Following the Clues by Dana Mentink

Following the Clues

About the Book

Book: Following the Clues (Security Hounds Investigations Book Four)

Author: Dana Mentink

Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense

Release date: May 27, 2024

A search-and-rescue mission reveals a lethal secret.

After K-9 handler Kara Wolfe witnesses her childhood friend Beau O’Connor survive a targeted hit-and-run, she’s shocked to learn his mother’s missing. And Beau, who can no longer recognize familiar faces after an earlier attack, can’t shake the feeling these terrifying incidents are somehow connected. With the tracking skills of her blind bloodhound, Kara will help Beau locate his mother—but someone will do anything to sabotage their search. With the culprit on their trail, can they uncover a sinister plot…before their rescue mission turns into a fight for survival?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Dana Mentink is a USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author as well as a two-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, and a Holt Medallion winner. She is the author of over fifty titles in the suspense and lighthearted romance genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, Revell and Poisoned Pen Press.

Fresh Water Fishery

More from Dana

The only thing more fun that writing about bloodhounds, is adding in some colorful new canine characters who aren’t quite your standard tracking champions. In this book, you’ll get to know Phil who was introduced at the end of book #3. He’s a livestock protector who steps in as a guide for Millie the bloodhound when her vision becomes impaired. Phil takes his job VERY seriously. He flat out refuses to wear a vest, or play with toys, and he doesn’t particularly like people, but he will lay his life down to protect Millie and Kara Wolfe. It was so much fun having this unlikely hero rise to the challenge as Kara and her ex-boyfriend must root out a saboteur on the local fish hatchery property. The secret they unearth will shock you, I hope! Please enjoy the adventure with Millie, Phil, and the rest of the Wolfe pack!

My Thoughts

Following the Clues by Dana Mentink is an intriguing tale.  I enjoyed getting to know Kara and Beau.  I felt for Beau who has prosopagnosia (also known as face blindness). I cannot imagine not being able to recognize your spouse, children, or your parents. I love Kara’s dogs.  I like how Phill and Millie work as a team (sweet Millie can track, but she cannot see).  I loved all the action that kept things lively.  You did not know what was going to happen next.  The mystery could have been more challenging.  I’m glad we got to catch up with the other members of the Security Hounds Investigations (aka Kara’s family).  Following the Clues is the fourth book in the Security Hounds Investigations series.  While Following the Clues can be read as a standalone, I believe it is best to read the series in order (get to know the characters, the dogs, and what Security Hounds does).  I am looking forward to Chase’s (and Tank’s) story.  Following the Clues is a bustling book with a missing mom, a friend with face blindness, paintball pot shots, a dangerous search, sliding rocks, a protective pooch, and sniffing out the solution.

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Dana is giving away the grand prize of a $75 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!! Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click here to enter.  Good Luck!

Following the Clues is available from Amazon*. The next novel in the Security Hounds Investigations series is Scent of Sabotage which will be out December 30. You can find Dana Mentink's other novels here.  Thank you for dropping by today.  I will return on Tuesday, July 1 with Framed in Amish Country by Mary Alford.  I hope that you have an enjoyable weekend.  Don't forget to enter the giveaway and leave a comment for an extra entry before you depart.  Good Luck! Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, June 24

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 24

Bizwings Book Blog, June 25

Carla’s Book Crush, June 25

Bigreadersite, June 26

The Avid Reader, June 26

Vicky Sluiter, June 27

Texas Book-aholic, June 27

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 28

Devoted To Hope, June 28

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 29

Betti Mace, June 30

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 30

Labor Not in Vain, July 1

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 1

Stories By Gina, July 2 (Author Interview)

EmpowerMoms, July 2

Blogging With Carol, July 3

Because I said So – adventures in parenting, July 3

Simple Harvest Reads, July 4 (Guest Review from Donna)

For Him and My Family, July 4

Lily’s Corner, July 5

Blossoms and Blessings, July 5

Holly’s Book Corner, July 6

Pause for Tales, July 6

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, July 7

Lights in a Dark World, July 7

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you.  Thank you for supporting The Avid Reader.

