Carrie Kennersly tries to help her veterinarian boyfriend when he’s under suspicion of murder…Is he a keeper, or should she let him go off-leash for good? As a technician for a local vet and the owner of the Barkery & Biscuits dog bakery, Carrie Kennersly is excited to host a rescue animal adoption event. She’s also excited to be in a relationship with veterinarian Dr. Reed Storme, despite … Storme, despite his pleas for her to butt out of the murder cases she keeps finding herself involved with. Yet when Reed is accused of killing his former veterinary colleague, he seems a lot more agreeable to having amateur detective Carrie butt back in. Can Carrie clear Reed, or does she care too much for a killer?
Includes recipes for dog treats and people treats!
Praise for Linda O. Johnston:
“Veteran Johnston has her formula down.”–Kirkus Reviews
“This cozy will appeal to fans of Susan Conant’s Dog Lovers’ series and is also reminiscent of Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen novels.”–Booklist
“A whole lot of fun and the animals, who are all about spreading warmth and friendship, come alive on every page.”–Suspense Magazine
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Synopsis:
Carrie Kennersly tries to help her veterinarian boyfriend when he’s under suspicion of murder…Is he a keeper, or should she let him go off-leash for good?
As a technician for a local vet and the owner of the Barkery & Biscuits dog bakery, Carrie Kennersly is excited to host a rescue animal adoption event. She’s also excited to be in a relationship with veterinarian Dr. Reed Storme, despite his pleas for her to butt out of the murder cases she keeps finding herself involved with. Yet when Reed is accused of killing his former veterinary colleague, he seems a lot more agreeable to having amateur detective Carrie butt back in. Can Carrie clear Reed, or does she care too much for a killer?
Includes recipes for dog treats and people treats!
Praise for Linda O. Johnston:
“Veteran Johnston has her formula down.”–Kirkus Reviews
“This cozy will appeal to fans of Susan Conant’s Dog Lovers’ series and is also reminiscent of Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen novels.”–Booklist
“A whole lot of fun and the animals, who are all about spreading warmth and friendship, come alive on every page.”–Suspense Magazine (Goodreads)
Review:
The characters are real developed and well rounded. Carrie is one busy person, working part-time as a vet tech and owning bakeries for pets and humans. That does not leave her a lot of time for other things, but when someone she cares about is a person of interest in a murder case, she knows she has to make the time to figure out who the real culprit is. Which is exactly what she does. I did not feel all warm and fuzzy when I was reading about Carrie and Reed’s time spent together. It is not the most romantic relationship I have ever read about. That is only my opinion and other readers may not agree. On the other hand, her relationships with the numerous animals involved made me feel happy.
The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and the town she created in the San Bernardino Mountains, Knobcone Heights, is some place that I would enjoy visiting. And you can tell how much the author loves animal, especially dogs. The rescue shelter made for some heartwarming moments. And I really enjoyed reading about that.
The mystery was well plotted, although the death did not happen right at the beginning of the book. There were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through, and I was surprised at who the killer was. They were not on my radar at all.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery with adorable animals. And there are recipes at the back of the book for you and your pet to try and enjoy.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Midnight Ink, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.
PICK AND CHEWS by Linda O. Johnston is the fourth book in the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery series.
It’s the story of Carrie Kennersly, owner of Bakery & Biscuits and Icing On The Cake, part time veterinary technician at the Knobcone Veterinary Clinic, and a pretty good amateur sleuth when it comes to solving murders.
Bakery & Biscuits and Icing OnThe Cake is really one business but with two entrances. They share a central kitchen where goodies for both four legged critters and humans are baked for the delight of their patrons – pets and owners alike. Carrie’s love of animals is evident in both her jobs and the love she showers not only on her pooch – Biscuit, a toy poodle/terrier mix – but also in the rescue animal adoptions for the Robust Retreat Mountaintop Rescue that’s run by Billi Matlock, who is also city councilwoman, that are hugely successful.
