Book Review | ARC Review | Dog Treats and Death (Heywood Hounds Cozy Mystery: Book One) by Carly Winter | CONTAINS SPOILERS

Dog Treats and Death

When Gina Dunner’s brother, Vic, is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Gina isn’t surprised. Living the life of a womanizing ranch hand with questionable friends and a lifetime of bad choices had to catch up with him at some point.

After the Sheriff announces she has the right man, Vic vehemently denies the murder. When he begs Gina to help prove his innocence, she attempts to puts her doubts aside, despite him being the last one to see the woman alive. She and her rescue mutt, Daisy—a sweet, yet sassy, talking dog—start sniffing around into their own investigation.

Will Gina and Daisy stumble onto the truth to exonerate Vic, or will the killer come for Gina next?

Journey with amateur sleuths, Gina and Daisy, through the twists and turns of “Dog Treats and Death,” a tale of family, betrayal, and the enduring bond between a woman and her extraordinary canine companion.

Characters

• Gina – can talk to dogs, main character
  • Daisy – Gina’s dog that she talks to
  • Sing – Gina’s other dog, she can’t talk to this one
  • Banshee – other dog
• Vic – Gina’s brother
• Jacob – Gina’s son, away at college
• Phoebe – Vic’s ex-girlfriend, murder victim
• Roger – Ranch owner
• Mallory Richards – Sheriff
• Trevor Hutchinson – Deputy
• Roger Wagner – Owner of the ranch
• Sam – Helped solve Gina’s husband’s murder and get her out of jail; she is out of town right now with her new husband that was an officer
• Annabelle – Sam’s assistant

My Review

I don’t think I’ve ever said this before.. but this book could have used an extra 50+ pages. I had to double check a couple of times in the first few chapters that this was, in fact, the first book in the series. I struggled with back story that wasn’t actually clear that seemed to just be shoved in randomly. I also struggled a bit with the talking dog part of this – but it is something I haven’t read recently, so combined with a cozy mystery, it was worth trying out! The author did a great job of bringing the talking dog to life with a combination of what you think a dog would say (I MISSED YOU I MISSED YOU) as well as aiding in finding the bad guy.

As a marathon runner, really made me cringe when they said the marathon that a character had run was 30 miles.

A first in a cozy mystery series featuring a dog lover and her talking dog. Very short, quick read that has multiple other books in the series and looks like there are even adjacent series to hop into if you like the other characters! Thanks The Book Sirens for the ARC e-book.