An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder by Lynn Cahoon

 An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder

Book Summary

New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon makes her hardcover debut with an irresistible new meta-mystery series about an amateur sleuth who doesn’t just solve crimes, she writes about how to do it . . .

TIP #1: WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU COUNTS AS WORK EXPERIENCE

Meg Gates could use a guidebook for life. Indeed, she’s faced some challenges. She dropped out of college to work for a tech startup that failed—and her fiancé just took her bridesmaid to Italy on what was supposed to be Meg’s honeymoon.

Now, at twenty-six, Meg has taken the ferry ride of shame from Seattle back to Bainbridge Island to live with her family. At least she has her rescue cocker spaniel, Watson, by her side. But it’s Meg who could use a rescue—and she’s hoping it will come in the form of a part-time gig doing research for a bestselling mystery writer.

Bainbridge Island Ferry

TIP #2: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW – OR WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW

That’s when the lightbulb goes on: Meg will write her own guidebook—a manual on criminal investigation. But before she can impress her new boss with her pet project, the author’s manager is found dead on the rocks beneath the author’s Gothic mansion.

Now it’s time to put her guide to the test, as Meg sets out to clear her employer of suspicion and solve the crime. But there’s one important caveat she’ll have to add to her guide—

TIP #3: BEWARE OF UNKNOWN DANGERS

Bainbridge Island Downtown

My Thoughts

An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder by Lynn Cahoon Is the first A Bainbridge Island Mystery.  The story is easy to read, but I found the pacing to be leisurely (needed a little more pep). Eliminating repetitive details would have helped.  I like Meg as well as her family, friends, and dog (such a cutie).  The characters need more fleshing out, so they have more personality like Watson, Meg’s dog.  I enjoyed the descriptions of Bainbridge Island (a great place to live in the spring, summer, and fall).  

Hobbit home on Bainbridge Island

The mystery was uncomplicated and a cinch to solve.  I wish the whodunit had been more complex and at the forefront of the story.  It took a backseat to Meg’s two jobs, walking Watson, eating (fish and chips as well as Chinese food were two favorites), and spending time with friends and family.  While Meg says she is not ready for another romantic relationship, she certainly thinks about it a lot.  An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder is a nice story, but I want it to be less women’s fiction and more cozy mystery (emphasis on mystery).  An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder has a ferry journey, beautiful Bainbridge Island, a murdered literary agent, unique assignments, old friends, an inkling of an idea, and delectable mac & cheese.

Beautiful view while shopping on Bainbridge Island

An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder is available from Amazon.  The next A Tourist Trap Mystery is a Merry Murder Season and it will be out on November 4. You can find Lynn Cahoon's other novels here.  Thank you for dropping by today.  On Thursday, June 26, I am stop on the Celebrate Lit tour for Following the Clues by Dana Mentink. It is the fourth book in the Security Hounds Investigations series.  I hope that you have cheery day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you.  Thank you for supporting The Avid Reader.

Echoes of Darkness by Darlene L. Turner

 Echoes of Darkness

Book Summary

A serial killer stalks a small town, and a police officer must face her family’s dark past to catch him.

The sleepy community of Kenorapeake Falls in northern Ontario seems like somewhere Constable Oaklynn Brock can finally outrun her violent past. That is, until she’s assigned to investigate a series of suspicious deaths. She can’t reveal that she knows how serial killers think because she grew up with one. Yet the eerie similarities between these murders and those committed by her father, known as the Suicide Slayer, hint at a copycat in their midst. But why here and why now?

Caleb Greene of the Canadian Watchers Squad, a special task force, has his own reasons to be wary of working alongside Oaklynn. But with rumors of a local cult known as the Light Paragons gaining power, the stakes are too high to refuse.

As they explore connections between the killings and cult, Oaklynn and Caleb are forced to confront old secrets…and a terrifying new threat. Someone is watching Oaklynn’s every move. They know exactly who she is and what she might be capable of. And soon her biggest fear isn’t just having her past exposed, but that a killer will turn whatever days she has left into a living nightmare…  

My Thoughts

Echoes of Darkness by Darlene L. Turner is a dark, suspenseful story.  The author’s vivid descriptions transported me to Kenorapeake Falls, Ontario.  Copycat crimes have the community up in arms and a mayor determined to get answers.  The main characters are complex and developed, but they still have still have room to grow.  Oaklynn and Caleb have secrets that they would prefer to remain buried, but you know that they will not (they never do).  I like the sections from the killer’s point of view. They enhanced the story. 

