Desperate Housedogs

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Straight up I'll tell you, if you're not an animal lover you're probably going to be in the group that gave this book just a star or two. If you're an animal lover, or more specifically a dog lover and you enjoy cozy mysteries with a sprinkling of humor then you're going to definitely 'see stars.' Lots of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read and found myself nodding my head along with Caro Lamont, dog psychologist, as she explained to clients what their dogs were trying to tell them by their actions and how to answer positively in a way the dog would understand. With over 30 years in the dog community as a breeder-exhibitor and working in rescue, I firmly believe that the only answer to the overwhelming need for rescue is education. This book, authored by "Sparkle Abbey" does an excellent job of educating and informing all while entertaining. A tough job. By the way, I put "Sparkle Abbey" in quotation marks because she doesn't really exist. "Sparkle" is the name of Mary Lee Woods rescue cat and "Abbey" is the rescue dog of Anita Carter, two friends who co-write this Pampered Pets mystery series under the pseudonym of Ms. Abbey. And they do it so well!

Amazon describes the book as:

When Caro Lamont, former psychologist turned pet therapist makes a house call to help Kevin Blackstone with his two misbehaving German Shepherd dogs, she expects frantic dogs, she expects a frantic dog owner, she even expects frantic neighbors. What she doesn’t expect is that two hours later the police will find Kevin dead, his dogs impounded; and that as the last person to see Kevin alive (well, except for the killer) she is suddenly a person of interest, at least according to Homicide Detective Judd Malone.

What Amazon doesn't describe is the sideline story of an ongoing feud between Caro and her cousin  as they battle to steal an antique brooch back and forth from each other. Thanks to a cryptic clause in her will, Caro and her cousin each believe that their great-aunt left them brooch. After all, she said "to my favorite niece...." Their antics do add a nice fun sideline that is carried through the series.

Not only was it a well-laid-out story line, I actually was kept guessing until the very end "whodunnit." Rare for me, as I can usually tell after the first fourth of a book or movie what the ending will be.

If you enjoy Susan Conant, Carol Lea Benjamin, Laurien Berenson and similar writers of cozy dog mysteries, you'll want to add Desperate Housedogs to your reading list.

(Every time I see the author's name, Sparkle Abbey, I think of a stripper. Great pseudonym!)

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