Thank you to the author and Joanna's Readers FB page and the publisher.

As much as I hate to admit it, and I do love animals (dogs and cats especially), I don't read too many books with them in them, and for that matter cozy mysteries.

This was a fun book to read in spite of a murder or two. Imagine a small town that caters to dogs and cats and an Inn that Holly's grandmother owns that also invites them in to stay with their owners with rooms catered to both and amenities for both. Fun and clever. The whole town was animal themed with mostly stores for them.

I knew this was going to be a character driven book when I saw a page and a half of characters! I did have to look back once in a while.

I also loved the title Murder, She Barked which references the tv show Murder, She Wrote. ( )

So this was my first foray into the cozy mystery genre, and it was really cute. Like, super cute. I figured, how can a puppy dog themed mystery story go wrong? And sure enough, whatever flaws this book had were certainly forgivable, because doggies.

The plot was... I don't know, DOGGIES
The characters were... Uhhhmm, DOGGIES
The murderer was... Who cares, DOGGIES

I will say that this would probably have been better in a text format than on audio, because the performance by reader Jeanie Kanaley was substandard. The pacing was excruciatingly slow with a very careful enunciation of every word, her voice was almost girlish, and her European accents were... not like any I've heard in real life. ( )

I enjoyed it, hope to continue the series ( )

[b:Murder, She Barked|15810862|Murder, She Barked (Paws and Claws Mystery, #1)|Krista Davis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1380492375s/15810862.jpg|21536005]
Author: [a:Krista Davis|1555579|Krista Davis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1518807851p2/1555579.jpg]
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
276 pages
Mystery

I have to admit I picked this book up at Barnes & Noble because the title reminded me of Murder, She Wrote. :) There were even a couple Jessica Fletcher allusions in the book. That made me happy.

Holly Miller has lost her job, so she takes a road trip to see her grandmother. On the way, she rescues a dog and witnesses a car explode. Things aren't all peaceful at her grandmother's Inn either -- an employee was run over by a car and a local man is found murdered outside his house. Holly teams up with locals to discover the murderer before her grandmother becomes the next victim.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery. The characters were a bit stereotypical and the plot wasn't deep, but a cozy mystery is meant to be a fun read not intellectual. Holly Miller is a likable main character, and the story line kept me interested til the end. I do have to say there were times where Holly's reactions were slight facepalm moments, especially when it came to her fiance, Ben. She just seemed unable to comprehend the situation or to stand up for herself. I don't know a single woman who would have reacted that way, given the situation. Just sayin'. It didn't hurt my enjoyment of the book though. :) There were also two minor characters that I wanted to punch in the mouth. If you read the book, you will know which ones. Davis obviously meant her readers to want to punch these people. It worked. I did.

The book includes several recipes at the end, including four for dogs. :) I will cook the pumpkin cookies for my chihuahuas and see how many stars they give them. :)

All in all, a fun read.

My Rating: 7/10
Ages 12



RE-READ 3/2019:

Holly Miller gets an emergency call from her grandma's best friend and rushes to Wagtail, VA without even packing a suitcase. She arrives to discover her grandma has been in an accident, one of the employees at the Sugar Maple Inn has been killed in a hit and run, and a thief has been stealing valuables all across town. Soon, another resident of Wagtail is dead and Holly finds herself in the middle of the investigation.

I enjoyed this book. It's a light cozy mystery.....no blood, no graphic violence, no sex, cursing, etc. The plot is light and a bit cozy-tropey, but I didn't care. The story is fun to read! The setting is fun -- a tourist town catering to pet owners. The characters are tourist-town quirky. The main character calls her grandma "oma' -- my grandkids call me Oma. :)

Favorite characters? Trixie and Twinkletoes, of course! The dog and kitten steal the show all the way through the book! :)

There are five books so far in the Paws & Claws series, with a sixth coming out in October 2019. I've had the series on my TBR shelf for quite awhile. I read this book in 2016 and then got sidetracked by life and other books. I listened to the audio book this time to refresh my memory before reading book 2. The audio is about 9.5 hours long and narrated by Jeanie Kanaley. I have hearing loss but was easily able to hear and understand the entire book. Happily moving on to book 2 -- The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer!

Krista Davis also writes the Domestic Diva Mysteries and Pen & Ink cozy series. ( )

New series by this author. Book thick, detailed, gripping. Food descriptions fabulous. The town is one that I wish I could visit and the inn a place to stay. Heroine attractive and engaging, animals a joy. On to book two.