From seven time Amazon All-Star comes her latest cozy mystery.When Maggie Ryan, a retired schoolteacher, is murdered, and over thirty dogs are discovered living in her home, the Cedar Bay Animal Shelter is stretched beyond its meager resources. What to do with the dogs and finding the murderer becomes a challenge.But who would have wanted the elderly spinster dead, and what was the killer’s … the killer’s motive? Was it the local reverend who desperately needed money to pay off his gambling debts? Or the neighbor who was kept awake by Maggie’s barking dogs? Was it the disgruntled father of a boy Maggie had wanted to hold back a year in school? Or even the director of the animal shelter?
Join Kelly, the owner of Kelly’s Koffee Shop, and her husband Mike, the sheriff of Beaver County, Oregon, along with a bulldog puppy named Max, and Sanyu, an Akita guard dog, as they literally have to sniff out the murderer before they become the next victims.
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This review for the audio book.
I liked this book. It is an enjoyable little mystery packed full of dogs. The mystery was simple with not many suspects but just enough to keep you listening until the end to see if you were right. I liked the way the dogs helped solve the mystery too. The characters were like able and I liked the small town setting, as this meant the main character kept meeting people who had ‘re homed some of the dogs. I don’t know if this is a series but I will be looking out for mores books containing Kelly and her husband Mike, especially if the books are packed full of dogs.
When the police get called out about a dog barking they are not expecting to find a house on fire and 30 dogs trapped inside. The local shelter takes all the dogs in and Kelly is the first person to step in while her husband, the police chief stays at the scene. It is only after the fire is out that a dead body is found but the woman didn’t die from the friend she was shot first and the fire was set to cover up the crime. But who would want to kill the retired teacher? And why did she have 30 dogs when there was a two dog limit? The dead lady taught Kelly when she was at school, so she can’t sit back and wait for the killer to be found, especially when she knows most of the suspects. At the same time she wants to help re hime the dogs before the shelter runs out of supplies.
I liked the narrator and thought she did a good job with all the voices needed in the story.
4 Star review Trouble At The Animal Shelter (A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery) by Dianne Harman
Audio Review:
Dianne Harman is a relatively new author to me although I have listened to the narrator Erin deWard before. If you are an animal lover and enjoy cozy mysteries then this is for you.
When the opener of the Doggie Love Kennels, Mary Barnes is murdered it’s up to Mike, the sheriff of Beaver County, Oregon to try and find the killer, if he can keep his wife Kelly, owner of Kelly’s Koffee Shop out of the investigation. There are plenty of suspects to go around, Mike just has to figure out who is the guilty party before it is too late.
There were plenty of clues to follow as I tried to beat Mike and Kelly to solve the crime. The narration by Erin deWard was good and did justice to the story.
Love the series.
This book is part of the Cedar Bay cozy mystery series by Dianne Harman. When the authorities discover a woman who was murdered, they find thirty dogs inside her home. The town is quickly buzzing about the murder and the secret of all of the dogs hidden away. The shelter quickly becomes full and everybody’s stepping up to foster and adopt. There is more than one person who could have been the murderer. The story is set back in Kelly and Mike’s hometown where the regular characters are. Lots of fun characters, mysteries concerning the murder, and a whole bunch of dogs in this story!
This was a quick fun listen. It has lots of dogs and a murder mystery to solve. My complaints is that the audio narration is so slooooooow. I had to amp up to at least 2x to enjoy it at all. Then there is the part where there is a sheriff and I used to work in law enforcement and a lot of things that he and Kelly do are just not things that can or should happen in LE. If it did the cases would certainly be thrown out of court. But then again it is a fiction book, but it still gets me every time I run across it.
Other than that it is a fun and quick read. It’s a cozy mystery, so no cussing and no sex scenes. Lots of well trained dogs. There are a few yummy sounding recipes at the end.
The Town Is Going To The Dogs!
A gentle cozy mystery, murder notwithstanding, with a lot of lovable dogs and some clever sleuthing. Nicely narrated by Erin Ward, whose vocalizations capture the closeness, mutual regard, and deep caring between the main characters. Author Dianne Harman has a real feel for small town interactions and politics, and a number of issues relevant to everyday lives are focused on including education and various addictions.