AUTHOR: Linda O. Johnston
PUBLISHER: Midnight Ink
PUBLISHING DATE: May 8, 2018
FROM GOODREADS:
Carrie Kennersly tries to help her veterinarian boyfriend when he's under suspicion of murder...Is he a keeper, or should she let him go off-leash for good?
As a technician for a local vet and the owner of the Barkery & Biscuits dog bakery, Carrie Kennersly is excited to host a rescue animal adoption event. She's also excited to be in a relationship with veterinarian Dr. Reed Storme, despite his pleas for her to butt out of the murder cases she keeps finding herself involved with. Yet when Reed is accused of killing his former veterinary colleague, he seems a lot more agreeable to having amateur detective Carrie butt back in. Can Carrie clear Reed, or does she care too much for a killer?
MY THOUGHTS: So after giving the previous installment if the Barkery & Biscuits mystery a 3/5, which was still good, I am glad to say that this most recent installment jumped back up to 4/5. Carrie is still working double time and running her dual dog/people bakery as well as working part time as a vet time. Yet when her boyfriend's ex comes to town and tries to open a new vet clinic and suddenly winds up dead, she also takes on the role of amateur sleuth in order to clear many of her loved ones.
I will admit that I sort of had the perpetrator pegged about 3/4 of the way through but seeing as I had no idea why they might have done it, it was still an interesting read to the very end. But another great element in "Pick and Chews" is the town itself and its inhabitants. I love almost all of the characters Johnson creates and I could totally see myself living and working in this quaint mountain town. And of course, we can't forget the animals. There are plenty around since Carrie owns a dog bakery and also works at a vet office. There is even a animal rescue which gets quite a lot of mention and which must be dear to Johnson's heart as she is frequently mentioning rescue pets.
If you like cozy mysteries you should consider reading at least the first in this series to see if it's for you. And if you like dogs, it should be a no-brainer. I do hope the series continue and I would love to see more of "the Joes" as they are two of my favorite minor characters.
I received this book from Midnight Ink and Netgalley in exchange for an honest reviews.
RATING: 4 PAWS
BOOKER T's THOUGHTS: So what's up with that adorable bulldog on the cover? I can't figure out who he belongs to or his name or anything! I think he's my long lost cousin!!!!
