Shepherd's Crook

by Sheila Webster Boneham

Overview

Animal photographer Janet MacPhail has just arrived at a sheepherding competition with her Australian Shepherd, Jay, when she learns that two-dozen sheep have disappeared. Police think the animals have wandered off, but Janet is convinced they’ve been stolen. 

Janet knows she should leave the snooping to the police while she attends to her own problems—new living arrangements, her mom’s wedding plans, puppy and kitten antics, and extremists bent on keeping people from having pets. But when a livestock handler turns up dead, the police and a pair of thugs pay Janet way more attention than she likes. Setting out to find answers, Janet puts herself in the killer’s crosshairs.

Praise:

“A woolly tale sure to delight both animal lovers and mystery fans. Shepherd’s Crook knits together a unique setting, likable characters, and a mystery that will keep you guessing.”—Sparkle Abbey, author of The Pampered Pet Mysteries 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738744872
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Publication date:	10/08/2015
Series:	An Animals in Focus Mystery , #4
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Sheila Webster Boneham is the author of the Animals in Focus Mystery series. Drop Dead on Recall, the first in the series, won the Dog Writers Association of America Award in Fiction, Mystery, or Humor. She is also the author of 17 nonfiction books, six of which have won major awards from the Dog Writers Association of America and the Cat Writers Association. For the past two decades Boneham has been showing her Australian Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers in various canine sports. She has also bred top-winning Aussies, and founded rescue groups for Aussies and Labs. Boneham holds a doctorate in folklore from Indiana University and resides in Wilmington, N.C. For more information, go to SheilaBoneham.com.

Read an Excerpt

Please browse inside this title with the preview below.

Editorial Reviews

2015-07-16
A herd of missing sheep is only the beginning of a series of seemingly interconnected mysteries.Even though her focus is meant to be on her Australian shepherd, Jay, at his sheep-herding test, Janet MacPhail can't resist getting a little overly involved when two dozen sheep go missing during the exam. Maybe that's why she and her boyfriend/partner/long-term whatever Tom Saunders are such a good fit: she's the busybody and he's the laid-back voice of reason. Take their living situation. As Tom plans to finally move in with Janet, she fears the loss of her independence, while he's steadfast in his belief that things will work out. Janet's job as a professional animal photographer affords her the independence she seeks, but because she can't back down from the mystery of the sheep, she finds herself reviewing photographs of the event for potential evidence. She may be meddlesome, but her heart is in the right place, because she wants to help the sheep's owners, Evan and Summer Winslow, who could be ruined by the loss. The investigation, however, reveals an even greater loss when the trouble with missing sheep turns into a murder case. Janet has a natural companion in fellow busybody Giselle, whose recent personal connection to the local Indiana PD could help the two crack the case. Boneham (Catwalk, 2014, etc.), who's at her best when she's able to incorporate funny bits into her storyline, struggles once more with the generic baddies and political higher-ups who are cut to the same measure every time.

Kirkus Reviews