Bending the Paw (Paw Enforcement Series #9)

by Diane Kelly

Overview

Make way for the long paw of the law as police officer Megan Luz and her K-9 partner Brigit investigate a baffling new mystery in Bending the Paw, by Diane Kelly.

A MURDER WITHOUT A BODY IS LIKE A DOG WITHOUT A BONE

A bloodbath is a shocking new challenge for Megan and Brigit when Detective Audrey Jackson calls them to the scene of what could only be a brutal murder. But the one thing the nightmarish scene is missing is a victim. The frantic homeowner’s husband is gone, seemingly without a trace—and so is the money he was holding. Has a vicious killer committed what might just be the perfect crime?

Meanwhile, it’s hailing cats and dogs all over Fort Worth, and roofing contractors have descended on the city in droves. With plenty of damage and continuing storms, work delays are building up like so much runoff, but Megan is suspicious that one roofer may be a scam artist. Determined to leash every lawbreaker she and her K-9 partner find, Megan is building a case for prosecution, all while Brigit has her nose to the ground for a murderer…

“Be prepared for a laugh fest. Diane Kelly is first class.”—Night Owl Romance

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250197399
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/27/2020
Series:	Paw Enforcement Series , #9
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 4.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Diane Kelly is a former state assistant attorney general and tax advisor who spent much of her career fighting, or inadvertently working for, white-collar criminals. She is also a proud graduate of the Citizens Police Academy of Mansfield, Texas. Diane combines her fascination with crime and her love of animals in her stories, which include the Paw Enforcement series, the House-Flipper Mysteries, and the Mountain Lodge Mysteries. Diane now lives in North Carolina, where she spends her days catering to her demanding cats or walking her dogs in the region’s beautiful woods.

Editorial Reviews

"The procedural emphasis continues to set this series apart from other dog mysteries."-Kirkus

"Catchy, clever and cunning, Bending the Paw is totally unput-downable! Smooth, appealing and smartly concocted to maximize the wow factor."-Romance Junkies

"Continues to balance fascinating police procedural investigations with the delightful relationship between Megan and Brigit."-Kings Rivers Life Magazine

"Excellent . . . This is a well-researched police procedural that would appeal to armchair sleuths who like to solve the crime along with the detective."-Mystery & Suspense

From the Publisher

2020-08-18
A police officer and her canine partner search for a body missing from a gruesome crime scene.

A slasher has executed a St. Valentine’s Day massacre of his own in Fort Worth. A call from Detective Audrey Jackson summons Officer Megan Luz and Brigit, her K-9 teammate, to the scene, a suburban kitchen covered in blood. It’s not the way Megan pictured spending the night of her engagement to Seth, her firefighter boyfriend, but Seth has a dog of his own, and he understands the importance of K-9 teams. When Megan gets to the scene, poor homeowner Shelby Olsen is distraught by the gruesome mess but even more upset that Greg, her loving husband, is missing. She asks Audrey and Megan where Greg could be. The two don’t know how to tell her that, given the blood volume they see, it really doesn’t matter where Greg is any more. Eager to impress her mentor and prove that she’s fit to fill her shoes one day, Megan digs into the case of the apparent murder and the missing body. But all the obvious leads go nowhere, and Megan isn’t sure what’s next. Interspersed chapters adopt the perspectives of the slasher, who’s mainly keeping a low profile at a hotel, and Brigit, who’s equally concerned with tracking the killer and scoring some liver treats. At length Megan’s investigation leads her to the one and only possible conclusion.

The procedural emphasis continues to set this series apart from other dog mysteries.

Kirkus Reviews