Here's a nice little mystery, recommended by County Reader: Bells, Tails, & Murder, by Kathy Manos Penn. It's the first in her A Dickens and Christie Mystery series. In this case Dickens is a dog and Christie a cat ... and they talk to their human, Leta. Everyone else just hears the expected barks and meows, but Leta understands them, and can talk back to them. She and Dickens are out for a walk when they find the body ... and you know what happens next ... she (and the animals) have to help figure out the who and the why. :-)

I plucked a book I knew I'd like off my shelf after trying three, that's three, authors and mysteries that proved to be huge disappointments! I needed something fun! Beast Laid Plans was that, well, for the most part ... this one felt a bit more like it was trying to make a point than the others. A dragon has gone missing. The others have been told to lay low and stay away from their human friends as the country side seems to have gone nuts looking for magical creatures. A nearby town is making the most of this, but when the WI from Toot Hansell, (and some of the dragons, of course) investigate, most of the 'sightings' are fake, and, the village and surrounds feel eerily empty of anything magical. Part of the Beaufort Scales series by Kim M. Watt, it seemed like a more thoughtful read than the earlier books.

Reading Hermit With Dog