Death by Chocolate Lab (Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
New Series
Kensington (February 28, 2017)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1496707383
E-Book ASIN: B01GBAG2T0

Synopsis

Pet sitter Daphne Templeton has a soft spot for every stray and misfit who wanders into the quaint, lakeside village of Sylvan Creek. But even Daphne doesn’t like arrogant, womanizing Steve Beamus, the controversial owner of Blue Ribbon K-9 Academy. When Steve turns up dead during a dog agility trial, Daphne can think of a long list of people with motives for homicide, and so can the police. Unfortunately, at the top of the list is Daphne’s sister, Piper—Steve’s latest wronged girlfriend.

Certain that Piper is innocent, in spite of mounting evidence to the contrary, Daphne sets out to clear her sister’s name—and find Axis, Steve’s prize-winning chocolate Labrador, who went missing the night of Steve’s death. Aided by Socrates, her taciturn basset hound, and a hyperactive one-eared Chihuahua named Artie, Daphne quickly runs afoul of Detective Jonathan Black, a handsome and enigmatic newcomer to town, who has no appreciation for Daphne’s unorthodox sleuthing.

Can a free-spirited pet sitter, armed only with a Ph.D. in Philosophy and her two incompatible dogs, find the real killer before she becomes the next victim?

Includes recipes for homemade dog treats!

Review

I thought this was a great start to a new series…it contained one of my favorite things, dogs! There is a basset hound named Socrates and a chihuahua named Artie that is so ugly he is cute. There are a few other dogs including 3 rottweilers named after Shakespearean characters and a retriever named Axis.

The murder doesn’t happen right off the bat, but I will say I guessed who was killed before it was revealed. Now I’m sure you are thinking – but the synopsis says who was killed. Ok this is true, but I didn’t read that before I started reading this book. So I still give myself lots of credit for guessing that part!

Daphne is a free spirit. I love that she drives an old VW bus – perfect for hauling dogs around, as long as she remembers to fill up the gas tank. It was a shock to realize she had a PhD (in Philosophy) so she had to have had some sort of drive to accomplish that degree; however, her actions lead you to think otherwise. I think she is still lost in what she wants to do with her life. Her sister, Piper, is the opposite. Piper is very down to earth and organized, probably why she makes a great vet.

The mystery of who killed Steve was well written and I suspected a few other people but was totally shocked when the killer was revealed. Looking back there might have been one or two subtle clues but otherwise I really had no idea.

Of course you can’t have a mystery without a little potential romance. Detective Jon Black keep showing up trying to help solve the crime. I think he fancies Daphne and she might like him a little too despite dating Dylan, another free spirit. Although I don’t think she likes him quite that way.

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Bethany Blake lives in a small, quaint town in Pennsylvania with her husband and three daughters. When she’s not writing or riding horses, she’s wrangling a menagerie of furry family members that includes a nervous pit bull, a fearsome feline, a blind goldfish, and an attack cardinal named Robert. Like Daphne Templeton, the heroine of her Lucky Paws Mysteries, Bethany holds a Ph.D. and operates a pet sitting business called Barkley’s Premium Pet Care.

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