Carrie is in a budding relationship with one of the veterinarian’s at the clinic, Dr. Reed Storme. Reed had a Belgian Malinios named Hugo who is also good friends with Biscuit. So far their relationship hasn’t gotten serious, but it seems to be headed in that direction. Problems arose when one of the vets retired and Reed suggested two of his fellow vets from the clinic he use to work at for the position. When the two arrived to be interviewed for the job, imagine everyone’s surprise with Dr. Rgela Fellner, another vet he use to work with, showed up as well.
When Raela is murdered, Reed is on top of the suspect list since he was seen heatedly arguing with her several times since her arrival into town and his dislike for her was evident. Although he was worried about Carrie for her involvement in past murders for her safety, he did ask if she could help clear his name, but wanted her to stay safe above all else. Carrie starts putting out feelers and asking questions, to help Reed and to convince herself that Reed couldn’t have possibly done it.
Along the way, Carrie receives a threatening not taped to her back door at work telling her to butt out of that harm would come to Biscuit, her beloved pooch. Although scared for both Biscuit and her own well-being, she still reports it to the authorities. It makes her leery of people around her and her surroundings making finding the culprit of a more personal nature.
The local police department isn’t much help since they won’t divulge any information they may have come across and don’t seem to take Carrie’s information seriously. Carrie pretty much relies on help from her brother – Neal, his girlfriend – Janelle who is also one of Carrie’s employees, Dinah – an employee of Carrie’s and want-to-be author, and Reed to find evidence to figure out whodunit and for her safety.
This book is a great cozy mystery. It was entertaining and kept me turning the pages. Love a story that has you guessing whodunit all through the book and you still get it wrong. Recommend to anyone that loves cozies! I will be checking out the other books by this author especially those in the Bakery & Biscuit Mystery series. Can’t wait to see what Carrie’s next sleuthing adventures will be!
I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. I received this book for free and I voluntarily chose to review it. I’ve given this a 5* rating. While the dogs kept it interesting, the mystery pulled me in and kept me turning the pages. I must say, that it was a little brash how this sleuth kept asking her questions. Even if she kept a smile on her face, that boyfriend had to have had his doubts about her.
PICK AND CHEWS is the fourth book in the Bakery and Biscuits Mystery series but the first that I have read. Having enjoyed other works by Johnston and loving the dog-centric theme of the series, I had high expectations. However, I came away from PICK AND CHEWS disappointed.
Carrie, vet tech and bakery owner, puts her investigative skills to the test when her boyfriend/coworker Dr. Reed Storme becomes the prime suspect in a former colleague’s murder. The death does not occur until about a third way through the book. I kept waiting for someone to die, and this made the story drag. Even after the murder, the pace suffers, partly because the writing is a bit clunky.
Carrie and Reed have no chemistry or romantic vibe going on, and I kept wondering why she stayed with him even though she was never quite sure that he wasn’t guilty. I understand that she wants him to be innocent, but…. There are several suspects to keep the story plugging along, but the killer’s identity seemed to come out of nowhere.
The best part of the book is the fictional setting in the Southern California Mountains. Knobcone Height seems like a great place to visit, especially with dog in tow. My favorite character is Carrie’s dog Biscuit.
I received an ARC of this title through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.
This is the second series I have read by this author. I love both of them because they have animals in them. Animals seem to make a book just a little better. I also think it’s nice that this book has a pet rescue place with adoption events. If I could, I would probably adopt so many pets. I like that the main character, Carrie, has a people bakery and a dog bakery. That is a really neat idea. In this book, Carrie’s boyfriend, Reed, is the prime suspect in the murder of a veterinarian that he used to work with and didn’t get along with. Reed asks Carrie to help investigate to clear his name. I love the charming town and the interesting characters in these books. I hope to see more of them as well as see Carrie and Reed’s relationship deepen. And of course, I love Biscuit, the dog!
I’ve read two other books in the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries, and I really enjoyed them. Great characters, fun locations, and pets. A perfect trio for me in cozy mysteries.
