Muzzled by Eileen Brady

Kate Turner moved to Oak Falls to take up a one year contract as the local vet so she could get away from her former boss and his girlfriend - who took the place that Kate had thought was hers.  Small town living seems to be suiting her, even though she is so busy she feels like she already needs a vacation of her own.  She sees a wide variety of patients big and small, and between her house calls and the surgeries at the practice she is kept pretty busy.  When she stumbles across a crime scene on her rounds it is shocking, and not just because she was the unlucky person to find the bodies.  There is something not quite right about the crime scene, and when she becomes a suspect she can't help but dig into the case herself.

As she digs deeper and deeper into the case Kate finds quite a few things that don't add up in her new home town - especially among the dog breeding elite of the town.  When the daughter of the murder victims arrives in town and shows no interest in the dogs that her parents spent so many years breeding and showing it doesn't sit well with Kate - especially when she is suddenly under pressure to provide medical certificates for a few of the best dogs.  When there is another incident Kate finds herself under even more suspicion, but she has no idea just how close to the truth she is getting - and what the truth might cost her.

Muzzled was a fun read that had me hooked from the first page and thoroughly entertained to the last page.  Kate Turner is far from perfect, and her sometimes bumbling attempts to uncover what is really happening in her small town is both realistic and endearing.  Knowing something about the dog breeding world and the interesting people it can attract made this book even more amusing, but did nothing to dampen the tension that built during the story.  It's always fun to see if you can solve the mystery before the end of the story, and while I did it was just before the end which was both satisfying and rewarding.  I already have the second book in the series to read to see what is next for Kate Turner and her adventures in upstate New York.

Muzzled should appeal to a wide audience as it is a murder mystery, but it also has a strong animal focus, and a healthy dose of humour.

If you like this book then try:

• Murder past due by Miranda James
• Dipped, stripped, and dead by Elise Hyatt
• Lending a paw by Laurie Cass
• Books can be deceiving by Jenn McKinlay
• Pies and prejudice by Ellery Adams
• One for the money by Janet Evanovich
• Death of a kitchen diva by Lee Hollis
• Death of a country fried redneck by Lee Hollis
• Killing trail by Margaret Mizushima
• Breaking Creed by Alex Kava
• Suspect by Robert Crais

Reviewed by Brilla