Dollycas's Thoughts
Veterinarian Ally Winter has returned to Willow Bluff, Wisconsin to care for her grandfather after hip replacement surgery and to hit the restart button on her life following a bad breakup. She has bought the clinic of a retiring vet and is working hard to build her client list. Her Grandpa Oscar is recovering in an assisted living home along with three widows who all would like to be more than friends with Oscar. Oscar is more into true crime books and television shows but he eats up all the women's attention with a smile.
One of Ally's first clients is a boxer named Roxy, owned by lawyer Marty Shawlin. He has hired her to walk Roxy daily. When she arrives to take Roxy on her walk she makes a gruesome discovery. Martin Shawlin stretched out on the floor, eyes staring vacantly into space, his head matted with blood, and no pulse. Roxy is barking like mad. Marty Shawlin has been murdered and the only witness seems to be his beautiful boxer.
Ally Winter is a wonderful protagonist. She'd been knocked down and she got back up and is slowly succeeding at getting her life back on track after leaving her cheating fiancé in the dust. She has a great bond with her grandfather. Oscar thinks it will be easy to catch a killer and encourages Ally to investigate with his help, of course. Harriet, Lydia, and Tillie reside with Oscar at the Willow Bluff Legacy House, a small assisted-living facility. The âWillow Widowsâ are all trying to outdo each other for Oscar's attention. We also meet Detective Noah Jorgensen. He went to school with Ally and knows all of her embarrassing history. And then there is Roxy. She immediately stole Ally's heart and mine as well. All of Ms. Scott's core characters are very well developed for the first book in the series. They are genuine and for the most part, engaging. Noah hit me wrong from the start so I haven't made up my mind about him yet.
The mystery was very well-plotted. The victim had angered several people which meant a nice pool of suspects. I got a real kick of Grandpa Oscar. He doesn't let a little thing like a hip replacement slow him down especially when the police have him on their suspect list. Ally tries hard to reel him in but when the threats hit close to home she knows she needs his help. I enjoyed tagging along with them as they followed the clues and came up with theories.
The author adds a whole bunch of humor to the story too. The Willow Widows bring their share but Gramps and Allie have their moments too.
Dogged by Death has set this series off to an excellent start. Tailing Trouble is impatiently waiting on my Kindle. I can't wait for my next trip up the road to Willow Bluff.
Veterinarian Ally Winter has returned to Willow Bluff, Wisconsin to care for her grandfather after hip replacement surgery and to hit the restart button on her life following a bad breakup. She has bought the clinic of a retiring vet and is working hard to build her client list. Her Grandpa Oscar is recovering in an assisted living home along with three widows who all would like to be more than friends with Oscar. Oscar is more into true crime books and television shows but he eats up all the women's attention with a smile.
One of Ally's first clients is a boxer named Roxy, owned by lawyer Marty Shawlin. He has hired her to walk Roxy daily. When she arrives to take Roxy on her walk she makes a gruesome discovery. Martin Shawlin stretched out on the floor, eyes staring vacantly into space, his head matted with blood, and no pulse. Roxy is barking like mad. Marty Shawlin has been murdered and the only witness seems to be his beautiful boxer.
Ally Winter is a wonderful protagonist. She'd been knocked down and she got back up and is slowly succeeding at getting her life back on track after leaving her cheating fiancé in the dust. She has a great bond with her grandfather. Oscar thinks it will be easy to catch a killer and encourages Ally to investigate with his help, of course. Harriet, Lydia, and Tillie reside with Oscar at the Willow Bluff Legacy House, a small assisted-living facility. The âWillow Widowsâ are all trying to outdo each other for Oscar's attention. We also meet Detective Noah Jorgensen. He went to school with Ally and knows all of her embarrassing history. And then there is Roxy. She immediately stole Ally's heart and mine as well. All of Ms. Scott's core characters are very well developed for the first book in the series. They are genuine and for the most part, engaging. Noah hit me wrong from the start so I haven't made up my mind about him yet.
The mystery was very well-plotted. The victim had angered several people which meant a nice pool of suspects. I got a real kick of Grandpa Oscar. He doesn't let a little thing like a hip replacement slow him down especially when the police have him on their suspect list. Ally tries hard to reel him in but when the threats hit close to home she knows she needs his help. I enjoyed tagging along with them as they followed the clues and came up with theories.
The author adds a whole bunch of humor to the story too. The Willow Widows bring their share but Gramps and Allie have their moments too.
Dogged by Death has set this series off to an excellent start. Tailing Trouble is impatiently waiting on my Kindle. I can't wait for my next trip up the road to Willow Bluff.
Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
Dogged by Death is the debut of the A Furry Friends Mystery series set in Willow Bluff, Wisconsin and featuring veterinarian, Ally Winter. Having been duped, dumped and left in debt by her ex-fiance, Ally has moved back home to Willow Bluff to start her own veterinary practice and be closer to her grandfather, Oscar.
Oscar is living at the Legacy House with three widows - Harriet, Lydia and Tillie while he recovers from a broken hip and Ally visits the quartet daily. On arrival one afternoon, Ally is shocked to hear her grandfather arguing with a man, and is equally surprised when after threatening him the man goes running from the house.
Later that afternoon, the man appears at the vet clinic and introduces himself as Marty Shawlin, a recently divorced lawyer. Marty tells Ally that he needs to hire her to sit for his boxer, Roxy while he is working during the day. Ally doesn't really like the man but she desperately needs to start earning money to stay in business so she accepts the job. Unfortunately, the next day when she goes to let walk Roxy she discovers Marty bludgeoned to death in his kitchen.
Ally teams up with her grandfather (and Roxy) to track down a killer much to the dismay of Ally's high school classmate Noah Jorgensen, starring quarterback now the town's lead Detective. A fast paced plot with several twists and turns, likable characters and delightful animals. There are several things that become a little repetitive throughout the book, but I just learned to skim over those paragraphs and I hope the author eases up on the daily meals in future installments . I hope that there are more adventures for Ally, Oscar and Roxy on the horizon.
Oscar is living at the Legacy House with three widows - Harriet, Lydia and Tillie while he recovers from a broken hip and Ally visits the quartet daily. On arrival one afternoon, Ally is shocked to hear her grandfather arguing with a man, and is equally surprised when after threatening him the man goes running from the house.
Later that afternoon, the man appears at the vet clinic and introduces himself as Marty Shawlin, a recently divorced lawyer. Marty tells Ally that he needs to hire her to sit for his boxer, Roxy while he is working during the day. Ally doesn't really like the man but she desperately needs to start earning money to stay in business so she accepts the job. Unfortunately, the next day when she goes to let walk Roxy she discovers Marty bludgeoned to death in his kitchen.
Ally teams up with her grandfather (and Roxy) to track down a killer much to the dismay of Ally's high school classmate Noah Jorgensen, starring quarterback now the town's lead Detective. A fast paced plot with several twists and turns, likable characters and delightful animals. There are several things that become a little repetitive throughout the book, but I just learned to skim over those paragraphs and I hope the author eases up on the daily meals in future installments . I hope that there are more adventures for Ally, Oscar and Roxy on the horizon.
