by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Wagging Through the Snow. We also have a link to order it from Amazon, and from an indie bookstore where a portion goes to help support KRL.

Melanie Travis tries to live a calm life, but with five standard Poodles, a terrier, a son from a previous marriage, a supportive second husband and a four-year-old boy, it’s about impossible. Add in her Aunt Peg, former Poodle breeder, current dog show judge, and ever a critic, Melanie’s school work, and an impulsive brother, and she’s got her hands full.

Frank went into business with Melanie’s ex-husband in a coffee shop. Frank’s attention span is short to say the least so now he’s looking for another challenge. The only problem is he tends to drag everyone else into it too.

This time he’s “just stopped by” an auction and ended up buying a Christmas tree farm. It’s only a month until Christmas, so it has to be up and running at once. That could be slowed down when a homeless man is found dead in the midst of the trees. He reeks of gin, and it looks like he froze to death so the police aren’t too worried about it. They know the man’s name is Pete, but no one knows his last name or where he’s from.

A couple of days later, another man shows up, claiming to be the dead man’s friend. In fact, he’s Pete’s AA sponsor and swears Pete hasn’t had a drink in three months. Pete was in the amends step of the program.

Melanie finds a class ring with initials engraved inside and from there, embarks on a quest to find out who Pete really was. Not everything she finds out is good and that leads her to think Pete’s death wasn’t an accident.

This makes book twenty-one in the series. Faith, Melanie’s first Poodle, is her heart dog. Tar, although a good-looking dog, is the clown of the pack. Bud, the terrier, has no idea he’s not a Poodle too. Aunt Peg shows a softer side, unusual for her to let others see that. Mindful of the life she has and the people in it, Melanie doesn’t put herself in harm’s way when asking questions. For a great holiday read, this book is just right. If you love dogs, especially Poodles (or a terrier), big families, and interfering but well-meaning relatives, start at the beginning and watch what happens over the years.

To enter to win a copy of Wagging Through the Snow, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “wagging,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 16, 2017. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Wagging Through the Snow

You can also use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won’t see coming.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.