Doggone Dead (The 2 Sisters Pet Valet Mysteries #1) by Dane McCaslin #bookreview #mystery
Title: Doggone Dead
Author: Dane McCaslin
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: August 25, 2020
Page Count: 185
My rating: 4 stars
About the book:
Retired high school teacher Gwen Franklin has a new pet valet business with her BFF, and a whole new leash on life. But a killer is about to come sniffing around . . .
Gwen Franklin is looking forward to spending her retirement drinking her favorite coffee and reading mystery novels. Those peaceful plans are brought to heel by her best friend, Nora. Sporting stiletto heels, leggings, and a “more is better” makeup routine, fifty-something Nora Goldstein has a penchant for marrying—and divorcing—rich men. Now that Gwen’s got free time, Nora figures they should start a dog-walking and pet-sitting service together.
But it’s far from a walk in the park when the corpse of Linda Fletcher is found in Nora’s kitchen. Linda was Nora’s nemesis, and the large knife protruding from her chest points to murder. With no doubt that her bestie’s being framed, Gwen puts her sleuthing skills—acquired from reading every Agatha Christie mystery—to the test as she digs through suspects, including four disgruntled ex-husbands, ten greedy ex-stepchildren, not to mention all her exes’ exes. But with death threats and another body surfacing, can Gwen curb a killer before her own (dog) days come to an end?
Doggone Dead by Dane McCaslin is the first book in the cozy The 2 Sisters Pet Valet Mysteries series. This series as with most other cozies has a seperate mystery to be fully solved within each book so a reader can read the books as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. There is however some character development that carries over from book to book for those that choose to read the entire series in order.
Doggone Dead introduces readers to Gwen Franklin who has just retired from her career as a high school teacher and has plans to just relax and enjoy this new chapter in her life. Gwen’s best friend Nora however has other plans for Gwen now that she’s retired, Nora has the idea that she and Gwen can go into business together. Nora’s chosen plan is for the pair to open a pet-sitting service which Gwen isn’t too sure about.
Gwen eventually caves into Nora’s plans and the pair find themselves taking on all kinds of pets to get their business going. However, things take a surprising turn for the new entrepreneurs when Nora’s nemesis is found in Nora’s kitchen the victim of a rather large knife. Gwen is sure her bestie is being framed so she is determined to find the real killer no matter what it takes.
There’s nothing I like more than stumbling upon a series with an older protagonist, and I’m using older because with the laughs that come along in this series I’m not so sure mature is correct. I’m also a fan of a humorous cozy and The 2 Sisters Pet Valet Mysteries series certainly was that, I couldn’t stop laughing with the bird sitting. With a great start to this series I’m definitely going to come back for book two after liking the characters so far.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Find this book online:
Goodreads / Amazon**
About the author:
This sounds wonderful Carrie and I love the cover.🥰
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Of course you know me and my ability to pass by a cute cozy cover, just glad I liked the story too so far.🙂
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