Death by Dog Show is a cozy mystery set in a dog show that, unfortunately, disappointed this reader.
Perri Morgan sells leather pet products and attends the Big E Dog Show with her friend Babette, who has a dog in the show, to further her business. The first night, Perri and her journalist boyfriend, Pruett, find a body. Despite the local police telling her not to investigate, Perri can’t resist.
I found some serious issues with this book:
- I love dog shows on television and have watched many over the years. Therefore, I know that Best in Show is the last event. The prior events are based on dog group (i.e.; sporting group) and then the winners of the groups go on to the Best in Show event.
- The names of the characters are silly. Wing, Roar and Alf being the worst examples. These are people’s names—not dogs.
- The character of Perri is not likeable at all. She is both arrogant and insecure plus she appears to be incredibly horny all the time despite having a boyfriend for the past year. Note that Death by Dog Show has more sexual content than most cozies so if you are not into that, I would recommend giving this a pass.
- The worst part was that the murderer was obvious from the beginning but we still had to continue reading to confirm what we already knew. There are no surprise twists here.
I believe this is this author’s debut book but I wouldn’t read anything else by her. Overall, I would give Death by Dog Show 2 stars.
Thanks to Lyrical Underground and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.