Publication Date: 12/03/2013
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
ISBN-10: 0425262553
ISBN-13: 978-0425262559
(Received for an honest review from Berkley Prime Crime)
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound
Krista Davis on the WEB: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest
Excerpt from Murder She Barked, courtesy of Barnes & Noble
Synopsis:
The Sugar Maple Inn in Wagtail, Virginia, is the country's premiere vacation hot spot for pet owners who can’t bear to leave their furry friends behind. But this tourist town smells trouble when a killer goes on the prowl....
Holly Miller's life has gone to the dogs. She has no job, her boyfriend's former flame is sniffing around, and a scruffy but loveable Jack Russell Terrier is scattering crumbs all over her borrowed car. Just when she thought things couldn't get worse, a troubling phone call about her grandmother sends her rushing home to the family inn on Wagtail Mountain.
The staff—and a frisky Calico kitten named Twinkletoes—adopts Holly and her new dog on arrival. But someone in this friendly town is bad to the bone. One of the employees at the inn has been killed in a hit-and-run accident—which is looking anything but accidental. Now Holly and her furry companions will have to nose out the murderer before someone else gets muzzled.
Thoughts:
Cozy mysteries resident Domestic Diva, Krista Davis is going in a new direction with the first book in her new Paws and Claws Mystery series, Murder She Barked. Wagstail, Virginia is a very special town, dedicated to pets and their persons. Davis does a fantastic job of making this little town a place that pet owners and their pets will love. From restaurants that allow pets, and even give them their own menu's to activities designed just for cats and dogs, there seems to be a lot going on, including murder!
I was really delighted to see where Krista Davis would take readers with her new series. Considering that I am an animal lover as well, this series was right up my ally. Can you imagine a town that caters to animals in every way possible? That's Wagstail. What a great setting. Davis makes readers believe that a place like Wagstail and The Sugar Maple Inn could really exist and I'm sure most of us wish it did after reading this book.
Twinkletoes and Trixie were the stars of the show in this book. I know that my little dog can get into some pretty good messes, but these two take the cake. They really added a lot of humor and comedy to the novel. What amateur sleuth wouldn't want this pair helping them figure out the clues? I thought Davis did a great job with them and then I read that they were patterned after her own dog and cat. I can totally see that, they are so realistic, but over-the-top as well. I loved these two and can't wait to see what they get into next.
I think that Davis balanced her love of animals well with her love of baking and cooking in this book and the recipes at the end of the book are an added bonus. Pet lovers and mystery readers a like will all find something they like in this first book. Davis sets up the background for the town and it's eccentric shop owners quickly and doesn't rely to heavily on that part of the story to carry the book. The mystery may be the main focus of the novel, but the little details are what sets this one apart.
The mystery aspect of the book was very cleverly done. Who would want to kill one of the Sugar Maple Inn's employee's? What's really going on around there? I thought Holly was a great lead character and I liked the way her mind worked as she figured out each clue and found the killer. I figured this one out shortly before the big reveal. There were plenty of suspects and motives, but Davis was quick to keep the reader off balance and grasping for their own clues.
A great first book in a series, that I think will take the cozy sub-genre by storm. I loved it and think I like the way Davis thinks. There should be a lot more fun to come from the Sugar Maple Inn as we get to know Holly and furry friends.
Murder She Barked is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.
I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
About the Author:
Giveaway Details:
The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Murder She Barked by Krista Davis.
~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US Addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, December 17th.
1. Please leave a comment describing funny pet antics.
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23 comments:
My dog, Bogie, is an adventurer at heart but he also has a sensitive side and knows whom to trust. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
My 17 year old Manx will grab onto the catnip , roll around and growl at the top of her lungs.
We pretty much have the most spoiled barn cats at my parents farm. They are often found napping the day away on a chair in the office because they are so darn cute someone almost always lets them in.
We have no pets, so no funny antics.
My dog Maxie, a 15 pound Schnoodle, thinks it is her job to bark loudly and clear all critters and birds from our backyard every time I take her out. Then she looks at me for praise. Happily all the birds and critters return as soon as we go back in the house, but Maxie is so proud of herself!
