Penned
Penned A Kate Turner, DVM, Mystery #4 by Eileen Brady Poisoned Pen Press Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 09 Oct 2018
Review
As an animal lover, I always enjoy Eileen Brady’s Kate Turner DVM mysteries. For one, they are packed with quirky animal lovers and their pets. There are always plenty of laugh out loud moments. I absolutely love Little Man and his mom who dress in a coordinated fashion, and they are only the tip of the iceberg. I also enjoy the mystery aspect, as Kate’s involvement is always believable.
Penned starts with an intriguing concept. What can you do when a witness who may not be reliable sees something or someone important. 80 year old Gloria LaGuardia has dementia, but in some aspects, she is still sharp. When she sees someone she doesn’t expect, someone evil - noone believes her. Even Kate has her doubts. But after Gloria dies soon afterward, Kate begins to wonder, particularly when an author who was working with Gloria approaches Kate at the funeral. Gloria and Tucker were working on a chapter about the notorious murderer Carl Wolf. Everyone but Tucker wants to move on - and Kate is dragged in when Tucker mentions her in an article that goes viral. Carl Wolf may be in Oak Falls, but will Kate find him before he catches her?
As you would expect, her knowledge of animals plays a key role in solving the mystery and getting her out of trouble. Penned is a very satisfying read. It takes a different approach than the standard cozy, and unlike many where animals are window dressing, here they play a major role.
If you like pets and you like mysteries, you will want to pick up a copy of Penned.
5 / 5
I received a copy of Penned from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
-- Crittermom
Description
Dr. Kate Turner, DVM, is seven months into her one-year contract to cover for a Hudson Valley vet taking a year-long world cruise. She's getting used to the hospital and house-call workload but not to the sometimes dangerous, if not deadly, critters - animal and human - she meets. Eighty-something-year-old Gloria LaGuardia has been installed at an assisted living center by her niece. They bump into Kate at the Oak Falls annual Halloween street bash. And while Gloria's conversation indicates some mental confusion - she asks a couple dressed as rabbits if they are real or not - she's still sharp. And she says, "Someone evil is here. I saw him." Saw who? Will this chance meeting draw Kate into the path of Carl Wolf, a notorious fugitive twenty-one years on the FBI's Most Wanted List? Is Wolf hiding in plain sight in or around Oak Falls? When Gloria, once an artist endowed with a sharp eye, is murdered, Kate doesn't know what to think. But author Tucker Weinstein approaches her at Gloria's funeral and indicates he believes the old woman. Further, he's devoting a chapter in his book to Carl Wolf. The FBI doesn't appear interested. Gloria's family just wants to move on. But publicity-hungry Tucker mentions Kate in a newspaper interview that goes viral. She's overloaded with new clients like Billy, a Nubian stud goat living penned up with alpaca, llamas, and more goats on a local farm producing milk, wool, and cheese, and a grumpy Chihuahua dressed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Yet she senses someone is now following her. An undercover FBI agent? Carl Wolf on the prowl? Determined not to be a victim, Kate digs deep into the arson/murder Wolf committed long ago. Are the clues to unmasking him hidden in the past, or closer than she thinks?