PICK AND CHEWS has a well thought out plot. The murder comes later in the book which gives readers a chance to learn more about their surroundings and characters instead of jumping right into the murder.
Author Linda O. Johnston puts her all into each and every book she writes. PICK AND CHEWS, like her stories before, leads readers on a whodunit that in the end, I didn’t guess.
The is one negative about the book that stands out. . . Ms.. Johnston’s writing style does not shine through in this tale. It feels a bit subdued, and it reads as though written for much younger readers. At times reminiscent my childhood Nancy Drew books. I hope the author gets back up to her full writing strength for the next book in the series.
If you enjoyed the first three books in this series, please do give PICK AND CHEWS a read. There really are nice elements to the story that you shouldn’t miss.
Having enjoyed two books in this series, I gladly accepted an advanced readers copy (ARC) from the publisher for PICK AND CHEWS.
I am so excited to read another book in this series. The author writes a great story with interesting characters. I love that animals are in the series because they just make the story fun. I have thought it would be fun to work at a Vet clinic. You get to see all different breeds of dogs, cats and other animals. I would want to take them all home but I think the owners may get a bit upset if I did.
Carrie is such a great character with a big heart for her patients and her care for them is wonderful. Reed seems nice but I don’t think he cares for Carrie getting involved with murder cases.I think it is great that she has a keen eye for detail. Perhaps her investigative skills will come in handy when her boyfriend Reed is accused of murder.I knew from the first few pages who was going to be killed, but I still liked how the character was introduced. Raela is just a nasty person who has a grudge against Reed for some reason. Her presence at the clinic would make dogs howl with displeasure. I almost thought of her as the mean person from 101 Dalmatians. Well at least I pictured her like that because she is just an angry, snotty unhappy person. What is the real reason Raela is in town? Why does she keep showing up at every place Carrie goes to?
One of the things I love about this series is the emphasis on animal adoption. It is so nice to see awareness about a problem that so many animals face. The author always does such a great job of putting pet adoptions in the stories and it makes me smile every time I read it. As you can tell, I love animals especially dogs. I love how the animals play a big role in the series and how easy it is to fall in love with them. On the day of the adoption I was very mad at what I read. Why would some vicious out of town person say negative things about the vets that see the animals before being adopted? The poor animals are trying to find new homes and it is being ruined. I would have walked over to the person and kindly shoved her out the door.I loved how the author allowed Raela to become nastier with her unfounded claims of shady work being done a the clinic Carrie works for. Some people may believe her and that could be the end of the well known veterinarian clinic.
I remember from the last book how Reed didn’t like Carrie getting involved with murder investigations. Funny how he changes his mind when he finds himself as a murder suspect. The book is quite intriguing and has twists that I found surprising.Who killed Raela and why? All these questions will be answered when you read this well written story.
I received a copy of this book from The Great Escape Virtual Blog Tour. The review is my own opinion.
*I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
So I fell in love with Carrie and Biscuit back with book one so of course I just had to get my hands on this newest installment and I was not disappointed. This time Carrie gets wrapped up in the murder of vet that came to town and Reed is one of the main suspects since the two did not get along. Of all people to be murdered I have to say I was not upset at the choice for this one. That was one really evil vindictive person. The well written story will suck you in until you find yourself on the last page amazed at the ending. The details were just amazing and I have to say that the pet details for the series really set it apart from others. If you love animals and cozy mysteries then this is really the book/series for you. I loved every minute of it so I give it 5/5 stars.
This was a fun cozy. It never really grabbed my attention and it was easy to put down. I liked the characters. Carrie is very attached to her precious “Biscuit”. All the players in the story are animal lovers from the cops to the council member. I did wonder about the murderer before the big reveal. But the person was not at the top of my list. I think another thing that made it more difficult for me was the language and wording used. At times I had to read the sentence twice to get the authors meaning. Overall it was a nice little cozy, but just not quite my cup of tea.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review.