Despite all the darkness in the story, there are moments of light.  It is that age old tale of the dark against the light (good versus evil).  We need to put our faith in God if we are to snuff out the evil within ourselves.  In the story, they must combat the evil threatening their community. I quickly identified the culprit, but my mother attributes it to my extensive reading of mysteries.  I enjoyed the tension, twists, thrills, and secrets.  I wish that the pacing had been a tad peppier.  Being thrust into danger has a way of bringing people closer.  There is chemistry between Oaklynn and Caleb, and romance begins to bloom despite the dark crimes.  Echoes of Darkness is a tense tale with copycat killings, a dark cult, shocking secrets, a determined mayor, finding faith, and catching a killer. 

Echoes of Darkness is available from Amazon as well as other major retailers.  Darlene Turner has Danger in the Wilderness coming out on August 26.  It is the first book in the National Park Protectors series.    You can find Darlene L. Turner's other novels here.  Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am going to share my thoughts on An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder by Lynn Cahoon.  It is the first A Bainbridge Island Mystery.  I hope that you have a enjoyable day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you.  Thank you for supporting The Avid Reader.

Skeletons, Secrets, and Speakeasies by Fran Heap

Skeletons, Secrets, and Speakeasies

Book Summary

Some legacies are lost to time. Others are waiting to be found.

Tammy Rumbelow never imagined her fresh start in small-town Michigan would lead her into decades-old mysteries. But beneath the cozy book readings and bakery scents, Willowcroft hides the tangled roots of betrayal, buried truths, and a heist that was never meant to be uncovered.

With the help of her cat and a mismatched team of amateur sleuths—including a bookseller and genealogist, a tech-savvy teen, a sharp-eyed retiree, and a former sheriff—Tammy stumbles upon a hidden past woven through dusty tunnels, long-lost letters, and the fading whispers of women history tried to forget.

Together, they’ll piece together a mystery that spans generations—one that may rewrite everything the town thought it knew.

My Thoughts

Skeletons, Secrets, and Speakeasies by Fran Heap is the second A Willowcroft Cozy Mystery.  I have not read Murder, Mystery, & Mothers (nor the prequel Bears, Berries, & Beginnings) and I felt like I was missing vital information. I had trouble with the multiple points of view.  I found it jarring as it bounced between the group of amateur sleuths and the main character.  In addition, there was diverting internal dialogue. The characters lacked development. I especially felt that Tammy, as the main character, should have fleshed out more.  I thought it was amusing that Tammy’s cat was the most realistic and developed character.  The mystery was interesting. 

I cannot resist a whodunit that involves secret tunnels.  I enjoyed the genealogical and historical aspects.  Each member of the sleuthing group contributed to the investigation.  I wish the pacing, though, had been peppier. There was more talking than action.  There were times when I wondered if the mystery would ever get resolved.  The story has good elements, but it needed more fine tuning.  Skeletons, Secrets, and Speakeasies is a leisurely story about missing money, a network of tunnels, secret entrances, a murder board, a canny cat, an anxious teen, and a humorous radio broadcast.  

 

Skeletons, Secrets, and Speakeasies is available from Amazon.  The first A Willowcroft Cozy Mystery is Murder, Mystery, and Mothers. Bears, Berries, and Beginnings is the prequel to A Willowcroft Cozy Mystery series.  If you follow Fran Heap on Amazon, they will email you when she has a new book release.  Thank you for popping by today.  I will return on Tuesday, June 24 with Echoes of Darkness by Darlene L. Turner.  If you enjoy stories with suspense, secrets, twists, and more, then you will enjoy the engaging Echoes of Darkness.  

This is the cat house that I purchased.  It is a little bland.

I am off to put together a cat house for the outdoor cats that visit me.  I want them to have a safe space to eat and sleep.  They are scared of the new screened porch (they will not go near the cat door), so I am hoping the cat house will be a good solution. I am going to add some cute details (any ideas for a mini doormat) and color.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you.  Thank you for supporting The Avid Reader.

