Fur Boys: A Dog Park Mystery

by C A Newsome

Overview

When starving artist Lia Anderson stumbles upon a dead diva, it's no walk in the dog park.

Meet Buddy, Dasher, and Rory, three adorable fur boys often in the care of Hannah, the ever-efficient admin at Hopewell Music Academy, site of Lia's latest mural commission. Hannah can juggle anything the academy tosses at her, except the Machiavellian voice professor who owns the fur boys and whose demoralizing and career-crushing ways are the dark underbelly of the prestigious academy.

When the professor is murdered, it's impossible to find someone who didn't want him dead. A mysterious informant is determined to involve Lia's beau, Detective Peter Dourson, though it's not Peter's case now that the Cincinnati Police Department has created a centralized unit to handle homicides. With Peter hamstrung by departmental politics, it's time for Lia and the dog park gang step in.

(75,000 words)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780996374293
Publisher:	Two Pup Press
Publication date:	06/14/2017
Series:	Lia Anderson Dog Park Mysteries , #6
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

C. A. Newsome is an author and painter living in Cincinnati with a former street urchin named Shadda and Gypsy, a one-eyed swamp monster. She and her furry children can be found most mornings at the Mount Airy Dog Park, the inspiration for her mysteries.

Editorial Reviews

"Another satisfying Lia Anderson mystery from a true talent of the genre."

"As usual, Newsome writes in a clever, energetic prose ... The characters are well-drawn; the dialogue is sharp and funny; and the pacing is precise. The opening sequence—Newsome has to juggle a dozen different characters milling around a crime scene—is nothing short of masterful. This remains at its heart a series for dog lovers, but even mystery fans who are ambivalent about dogs will be caught up in Lia’s latest quest."

—Kirkus Reviews

"The Lia Anderson Dog Park series continues to deliver for readers who enjoy thoughtfully crafted mysteries that combine elegant plot twists with characters, both human and canine, you'd love to have as friends."

—Stephen Campbell, CrimeFiction.FM

From the Publisher

2017-08-04
Newsome (Muddy Mouth, 2016, etc.) pits Lia Anderson against a murderer in this latest installation of the Dog Park Mysteries. Painter and seasoned mystery-solver Lia thinks she's going to a choral concert with her boyfriend, Detective Peter Dourson, but she arrives to find the door to the venue locked. Once the crowd gains entry, they find the conductor, Hopewell Music Conservatory professor Geoffrey Lawrence, dead behind the organ: "Dr. Lawrence stared heavenward, eyes fixed and mouth agape in a macabre echo of the awestruck apostles in the stained glass window overhead." Lawrence was a tyrannical teacher and a philanderer with no respect for the boundary between educators and students, and there is no shortage of potential suspects: Leander Marshall, his lover; Toby Grant, his favorite student; Constance DeVries, his ex-wife; Hannah Kleemeyer, the admin who knows too much. Peter can't work the case; homicides in Cincinnati have been moved to a new unit, which happens to be staffed by incompetents. Even so, a curious informant seems to trust him with sensitive information. Lawrence's will leaves everything to his three beloved dogs, which must have something to do with the killer's motive...right? Civilian artist Lia, commissioned to paint a mural at Hopewell, may be just the person to untangle the nest of interpersonal relationships that obscures the truth of the murder. As usual, Newsome writes in a clever, energetic prose that buoys the reader while slowly dispensing clues. Here Hannah describes Dr. Lawrence in a way that manages to characterize them both: "He's a malicious and whimsical little god, making and destroying careers at will." The characters are well-drawn; the dialogue is sharp and funny; and the pacing is precise. The opening sequence—Newsome has to juggle a dozen different characters milling around a crime scene—is nothing short of masterful. This remains at its heart a series for dog lovers, but even mystery fans who are ambivalent about dogs will be caught up in Lia's latest quest. Another satisfying Lia Anderson mystery from a true talent of the genre.

Kirkus Reviews