A DEADLY BONE TO PICK

Dogs and murder make for a maddening mix.

Private eye Molly Madison, a former police officer, moved from Massachusetts to California with her beloved golden retriever, Harlow, seeking peace of mind after the murder of her cheating husband. Someone was arrested and is awaiting trial, but her husband’s family and some of her ex-colleagues remain suspicious of her. Molly doesn’t mind when an enormous slobbering Saint Berdoodle shows up at her new house, especially when she learns that he’s an escape artist owned by a doctor who’s in the midst of a divorce and has no time for Noodle. Given all the time on her hands, Molly’s more than happy to train Noodle, whose extraordinary nose leads to a hand buried on the beach and a world of trouble for Molly. The two detectives on the case are handsome Detective Vasquez and nasty, suspicious Detective Wright, whose background check of Molly convinces him that she’s a killer. After Molly’s friendly neighbor Seville Chambers touts her dog-training abilities, she soon has several other canine clients. Butterscotch, a basset-retriever mix, belongs to Ava, a brilliant 8-year-old whose odd parents make her pooch sleep outside, and Ulysses, a Dalmatian, belongs to defense attorney Lupe Fox, who happens to be Vasquez's younger sister. Traveling the neighborhood, Molly picks up a lot of information she’ll need if she’s to solve the mystery of the hand and the shocking murder of Seville before Wright throws her in jail.

A charming new cozy certain to delight dog lovers of all breeds.