prod to get back into this once favorite series. I definitely need to catch up!
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