I have two cockatiels, Squeaky and Speckles. Speakles is an avid video game fan for match three, and mahjong dimensions. When I play, he sits on the back of my chairs. He screeches when I make a bad move and when I make a good move he says "Pretty Bird". I would love to see what he could do if he had hands!
I don't have any pets now but I had a rabbit who was very smart. At Christmas she would grab her gifts and stack them up to open later.
Back in the dark ages when I lived at home with my parents we had "cuddles" a mini schnauzer who was not the pet of choice for myself and my 2 siblings. We were hoping for a dog that was at least 10 lbs heavier and much larger.
I did manage to train her though. If I waved my kid brother's foot in her face she would happily begin to chew on it. Making my life much happier and my brother's less so. He did bother me a lot less after a session as Cuddle's chew toy.
Whenever I am on my computer, my cat drapes himself over the monitor.
lag110 at mchsi dot com
I once had a cat that liked to climb the Christmas tree, lay down on a big branch, and go to sleep---for hours.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
When my cat Pumpkin was a kitten, I went to work one day and I must have left some toilet paper hanging from the roll, a brand new roll. When I got home from work the entire roll was strewn all over the house. Lucky for me it was just a 3 room apartment. She was sitting in the middle of the living room, looking at me as if she had a hell of a great time. I just stood there saying aloud...what did you do? It was just too funny to get mad over.
We had a poodle named Jess and he ate dinner when we did at night. We always bowed our heads and said the blessing. I noticed one night when we told Jess it was time to ask the blessing, we bowed our heads over the table and he put his head under the table. He did it every night.
Sorry, I forgot to leave my email address on my previous comment.
Barbara Thompson
barbmaci61(at)yahoo(dot)com
My dogs suffer from suffer from severe separation anxiety. As soon as they see me putting on dress clothes, my Yorkie, will bark. If I use hair spray, he will assume I'm ready to leave the house and he will sound the alarm so the other dogs join in. If I put on my shoes (as in take off my house slippers and put on "outside" shoes), and pick up keys, the male dogs go ballistic and the female dogs get on the couch to prepare for goodbyes. It's all rather amusing.
There are so many pet antics in this house. We have one cat that plays fetch, two cats that try to get the tree frogs that get on our windows at night and we have an opening above one of our doorways so one cat gets up there and tries to get her tail by leaning (hanging over) and just about falling off.
wfnren(at)aol(dot)com
There is always something going on in our "zoo". It gets a bit crazy around here. One of our little dogs plays catch by herself if there is no one to play with her. She will toss a ball and catch it by herself.
This sounds like a fun book. Good one for when you need something to cheer you up. About Pets, one of my grandsons had a Jack Daniels small dog. He could do so many tricks. He would do whatever Chris told him to do. But the one that surprised me the most was when he would put bites of meat on the dogs paws while laying down and tell him to wait. With it that close to his nose he would look at it then at Chris, but wouldn't eat it till Chris told him it was ok. He would do the same with the food on the dogs nose. They never fell off either. I could hardly believe it. Would love to win this book. Maxie mac262(at)me(dot)com
I have a 13 year old beagle named Dexter. He has found a way to voice his displeasure. I work from home, 2 days a week. On the days that I must be in the office, he wakes me up any time between midnight and 4 AM to go outside. On the days that I work from home, he lets me sleep until the alarm wakes up. He is one smart dog!
Don't have pets
Cici would perch on the very top of the open wood front door and watch through the sceen door the birds in trees. She taught brother Webster to do the same although his balance wasn't as good and would slide down the door.
We used to have a dog that liked eating cat food better than she did dog food. Thanks for having the giveaway.
ayancey1974(at)gmail(dot)com
many, many years ago, i had a cockatiel & after a while, it became quite an adventure getting her back into the cage, as she learned ways to avoid going back in!!! LOL!!!
Muffin likes to chew on things. He's a black cat but thinks he's a goat. Today he was trying to chew on the handle of my tote bag and then on the fur of my boots.
catbooks72(at)gmail(dot)com
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