I really wanted to like this book, it's based in my hometown and has dogs. I just had a hard time with the fact that an admin at a school/dog trainer was investigating a murder and the police didn't have any issues with it. It would have made more sense if Jazz was a private investigator. Despite this, it was still a good book and I really wish the dogs were in it more!

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

People stumbled over their words. They blundered when it came to their feelings. Dogs always knew what to do. She could always count on a dog.

Jazz is an administrative assistant at an all girl's Catholic High School and trains cadaver dogs on the side. When helping to train a friend's dog, they actually end up finding a real human body. When Jazz realizes that she knew the girl murdered, she sets out to find who could have possibly done this.

This is first in a series that doesn't have a cliffhanger ending but will obviously continue following our central character Jazz. The story is told from her point of view and we are introduced to her detective ex-boyfriend Nick, along with her colleague best-friend, brothers, fellow cadaver dog handlers, and mother. Jazz's father died in a fire a year ago, she's dealing with the grief, along with the loss of her dog Manny, and lingering attraction to Nick.

Even with Jazz vaguely remembering Flori (the murder victim) from her going to the school Jazz works at, it seemed a bit of a stretch as to why she was going around trying to conduct her own investigation. There were even a couple of times that she tampered or withheld evidence that could have ruined Nick's investigation. The murder mystery itself threw out enough red-herrings to be interesting but some misleads ended up feeling very contrived.

“Damn.” One corner of his mouth thinned and he shook his head and followed her up the stairs. “Come on, Jazz. What we had, was it that bad?”
When she turned the key and shoved the door open, her smile was hard-edged. “ Even after all this time, you haven’t figured it out yet, have you? And I thought you were a smart guy. Don’t you get it, Nick? It wasn’t that bad. It was that good.”

The romance takes a big backseat to Jazz trying to figure out who killed Flori, Nick only appears a handful of times. We don't get any flashbacks to when they were in a relationship, it's discussed how it ended because of how their schedules never worked out. The author leaves some hope for them to get together again and the relationship will obviously be progressed further in the next book. There is some background given on Nick but his character isn't really felt, I never felt like I knew him. With this being all from Jazz's point of view, she obviously dominates and for the most part was a strong enough character to control the story, her motivations were sometimes a bit weak.

Jazz's involvement in trying to catch Flori's murderer was somewhat shaky but the mystery was stirring enough to keep me reading. The romance between her and Nick was extremely anemic and more of a tease to lead you to read the next to see if they can make time for each other. Jazz's world was sketched out enough to set a solid foundation for the series, I would have liked even more of her side job with working with cadaver dogs. This was a fair starter book to a series, hoping the next in the series colors in the sketching.

The writing is adequate but the story was a mishmash. It tried to be a romance, a cozy mystery, a procedural and a gritty mystery all at once. The mystery itself was adequate but there were too many sub-plots: grief over her father's death, which dominates the beginning and then disappears; grief over her dog's death, about which we are given no details; her on-again, off-again romance with a detective who no doubt will be her gateway to getting involved in future mysteries; and her widowed mother's re-entry into dating. The story was stuffed to the gills.

While I didn't completely buy Jazz's reasoning for investigating Florie's death, I appreciated her fumbling and her missteps. She's an amateur and it showed. That realism was a good touch.

I was looking to reading about cadaver dogs and Logan does give us some information but Jazz does not currently have a cadaver dog. I was disappointed that dogs weren't a bigger part of the story.

Overall, I was not impressed and I won't continue with the series.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

What a great start for this series by Kylie Logan!

Jazz Ramsey trains cadaver dogs and works at St. Catherine’s Preparatory Academy, an all-girls school as an administrative assistant. Her two worlds collide when she finds the body of a former student while putting a dog through its paces. The tragic find also brings former lover, Detective Nick Kolesov back into her life. Pulled in many different directions Jazz needs to find the truth. What was Florie Allen involved in? and who thought killing her was the answer?

I liked Jazz Ramsey right away. She is smart, thoughtful and driven whether working at the school, training dogs, or searching for a killer. Best friend, Sarah Carrington, is an art teacher at the school and a great sounding board for Jazz, both in her investigation and in life. She knows what happened between Jazz and Nick and tries to steer Jazz through the fire of dealing with him again. Detective Nick is not over Jazz at all, he wants to be around her but he doesn’t want her digging into his case. These characters are very well developed for the first book in the series but the author has left plenty of room for growth.

Ms. Logan’s writing style is descriptive and informative. I am not familiar with Cleveland but her words pulled me there and I was able to visualize and get the feeling of each setting from St. Catherine’s to the dilapidated building where the body was found, the new school Florie was attending and even the office of a group Florie was working for. The descriptions were also clear for the characters. I envisioned every one clearly. They were distinct and believable.

