Purebred Dead
A Canine Mystery
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Mary McGill’s Christmas turns less than jolly when she gets wrapped up in a murder mystery in this debut cozy with “a charming cast of canines” (Kirkus Reviews).
A pillar of her small California town, retired schoolteacher Mary McGill has a finger in every pie and a place on every committee. Usually, everything Mary organizes runs smoothly. But this year, the town’s annual Christmas pageant hits a snag with the discovery of a blood-stained corpse lying in the manger—and a cowering black-and-white cocker spaniel puppy right beside the body.
Two local children report seeing a shadowy figure fleeing the scene, but there are no clues as to the murderer’s identity. If Mary can figure out what the purebred pup was doing there, she’ll be one step closer to finding the killer. But as someone who knows nothing about puppies, purebred or otherwise, Mary needs to scratch beneath the surface before more than the Christmas pageant goes to the dogs . . .
“Dog-loving cozy fans will welcome Delaney’s series launch, an extension of her Ellie McKenzie series . . . Christmas cheer, puppies, and cute, resourceful children add to the fun.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dog-loving cozy fans will welcome Delaney's series launch, an extension of her Ellie McKenzie series (Dying for a Change, etc.) featuring Ellie's good-natured, high-energy aunt, Mary McGill, a retired schoolteacher in Santa Louisa, Calif. Mary starts poking into the business of show breeding after two children glimpse a tall man in robes fleeing the final inn of the town's Christmas pageant, leaving behind in the manger the bloodstained body of Cliff Mathews, discredited and error-prone alcoholic former vet, and an adorable black-and-white cocker spaniel puppy. A look at Cliff's diary and a second stabbing, this time of a beloved local pet store owner, show Mary and her police chief nephew-in-law, Dan Dunham, that the motivation for Cliff's murder may go beyond old grudges. Neither fearful nor reckless, Mary investigates mostly because she's already involved in everything in town. Christmas cheer, puppies, and cute, resourceful children add to the fun.