The Dog Across the Lake - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads: The Dog Across the Lake (Paws and Claws Mystery #9) by Krista Davis

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Holly and Trixie meet a strange new dog in Wagtail that leads them right into murder. . . .

Holly Miller is looking forward to finally taking a few days to relax. Enjoying an early morning on her terrace, she spots an unfamiliar reddish-gold pooch across the lake. She’s intrigued, but never expects to find the very same dog smiling at her in bed when she wakes up the next morning! Trixie and Twinkletoes appear to accept this cute stranger, but Holly doesn’t know to whom he belongs.


Oma thinks the dog looks familiar, and it turns out the wayward pooch belongs to Holly’s cousin Josh. Holly knew her cousin well as a child, but she hasn’t seen him in over a decade. He’s camping with his girlfriend across the lake. Holly returns the cute dog to Josh’s campsite twice, but the second time, Josh and his girlfriend are nowhere to be found. Instead, a guest of the Sugar Maple Inn is dead in their tent. Now it's up to Holly and Trixie to suss out a sneaky killer.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I read an earlier book in this series and really enjoyed it.  The premise of this one looked really intriguing.

My Impression:  This is such a fun series.  I love the pet friendly town, the cozy inn, and the fun group of characters be they human, canine, or feline.  I really enjoyed that this one involved more of Holly's family including her dad and half-siblings.  The book starts off with a bit of a surprise when Holly wakes up to a strange dog in her bed.  This sets off a whole series of events surrounding her grandmother's birthday party, some guests who don't quite seem like they're on the up and up, the very sketchy girlfriend of a family member, and a sprinkling of murders.

The mystery really kept me guessing.  With victims who didn't seem to have any connection and more than a few people behaving like they had things to hide I wasn't sure of the whys and the who until the very end.  This was a fast paced cozy mystery that was super easy to read and I got sucked into the world of Wagtail every time I picked up the book.

There were some things that got a hazy.  While it was easy to keep the main characters straight there were several times I had to take a minute to figure out which guest was which.  As well, I found the distance between the Miller family a bit odd.  Holly and her cousin had been really close as kids and while I understand growing apart not knowing anything about her cousin's adult life or even following his Instagram account seemed strange - especially since his Instagram was kind of his livelihood and animal related.

Overall, this was an entertaining cozy with a fun cast of characters.  If you're looking for a light quick read this is a great choice.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Yes!  I'm looking forward to reading more from this series.  I've missed all the earlier books.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you like fun cozy mysteries I'd definitely recommend this series - especially if you're an animal fan.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *