There a lot of 'spins' on the Sherlock Holmes characters but Murder at Mallowan Hall, by Colleen Cambridge is spin on Agatha Christie! It's the first of the author's Phyllida Bright Mystery Series ... Phyllida is the head housekeeper (as well as a good friend) to the famous crime writer and she is the one who solves the crime. At the start, when Phyllida discovers the body, and calls in to the proper authorities, it's thought to be a joke ... a body ... in the library ... at the house where Agatha Christie lives? Really? Yes, really! And so begins this fun romp as Phyllida does what M. Poirot would do and solves the crime.

The Keepers, by Jeffrey B. Burton is actually the second book in the Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series, but the author did a nice job a 'filling in the blanks' (or most of them) so I didn't feel too lost. Mason (Mace) Reid trains cadaver dogs and he has one with a special talent ... somehow, with her doggy nose, Vira (short for Elvira) can separate the smells and identify the murderer. Not something that can be used in a court of law, as the saying goes, but something the police/investigators can, and do use. This is a police procedural, not a cozy, for sure! Lots of grim scenes and coarse language, but I'll give the author credit here ... it was used where expected (if that makes any sense) and not just to shock the reader or because an author can get away with using it. Good characters, loved the dogs.

Reading Hermit With Dog