My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Talented, dog-loving amateur sleuths pursue the truth behind two puzzling murders in this pair of dog park deaths.
Death at the Dog Park is a pair of puzzling murder cases, both of which are set in dog parks. In "Dog's Punishment," Neil S. Plakcy's Golden Retriever Mystery series protagonists, Steve Levitan and his canine sidekick, Rochester, look into the murder of a controversial local dog trainer, while the crafts store owner and titular main character of Joanna Campbell Slan's Kiki Lowenstein Mystery series is shocked when her Great Dane, Gracie, discovers a severed had at the dog park in "Lamb Chopped." These intriguing yet bite-sized mysteries make for enjoyable reading and are a perfect introduction to both authors' popular and dog-themed cozy mystery series.
Neil S. Plakcy's Steve Levitan is an English professor working as the manager of local Eastern College's conference facilities in Stewart's Crossing, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his wife and golden retriever, Rochester. When his co-manager, Joey Capodilupo, becomes a murder suspect, Steve and Rochester investigate to clear his name. Man and dog have an unusual working relationship as well as a personal bond, having successfully solved previous cases in the past. Rochester, using his canine senses and intuition, gains insights into the crime scenes and suspects that are unavailable to his human partner, and it was interesting watching as Steve tries to interpret Rochester's attempts at communicating what he knows.Kiki Lowenstein-Detweiler, a former widow now married to a detective she met on an earlier case, gets involved in a murder investigation when Gracie digs up a detached hand during their first trip to the local dog park. The victim, Archie Wellington, is revealed to be a horrid man intent on ridding their town of Webster Groves, Missouri, of all dogs and their owners, too, if he could manage it. With no tears shed on his behalf by anyone and a lengthy history of altercations with dog-owning residents, there are plenty of suspects for armchair detectives to cross off their lists as Kiki asks questions.
I recommend DEATH AT THE DOG PARK to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy mysteries featuring dogs.I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.