Homemaker by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare

Homemaker

Homemaker (Prairie Nightingale) by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare

About Homemaker

 

Homemaker (Prairie Nightingale)

Mystery/Amateur Sleuth/Romantic Elements 

1st in Series 

Setting - Green Bay, Wisconsin 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer (June 1, 2025)

Paperback Print length ‏ : ‎ 300 pages 

 

When a former friend and devoted mother vanishes, a confident homemaker turned amateur sleuth follows an unexpected trail of scandals and secrets to find her.

Prairie Nightingale is both the midlife mother of two teenage girls and a canny entrepreneur who has turned homemaking into a salaried profession. She’s also fascinated with the gritty details of other people’s lives. So when seemingly perfect Lisa Radcliffe, a member of her former mom-friends circle, suddenly disappears, it’s in Prairie’s nature to find out why.

Given her innate talent for vital pattern recognition, Prairie is out to catch a few clues by taking a long, hard look at everyone in Lisa’s life—and uncovering their secrets. Including Lisa’s. Prairie’s dogged curiosity is especially irritating to FBI agent Foster Rosemare, the first interesting man Prairie has met since her divorce. His square jaw and sharp suits don’t hurt.

But even as the investigation begins to wreak havoc on Prairie’s carefully tended homelife, she’s resolved to use her multivalent homemaking skills to solve the mystery of a missing mom—and along the way discover the thrill of her new sleuthing ambitions.

About Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare

Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare write critically acclaimed, bestselling mystery and romance, usually (but not always) together. They are the authors of the Prairie Nightingale mysteries and the TV Detectives mystery series. If you want more of their stories, check out their queer romances co-written as Mae Marvel, as well as solo work by Ruthie Knox (het romance), Annie Mare (grounded queer paranormal romance), and Robin York (Ruthie’s pen name for New Adult romance). Ruthie and Annie are married and live with two teenagers, two dogs, multiple fish, two glorious cats, four hermit crabs, and a bazillion plants in a very old house with a garden.

Author Links

Webpage: https://ruthieknoxandanniemare.com

Facebook: 

http://facebook.com/ruthieknox 

and 

https://www.facebook.com/anniemareromanceauthor

Instagram: @ruthieknoxromance and @spinsterpress

Excerpt

Prairie Nightingale stood on her tiptoes, ignoring the incessant buzz of her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and craning for a better look at Amber Jenkins.

“What do you think of Mrs. Jenkins’s handbag?” she asked her daughter Anabel.

Prairie and Anabel were part of a loose congregation of parents and family members milling around on the paved playground of the K–8 gifted school, waiting for the final release bell. Prairie hated moments like these, when there was a measurable stretch of time but nothing happening and no way to get anything done. An article she’d once read called it “garbage time.” When she was going through her divorce, she’d found a lot of articles like that—about how women’s time was wasted and their labor undervalued—as she tried to understand why the world believed she’d spent her seventeen years as a wife and mother doing essentially nothing.

“I don’t think of Mrs. Jenkins’s handbag.” Anabel looked away from her phone long enough to flick her eyes over to the purse in question. “But if you’re asking me how much it cost, that’s a seven-hundred-dollar bag. Nine, if it’s from this year.”

“Huh.” Prairie watched Amber, whose gaze was fixed in the middle distance as she arranged her ripple of blond hair over one shoulder. Bearing up under her own garbage time. Amber had two kids, like Prairie. She was sharp and irreverent, with a slightly faded tattoo of koi circling a lotus blossom on her shoulder. Once, she’d been Prairie’s favorite among a group of women who went for coffee after school drop-off and got together to make swag bags for the teachers. Prairie had always thought she and Amber had a genuine connection as the two moms in the group without a prestigious education. Both of them knew how to keep track of the drink orders from a ten top.

“Remember a couple of weeks ago when Mrs. Jenkins backed into that Dodge Ram and smashed her taillight?” Prairie asked Anabel.

