Aunt Bessie Knows, one of the Isle of Man Cozy Mystery books by Diana Xarissa, is the last one of these on my to be read shelf until Canadian Reader comes later this spring. Aunt Bessie reluctantly agrees to attend a New Year's Eve party to support a friend of hers. The daughter of this friend is home for the holidays and has invited a group of her friends over to celebrate the new year. One of them was not originally on the list and the reason for that soon becomes clear! She is very drunk and has flirted shamelessly with every man at the party, the last one being Constable Hugh Watterson, so when her body is found, he becomes the prime suspect. His supervisor was also at the party, so he cannot be involved in the investigation, leaving it to someone Bessie does not trust at all. She will have to find to do her own investigating ... carefully.

It was supposed to be a holiday for just the five sisters, but one brings along a co-worker. She is quiet and unfriendly. Why is she so secretive? Then they come across an injured dog. A few days later the dog and the coworker vanish. Turns out this might be the valuable truffle dog that was stolen. The Girl in the Empty Dress, by Lisle McClendon is the second Bennett Sisters novel, and takes place in France, at the home Merle unexpectedly inherited in the first. The dog thieves are inept: they lose the dog, kidnap the wrong sister, and then the wrong priest! Mostly a good read, I, personally took exception to the dog being called 'it', and the phrase 'it's just a dog'.

Reading Hermit With Dog