A Must Read For Mystery Lovers (AND DOGS!)

TITLE: The Scent of Murder (Jazz Ramsey #1)
AUTHOR: Kylie Logan
PUBLISHER: Minotaur Books
PUBLISHING DATE: May 7, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: First in a new series from national bestselling author Kylie Logan, The Scent of Murder is a riveting mystery following Jazz Ramsey as she trains cadaver dogs. 

The way Jazz Ramsey figures it, life is pretty good. She’s thirty-five years old and owns her own home in one of Cleveland’s most diverse, artsy, and interesting neighborhoods. She has a job she likes as an administrative assistant at an all-girls school, and a volunteer interest she’s passionate about—Jazz is a cadaver dog handler. 

Jazz is working with Luther, a cadaver dog in training. Luther is still learning cadaver work, so Jazz is putting him through his paces at an abandoned building that will soon be turned into pricey condos. When Luther signals a find, Jazz is stunned to see the body of a young woman who is dressed in black and wearing the kind of make-up and jewelry that Jazz used to see on the Goth kids back in high school. 

She’s even more shocked when she realizes that beneath the tattoos and the piercings and all that pale make up is a familiar face. 

The lead detective on the case is an old lover, and the murdered woman is an old student. Jazz finds herself sucked into the case, obsessed with learning the truth.  

MY THOUGHTS:  Every once in a while you start a book and only a few pages in, you just know that it's going to work for you.  That is exactly what happened with "The Scent of Murder" and I actually read this whole book in less than 24 hours.  I'm pretty sure the author's note in the beginning set the tone. 

"We have always had dogs in our lives.  For those of you who've never let a furry critter share your home and your time, you'll never understand the power they hold over us or the place they stake in our hearts and memories.  For the rest of you...well, of course you know how wonderful it is.  And how maddening it can be.  You remember the puppy years and the constant chorus of 'No! Don't touch that. Don't eat that.  Don't jump on that.'  You remember the sometimes sky-high vet bills and the times when your furry friendwas sick and you slept on the kitchen floor next to him because...well, because you had to.  You'll always cherish the walks, the play time, the simple, wonderful friendship of a dog sitting at your side.  And you know that every minute of it is worthwhile"

She then goes on to talk about service dogs and how important they are and the cadaver dog training she herself has taken.   So yea, I was hooked from the beginning.  But let's move on to the book.

Jazz Ramsey works at an all-girl school along with her best friend, and also a certified cadaver dog training.  When the book starts, Jazz does not have her own dog, after losing Manny over a year ago.  While training one evening, Jazz and Luther discover the body of a former student at Jazz's school.  The police, including Jazz's ex-boyfriend and Cleveland Detective, Nick, start investigating the case and Jane feels the pull to try to figure out herself what happened.

As I've said, I loved this book.  I liked Jazz as the MC and while she was flawed, she was also bright, dedicated and adventurous.  The remaining cast of characters, including friends, family, dogs and the police force, also all play important roles in the novel.  The mystery was quite satisfying and while I had my own suspicions, I was still surprised at the ending.  

While this book does wrap up nicely at the end, there are some telltale signs that it is the beginning of a series.  There are hints throughout that the death of Jazz's father, a firefighter who died around the same time as Manny, may not be as clear cut as it seems.  Also, we are introduced to a new pup and I'm sure he's going to have a very important role in future installments.  

So overall, I would highly recommend this book.  It has a solid mystery, good characters, is light on romance (but there is some there - or at least the possibly there), and DOGS!  What more could this girl ask for?

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

COYER CHALLENGE UPDATE: Read a book with a strong female protagonist (3)