This is the first book in a brand new series called Pets Reporter by Kyla Colby, who is a new author that just happened to also be a pet reporter at one time. I love dogs to begin with and was thinking how cool it was that Birchwood, IL was so into their dogs. And…my favorite dog, the dachshund, got mentioned several times, even calling a man who had two of them the Dachshund Dad. Hardly anyone mentions dachsies in their books if the dachshund isn’t the star so I just thought that was fun! I personally can’t wait until the next book comes along in this series!
My Goodreads review:
Greyhound at the Gravesite: Pets Reporter Mystery by Kyla Colby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I absolutely love this new book by a brand new cozy mystery author! I finished this in one sitting, it was that good. The story had just the right amount of details and the pace never lagged. Everything was just at the perfect speed for a satisfying cozy mystery book. I felt so sorry for Sam coming back to her home town and thinking she was going to be made fun of for leaving her reporter job in Chicago but that never really happened. She was treated with kindness and respect (for the most part!) by her former co-workers at the Bugle where she had done an internship.
Samantha Hodges had been a crime reporter in Chicago but after an embarrassing meltdown she came back to her hometown of Birchwood, IL and got the job of Pets Reporter, working for her old boss Frank at the Birchwood Bugle. I really liked her co-workers Tom and James too. I think they may both be interested in her and she in them so it will be interesting to see if who she ends up with, if either of them. Her good friend Greta was just awesome too, everything someone would want in a best friend who happened to own a cozy and comforting bakery/hotel/apartment where Sam would be soon renting her own place. Sam knew her job was no longer a crime reporter but when a local murder takes place, she feels like she would have been involved anyway since the person killed was supposed to be her first interviewee.
I got such a kick out of Sam’s sister Frances insisting on going along with her to pick up something at the deceased’s house that she’d wanted Sam to have. The police detective, Dan Jasper, wasn’t too happy with Sam when she was investigating. I think he knows and does his job but he isn’t a native to the town for one thing and another, he can’t figure out the fixation with dogs that the people there have. I’m hoping he comes around eventually and starts acting a little bit nicer.
There was a really good twist at the end that I never saw coming so needless to say I hadn’t guessed the killer but if I had I definitely wouldn’t have known their reason. I’m anxious to see what’s next in this series!
There are several yummy recipes in the book and I can honestly see me wanting to make these–they’re from Greta and written as Greta would tell people about them. I love that she uses simple things that aren’t really hard to come by. At the end of the book there’s a page telling how people can read a prequel to this series too.
Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery 