fuonlyknew

.

.

MY REVIEW

I’ve read all of Lauren’s books. Every series. And it felt like Christmas when I got my hands on Best In Murder. I was going to be back with the gang. All of my beloved characters, human and otherwise.

When I read the synopsis I knew it was not going to be easy to figure out who the villain or villains would be. The Faraday household is large and bringing in all of the dog owners and staff made for a huge list of suspects. The canine show world is ultra competitive and shenanigans were sure to occur. An expensive jewel dog collar vanishes and soon after two women are found dead, things get serious.

Just like in her other books, Lauren drops you right in middle of things. It was nonstop reading after that. And when Mac and Gnarly are on the case, it becomes complete, delightful chaos. Imagine it. Gnarly, Mac’s german shepherd, is lord of the castle. He’s an expert at stirring up mischief and looking innocent himself. Now, all of his four legged friends are with him and so many new dogs running every which way wreaking havoc. I was invested in solving the theft and murders. But, I must confess, the animals and what they got up too stole the show more me.

Those of you new to Lauren’s books will quickly realize there is a large cast of characters in her books. That’s a lot to keep track of. Never fear. At the beginning of her books she provides a list of names and who they are, including the animals. I read it to refresh my memory. When I spy a name I’d not seen in a while my excitement increases, knowing I’ll get an update on what they’ve been up to. I saw a new one that made me chuckle. Tank. It’s not the name that tickled me so much as who it belonged to….. a toy poodle.

One question that I keep asking myself after finishing each book is, why hasn’t anyone made these into a television series or some movies. I’d be first to watch!

5 STARS

1. Pitch Best in Murder to someone who has never heard of Mac Faraday.

Retired homicide detective inherits a fortune and a German shepherd with a résumé. Years later, Best in Show comes to his resort town. A priceless collar vanishes, a champion wolfhound vanishes, people start dying, and the dog treats the hotel like he owns the stock. You can start here. You will not be lost. You may be covered in hair.

2. Why a kennel-club invitational instead of another lakeside wedding or town festival?

Because a reader asked for more Gnarly, and I am petty enough to grant wishes at scale. A dog show gives you money, ego, animals, and an audience that is already judging everyone. It is a mystery writer’s buffet. Also, the Spencer Inn needed a new kind of disaster. Weddings we have done.

3. Mac still thinks like a cop. Does wealth ever make that harder to write?

Only if I let him get comfortable. Money buys the manor and the bad coffee at the Inn. It does not buy him patience. He notices what other people skip. That is the same man who walked into Spencer in book one. The bank account changed. The habit did not.

4. David’s promotion disappointed a few early readers. What do you want them to know?

He is not moving to another series. He is not being written out so I can import a new chief with a quirky hat. Acting sheriff opens cases beyond the town line, which Mac will exploit immediately. Spencer stays home base. Think of it as Jessica Fletcher buying a bigger suitcase, not selling the house.

5. How much of Gnarly is the real pack on your mountain?

The morals, the side-eye, and the belief that furniture is a suggestion. The war record and the mayoral campaign are fiction, though if one of mine could fill out paperwork, I would not put it past them. I do not write their thoughts. I write what it is like to live with a creature who is sure he is management.

6. You also run iRead Book Tours and Acorn Book Services. How does that change the way you launch a book?

It makes me polite to tour hosts, because I know what is in their inbox. It also makes me ruthless about copy. If a post cannot be pasted without a translator, it is not a post. Best in Murder is going out the way I ask my authors to go out: clean files, honest ARCs, and no begging in all caps.

7. Any scene in this book that made you laugh while you were supposed to be writing something grim?

Several, and I am not giving them away. I will say the Inn was not designed as a kennel, the staff knows it, and Gnarly does not care. If you need a visual, picture Best in Show colliding with a biker rally and then ask why I still have friends.

8. What is off-limits in a Lauren Carr mystery?

Writing from the dog’s head. Cliffhangers that are just unfinished books. Mean-spirited gore for decoration. And making the regulars talk like they are recapping a wiki for the new kids. They can say hello. They cannot give a TED Talk.

9. October 13 is close. What are you doing besides refreshing the Amazon page?

Walking dogs. Fixing one more sentence I swore I would not touch. Thanking the reviewers who already said they consumed the book and then could not explain the laughing to their mothers. That is a good problem. I recommend it.

10. Last word to the readers who have been here since It’s Murder, My Son.

Thank you for staying long enough that Gnarly needed a bigger stage. Best in Murder is for you, and for the person you loan it to who has never met Mac. Tell them the dog does not sit. Then tell them to sit down anyway.

Download WHO FRAMED MICHELANGELO? Now