TO KILL A MOCKING GIRL

A suspect in the murder of a mean girl pairs with her cousin, a nun-in-training, to dig deeper into the suburban Virginia landscape.

Tricia Pemberley is not a nice girl. When bookbinder Quinn Caine runs into her soon after having returned to her hometown of Vienna, Virginia, Tricia reminds Quinn of how not nice she is by mocking Quinn’s German shepherd, Ruff Barker Ginsburg, before bragging about her latest news. Yes, Tricia has finally won what she takes to be the long-standing battle between herself and Quinn over Scott Hauser, to whom she's become engaged. Since Quinn only went out with Scott once or twice and wasn’t smitten, she doesn’t really see herself as part of this narrative, but she gamely congratulates Tricia, not realizing it will be one of their last interactions. When Tricia is killed soon after, her equally evil twin, Trina, blames Quinn. The police, in need of a suspect, are more than happy to agree, and suddenly Tricia’s life and death are majorly Quinn’s problem. Quinn’s ally and brother, Bash, is distracted by his own mission to win the love of his ex-girlfriend Rachel, whose parents are pushing her to date only nice Jewish boys who’ll honor her religious heritage. Speaking of religion, Quinn’s other ally is novice Sister Daria, whom Quinn previously knew as her firebrand cousin Elizabeth Anne Caine. Investigating Tricia’s murder is one thing, but Quinn’s even more curious about what drove her cousin to the convent.

An interesting mashup of religions and their trappings sets this aside from other recipe-infused dog-companion cozies.