NOTHING BUT LIES

An ex-cop finds himself in the soup when he helps an old friend protect his fiancee.  

In the years since Daniel Whelan (No Holds Barred, 2012, etc.) left the Bristol police, he’s remained friends with Jo-Ji Matsuki, who took over Dan’s post as dog-wrangler. So when Jo-Ji asks him to help him play bodyguard to his partner, Tamiko, who’s being followed by a mysterious guy in a hoodie, Dan once again asks his boss, Fred Bowden, for leave from his job as a lorry driver. Fred assents grudgingly, and Dan heads off with Taz, his German shepherd, for Maiden Ashton, the village where Jo-Ji and Tamiko live. Their small house is busy and crowded, since massage therapist Tamiko and beautician Karen both see clients there. Siamese cats Shinju and Yasu resent Taz’s intrusion into their territory. And while they live outdoors, Babs and Rolo, Tamiko’s horses, add to the general commotion because they need their stalls mucked out and their coats brushed. Things get even more hectic when Tamiko’s sister, Hana, on the run from her abusive boyfriend, Samir Jafari, shows up with her 4-year-old son, Jahan. Tamiko distracts them by taking them to a horse show, where they meet other breeders like Boo Travers. But their idyll is cut short when Hana is killed in a hit-and-run accident while driving Tamiko’s car. Tamiko is so preoccupied with grief over her sister and concern for Jahan that Dan and Jo-Ji are left to wonder whether Tami was the real target all along.

Stacey seems ready to merge his dog and horse franchises in a pleasing puzzler. Will Shinju and Yasu join in, as rivals to Midnight Louie and Joe Grey?