It’s election time in Spencer, Maryland, and the race for mayor is not a pretty one. In recent years, the small resort town has become divided between the local year-round residents who have enjoyed their rural way of life and the city dwellers moving into their mansions, taking over the town council, and proceeding to turn Deep Creek Lake into a closed gate community—complete with a host of … regulations for everything from speed limits to clothes lines.
When the political parties force-feed two unsavory mayoral nominees on the town residents, Police Chief David O’Callaghan decides to make a statement—by nominating Gnarly, Mac Faraday’s German shepherd, to run as mayor of Spencer!
What starts out as a joke turns into a disaster when overnight Gnarly becomes the front runner—at which point his political enemies take a page straight out of Politics 101. What do you do when you’re behind in a race? Dig up dirt on the front runner, of course.
Seemingly, someone is not content to rest with simply embarrassing the front runner by publicizing his dishonorable discharge from the United States Army, but to throw in a murder for good measure.
With murder on the ballot, Mac Faraday and the gang—including old friends from past cases—dive in to clear Gnarly’s name, catch a killer, and save Spencer!
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This review is for the audio book.
I loved this book. This book was so much fun and just the idea that a dog could be mayor had me laughing and plugging in my ear buds and to be honest I think the way the world is that politicians would actually get more voters if a dog was a candidate. However it is so much more than that. There is a lot of characters because the elections throws up three murder cases that different family members focus on as they try to get Gnarly elected. This makes for three very different but interesting cases as the ripple effect spreads and I was hooked until the very end. It might sound confusing but I have heard a few of the books in the series and this helped to keep the relationships and characters straight, so you might want to read or listen to some of the other books first, I loved the characters especially Gnarly and even the computer butler, both who had me chuckling most of the time. There was also a lot of action, things blowing up and even some heroic dog rescuing of cats from burning buildings (hehe). I can’t wait for the next book.
Fed up with the two candidates for the new mayoral face Spence police chief nominates his brother’s dog Gnarly as a joke. When things snowball out of hand and Gnarly gets his own campaign manger it looks like he might win the election and his opponents resort to dirty tactics by digging up Gnarly’s past. Just how many skeletons in the closet can a dog have? The opponents dig deep and find his service record, of the time he spent in Afghanistan. Mac and the team must clear Gnarly’s name by un sealing his army record and finding out what really happened to his old handler. But the dirty tactics don’t stop there and one of the other candidates is murdered and with Gnarly having no alibi for the time of the murder, things don’t look good. The whole family rallies behind Gnarly to clear his name for both murders but will they do it in time for the big vote?
I like the narrator. He seems a bit gruff when he first starts talking but I quickly grew to like his manner of speaking and he does some good male and female voices.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request from audiobooksunleashed and have voluntarily left this review
Thank you Iread Book Tours and Lauren Carr for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Candidate For Murder
Mac Faraday Mystery #12
By: Lauren Carr
REVIEW
Lauren Carr is the type of author you can trust to deliver an entertaining, succinct and dynamic cozy mystery. I always know I will like whatever the next book will be. Candidate For Murder is the first of the Mac Faraday Mysteries I have read, and I think a standalone read of this book is just fine.
I was not lost because I picked up the strings of this story quickly, and ran with them. Spencer sounds like a few towns I know in coastal areas- overrun with monied people and changing in ways unwelcome by the locals. With a mayoral race in progress, two unwelcome candidates are running, but who wants to vote for these clowns? The police chief nominates Gnarly, the German Shepherd, for office as a jab to the other candidates. What an awesome idea!
Gnarly gains momentum, and that certainly makes a statement about the mindset of the regular townspeople. Then, a candidate is murdered, and who is the suspect? A dog? Someone is desperate and liable to do worse! Even though it is ridiculous, I think this story is hilarious, except for the murder. The plot was balanced, so it was not insane but also not deadly serious. The dialogue is witty and snappy but serious when necessary. The characters are, mostly, just normal people and easy to like with relatable characteristics. Spencer is a town I can easily envision.
I know this type of mystery is not everyone’s cup of tea. But, for fans of this genre or the author, Lauren Carr is the best choice for your next read. There are numerous other series in her collection, and I bet you can find a new favorite among them.
Lauren Carr book gets it me each and every time. I love the fact that in this book there seem to be three mysteries going on all at once. She ties them all in together.
There seems to be a mystery case for all six members of the household. Murphy and Jessica seem to have a mystery of their own along with Mac and David and then their Archie and Dallas. How it all comes together and who it all involves is something neat about it and different.
To me that was something and there seems to be the main person that was in the middle of the all the mystery. Can a candidate be a mayor have paws? You will need to read “Candidate for Murder” to find out.