MUZZLED

A veterinarian moves to a small town whose residents have plenty to hide.

Kate Turner abandoned Long Island and a romance gone bad for the lovely Hudson River town of Oak Falls; she's subbing for Doc Anderson, who’s on a trip around the world. Her new routine is soon spectacularly disrupted when she makes a house call and discovers two dead bodies—Vivian and Thomas Langthorne, whose lives revolved around their kennel of top-notch Cavalier King Charles spaniels. They would never have left their 27 valuable dogs running around the house, which is how Kate finds them. Unable to accept the police theory of murder-suicide, Kate begins to snoop for clues. She’s deeply upset when the Langthornes’ adopted daughter, Pippi, quickly sells all her parents’ beloved dogs. Their premier spaniel, Charles Too, fetches $1 million dollars from a Japanese breeder—a high price indeed for a fake, although Kate is unable to prove her suspicion. Soon, one of the rival breeders who bought some of the Langthorne dogs is shot (though not killed) at a dog show. Kate’s questions reveal that an awful lot of people had motives for murdering the dislikable Langthornes. As Kate goes about her daily routine, caring for grumpy dogs, cats, hamsters and parrots is the least of her problems. If she gets too close to solving the case, a determined killer may mark her for murder.

Kate’s debut has plenty to offer pet lovers and mystery mavens alike.