Sit, Stay, Slay

V.M. Burns

Dec 2020 · A Dog Club Mystery Book 5 · Lyrical Press

About this ebook

When her best friend Dixie is suspected of killing a dog show judge, Lilly must bring one sick puppy to heel . . .
 
Tennessee transplant Lilly Echosby has two great loves: dogs and mysteries. So naturally she's named her poodles Aggie, after Agatha Christie, and Rex, for Rex Stout. Now that she has two dogs to manage, it makes sense to enter Aggie in an obedience competition—especially since her instructor is Lilly's gal pal, Scarlet "Dixie" Jefferson.
 
But when one of the judges for the competition turns out to be Dixie's high school rival, the dog trainer gets hot under the collar. When the woman is found strangled, Dixie becomes the number one suspect. With the help of the other dog club members, Lilly must find the real killer—before the next judge Dixie tangles with throws the book at her . . .
 

Ratings and reviews

cozy-mystery, dogs, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, lawyers, Chattanooga, amateur-sleuth***** Bringing casseroles to the bereaved is NOT just a Southern thing! In Minnesota it's Green Bean Casseroles and in Wisconsin it's Tater Tot Casseroles! The road up Lookout Mountain, on the other hand... The last time I was on it was during an ICE STORM and it was even scarier than during fair weather! About the story. The sleuthing is good, the characters are very real and well portrayed, and the dogs are wonderful (but the Plott Hound is much more well behaved than my sister's). The publisher's blurb is pretty good, so there's no need to repeat it or do the spoiler thing. I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I didn't think it was possible but this series just keeps getting better. I was hooked from the first book and Sit, Stay, Slay captured me from the first page. I already loved the ensemble of two-footed and four-footed characters and would read the books just to spend time with them, but V.M Burns weaves a solid tale of intrigue that pulls me along with Lilly Echosby, her dog Aggie, and the dear friends she has made since her arrival in Chattanooga as they search for the murderous villain and seek to bring justice even for the least loveable victim. The villain in Sit, Stay, Slay has targeted members of Scarlet's class during a mock obedience trials to the point that when she is murdered, Scarlett becomes a suspect, drawing Lilly and the dog club into Red's investigation. For once, he is happy to let them apply their mixed bag of knowledge to help him locate the real murder. The dogs are so real and varied that I miss them between books as much as I miss the human characters. Even if I didn't not know from following her that Ms. Burns is a long-time poodle mamma, I would figure it out from her understanding of the love between a fur baby and his family. I appreciate that despite having recently had to say goodbye to another of her real-life babies, Ms. Burns does not bring the pain of that loss into her books she brings only the joy of the love they bring her. I love all of V.M. Burns's series so much that they are not only automatic pre-orders, I keep an eye open for a chance to request an ARC so I don't have to wait to get my hands on each book as it becomes available. I have never been disappointed even with my high expectations of her writing.

About the author

Valerie (V. M.) Burns is a mystery writer whose novels and short stories have been finalists for the Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, and Baker Street Mystery series. Valerie is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and the Crime Writers' Association. She is also an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in the southeastern United States with her two poodles. Connect with Valerie at VMBurns.com.