Deadly Dog Days

Happy Monday!  I hope all of you have had a delightful day.  Isn't the cover on today's book adorable?  The dogs in the book are not near as cute (they are horrible beasts).  The Cherished Quilt by Amy Clipston comes out later this month.  It is the third book in An Amish Heirloom series.  This is such a heartwarming series.

Deadly Dog Days by Jamie M. Blair is A Deadly Dog Days Mystery (the first one).  Cameron Cripps-Hayman is enjoying the day by the canal in Metamora, Indiana when she spots a hand sticking out of the water. She immediately calls out Sheriff Reins.  The body turns out to be Jenn Berg, a local girl in her 20s.  Cameron finds out that her estranged husband, Ben (also a police officer) has been going out with Jenn (per local gossip).  Everyone in town believes Cameron killed Jenn in a fit of jealously.  Cameron gets her phone bank (people who are serving community service) to help investigate.  Johnna, Anna, Roy, Logan, and Nick are eager to help.  They have dubbed themselves The Metamora Action Agency.  But then Reverend Stroup throws them out of the church basement.  He does not feel he can have a murderer on the premises (he needs to go back to the seminary).  Cameron moves the operation to her home where she gets additional help from Andy, her handyman and budding filmmaker.  Things get a little complicated when Ben’s daughter, Mia (16) comes to visit her father (who is living at the local hotel).  Another guest at Chez Cameron’s.  Then there are the dogs.  Jenn owned five (maybe six) dogs and Cameron agreed to take care of them.  One of them is a biter.  Then Cameron’s sister comes for a visit.  Will Cameron and her group be able to find Jenn’s killer with all this chaos? 

Deadly Dog Days felt more like a rough draft than a finished novel.  At the beginning the author just keeps introducing more and more characters.  We never get any real information about the main characters (just the basics).  The opening is like someone rambling on and on (and you cannot get them to stop).  During the novel, I found information repeated frequently like the author needed filler or she thought the reader was forgetful.   There is also contradictory information.  I give Deadly Dog Days 2.5 out of 5 stars.  The pace of the novel was sluggish.   The mystery was sorely neglected in this cozy mystery.  The author tried to put too much in one book.  I did not mention everything that happened in this novel.  I only listed a few tiny items.  The author made life in Cameron’s house sound like bedlam.  I did not like how the author portrayed the dogs.  The dogs in this novel sound like horrific beasts (I felt bad for the poor things).  They probably need love and training.  I found the mystery portion easy to solve despite the lack of clues.  I prefer less humor and more mystery.  Deadly Dog Days was just not the right book for me.  Deadly Dog Days will be released on Tuesday, November 8 (election day).

Do not forget to vote tomorrow.  Every vote is important especially this year.  I will be reviewing Rhythm and Clues by Sue Ann Jaffarian tomorrow.  May all of you have a heartwarming evening.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader