​Two murders with one common denominator. Both victims betrayed Bryce Greyson. How could she not be the prime suspect?

Four years after Bryce’s cheating husband is gunned down, her boyfriend-stealing former roommate’s remains are found buried under a statue at her alma mater.

Declared the prime suspect by both detectives and the media, Bryce has no choice but to hire someone to clear her name.

Enter Sam MacKade, private eye.
​
To solve two murders, the former police K-9 officer and his canine partners must sift through the clues and the lies to reveal the true prime suspect.

Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

I've been reading book series by Lauren Carr for quite a few years, so I was excited by this newly released Sam Mackade PI Mystery series. As is her trademark, Lauren Carr delivers a mix of multiple murder mysteries that somehow all nicely tie in by the end of the story. How she does it, I don't know, but it all comes together to bring a satisfying end.

Sam Mackade gets hired by Bryce Greyson, the prime suspect in two murders, one of her husband four years ago and the other of her university roommate sixteen years ago. Along with Sam's canine partners Cleo and Gus, Dutch Shepherds also known as Goody Two-Shoes and The Filthy Beast, both Sam and Bryce work to put together the clues to solve the mysteries. They also begin to form an attraction for each other, although compared to her other novels there is very little romance in this one.

Well, Cleo and Gus stole the show in this book, hands down! I just loved, loved their internal banter with Sam who knew them so well he could read their minds. They cracked me up. Carr understands animal behavior so well that she does an excellent job of developing these canine characters, so much so that they become beloved characters and not just afterthought pets in the background. Oh, and there's always a rival cat in the mix. Misha plays THAT part exceptionally well!

Right from the start, the readers quickly get pulled into the mysteries and it took me a while to get warmed up to the characters. I liked Sam. He is an introvert, feels more comfortable with animals than humans, and has trust issues because of a serious betrayal in his past. Bryce...well, I still don't know much about her. She started out displaying what seemed to be a meek character. She's described as "a geeky sidekick" but then she puts on her detective hat and seems pretty self-assured. I think her character could have been more developed. For me, she's not memorable enough as a character. When I think of Carr's other characters such as the Geezer Squad (a fantastic bunch), Chris Matheson, or Mac Faraday, I can easily picture these characters. 

If you're a murder mystery fan, and especially a fan of Lauren Carr's fun dog characters, you'll enjoy this novel.

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.

The owner of Acorn Book Services and iRead Book Tours, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, and virtual book tour coordinator for independent authors.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and author panels at conventions.

She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Ends Dec 7, 2023

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