“No. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Her daughter’s dry tone failed to disguise a hint of interest. She was not immune to what some called Prairie’s nosiness and what Prairie called her talent at vital pattern recognition.

“Well, that happened. And look.” Prairie angled her head at a dirty black Escalade illegally parked across from the school. “The taillight is still busted.”

“So?”

“Who spends nine hundred dollars on a new handbag and doesn’t get their taillight fixed?”

Hermes Birkin Sellier 20 Faubourg by Night--sells for over $450,000

“I don’t know. Why would I know that?” Anabel squinted in Amber’s direction. “Didn’t she used to carry a Kitty Blue purse?”  

“That’s right! The metallic blue crossbody bag with the cat ears. And Kitty Blue is not high dollar.” Prairie had never bought anything from the faddish direct-to-consumer brand, but she was familiar from seeing it hyped on the social media channels of practically every woman she’d ever met. “An upgrade like that begs a lot of questions.”

“Not really. Lots of things could explain it. Maybe someone bought her this new purse because her Kitty Blue one started getting ratty. Or the people who fix cars are too busy. Why do you even care?”

“It’s just something to keep me occupied while we wait for your sister,” Prairie said. “I don’t really care.”

This was a lie. Prairie did care, in the way that you couldn’t help caring about people you’d known for your children’s entire lives who didn’t talk to you anymore and had blocked you from the group chat for reasons you understood but didn’t agree with.

It wasn’t Prairie’s fault. At least, she didn’t think so. She blamed Dr. Carmichael. Nathan Carmichael had been a popular local ob-gyn until Prairie found out—via an investigation that began when he failed to deliver an anticipated donation to the PTO the year she was fundraising chair—that the doctor was serially abusing his patients. She couldn’t let it go, and didn’t let it go, until there was nowhere for Nathan Carmichael to go but prison.

It caused a scandal. Green Bay was not a big town, in population or in generosity of spirit. The doctor’s wife, who had been part of Prairie’s friend group, had to resign her seat as a state senator and move away with her kids to weather the gossip. Prairie’s role in the unpleasantness did not go unnoticed.

She was shunned. Cast out. Politely, Midwest-nice ghosted.

Although, in truth, she had never been completely clear on whether she lost almost all her friends because she was a dog with a bone about Nathan Carmichael or because she’d pulled the trigger on her divorce. Everyone liked Greg, her ex. In fact, Prairie liked Greg, her ex. He was, as the women in her life had never failed to remind her, one of the good ones.

But she could have approval, or she could live free and do as she liked. When Prairie felt sad about the friends she’d lost getting to the bottom of the mystery, she looked at the picture she’d saved on her phone of Nathan Carmichael crying in a courtroom. When she felt sad about the friends she’d lost because of her divorce, she let herself feel sad.

Her conscience was clear.

Homemaker is available from Amazon, Bookshop.org, and Barnes & Noble.  The next A Prairie Nightingale Mystery is Trailbreaker which will be out on February 3, 2026.  You can find Ruthie Knox's other books here and Annie Mare's books here.  If you follow the author's, Amazon will send you an email when they have a new book coming out.  Would you like to win a signed paperback of Homemaker?  You can click here to enter the contest or you can use the Rafflecopter form below.  Leave a comment for an extra entry in the giveaway.  Good Luck!  

Thank you for dropping by today.  I will return on Thursday, June 19 with Skeletons, Secrets, and Speakeasies by Fran Heap.  It is the second A Willowcroft Cozy Mystery.  I hope that you have a cheerful day.  I am off to search for red rocking chairs for our new screened porch.  My mother wants red rocking chairs with cushions, so that is what I will get (which means that I will have two more items to assemble).  Don't forget to enter the giveaway before you depart.  Take care, good luck, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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Tour Participants

June 17 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

June 18 – The Avid Reader – SPOTLIGHT

June 18 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 19 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

June 20 – Boys' Mom Reads! – REVIEW

June 20 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – Sarandipity's – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 22 – Angel's Book Nook – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 23 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 24 – Christy's Cozy Corners - SPOTLIGHT

June 25 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

June 26 – Ascroft. eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

June 28 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 29 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 30 - Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books - REVIEW

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you.  Thank you for supporting The Avid Reader.