3.5 stars with the .5 being because it's cute. (Rating shown may vary depending on whether the site allows half star ratings.)

This is a new to me author. It's the first book in a series set in a town called Dog Mountain--and the town has embraced its name, going totally crazy for canines. The bakery is called the Barkery, a brewery sells "dog beer" (non-alcoholic), they have puppy parades, etc.

Freddie has returned to her hometown nursing a bruised heart. Despite her big paper experience, she's put on the beginner's beat for her hometown paper--mostly covering dog related happenings. (It sounds fun to me, but apparently it's not Freddie's cup of tea. She longs for the criminal beat currently held by the daughter of the paper's owners.)

Then, the head of the Dog Board is found poisoned and Freddie's sister Lou supplied the last thing she ate!

I can't tell by the title of the second book if the author intends that all the things Freddie investigates will be murders. I sure hope not because it would fast become unbelievable. Even though the dog friendly city is bringing in tourism, I would imagine a murder spree would put a lid on that right quick, so having many, many murders would not be realistically sustainable for the location. ( )