The mystery was very entertaining but I was able to focus and pull out the killer well before Jazz or Nick. A set of clues were found in an interesting and unexpected way, but I was already on the “scent” of the correct person. Complex mysteries are hard to have in the first book of a series because the author has a huge lift by introducing the characters, some of the back history, and all their connections along with setting the time and place. She did an excellent job of this.

I really enjoyed the training for cadaver dogs. I wish there had been a few more sessions between the dog Jazz was currently working with, Luther. Hopefully, there will be more in future books.

I absolutely loved the ending and can’t wait for book two of this series.

THE SCENT OF MURDER by Kylie Logan
The First Jazz Ramsey Mystery

It's an ordinary night in Cleveland, Ohio when Jazz Ramsey enters an old building to train a new cadaver dog. Jazz puts Luther through his paces, waiting for him to find the tooth she hid upstairs. But before he even heads to the second floor Luther signals a find; not a tooth, but the body of a young woman. The soon to be posh condo is now a crime scene. The detective in charge is a former lover, the dead woman is a former student, and Jazz's life just got a lot more complicated.

I enjoyed meeting Jazz as well as her friends and family. I love the close bond Jazz has with her brothers and mother and I appreciate the grief they all feel and adjustments they must make after the loss of their dad, especially as my dad died a year ago as well. One of my favorite characters is Sister Eileen, who had me laughing out loud at one point! Of course, I am enamored with Luther, a smart, charming German Shepherd who I hope we continue to see in future books.

The mystery was very interesting, especially as the victim's personality was slowly revealed, layer by layer. Like Cleveland itself, there's a grittiness here, but a strength and an indomitable will to survive. I will admit to knowing who the murderer was fairly early on, but that did not diminish my continued interest in the story.

There is one issue I feel compelled to address, even though its inclusion did not mar the plot. At the memorial service the school girls release balloons as a tribute. As someone concerned about the environment and wildlife I feel the need to bring awareness to the dangers this activity causes. Balloons don't go to heaven, or even outer space. They fall to earth as litter. Some animals mistake the remains as food, which can hurt or even kill them, or they may be entangled by the balloon strings, which can also lead to death. I hope Jazz learns of these dangers and perhaps even educates people in a future book.

THE SCENT OF MURDER is an engaging start to a new series. Interesting, likable, yet flawed characters inhabit the pages which showcases a small urban enclave.

Great mystery. The story reminds me of a Nancy Drew mystery - where the reader learns more and more about the victim and who the main suspects could be. Jaz has been asked to help train her friend's cadaver dog - but never expected to uncover a dead body while training. The dog found the body easily and announced the body with three rapid barks in a row.

Jaz is surprised to find out the body was a prior student at the school she works at. Jaz sets out to find out who killed the student and why it happened. Jaz's ex-boyfriend is the detective assigned to the case ... she is always one step behind him. We learn throughout the story what the murdered student was like and what shaped her character - who she became after she graduated from the all private all girls high school.

The surprise in the end is that the one person no one expected was the killer was indeed the killer... Brody's wife had killed the young woman due to she believed she was pregnant with her husband's child.. The monster in the story was the polished, famous woman and not the goth looking man that worked at the local horror show.

A fabulously written mystery guaranteed to keep fans of the genre on tenterhooks, The Scent of Murder kicks off best-selling author Kylie Logan’s fabulous new series featuring dog handler and sleuth extraordinaire, Jazz Ramsey.

Life is pretty good for Jazz Ramsey. The thirty-five year old certainly has got no reason to grumble about her life. She owns her own home in an up and coming neighborhood in Cleveland, she has a job she adores as an administrative assistant in a girls’ school and is passionate about volunteering as a handler for cadaver dogs. Jazz has a new charge called Luther whom she is training and hoping to turn into a champion and when she takes him to an abandoned building for a particular task, she hopes Luther will be successful in his quest to find a hidden object – she certainly never imagined that Luther would end up finding a dead body!

Jazz is absolutely stunned – but she is even more stunned when she realizes that the dead body in question is not a perfect stranger, but someone who is all too familiar. Who would possibly want to murder a young girl? What had she got herself mixed up in? And what secrets did this young woman know that somebody would go as far as to kill her and bury her body in an abandoned building? Jazz knows that she should leave this investigation to the police, however, she cannot possibly resist getting sucked into investigating this perplexing and baffling mystery. But soon things begin to get even more complicated than she had even previously imagined!

With the lead detective being a former lover and the murdered woman being an old student, Jazz realizes that she is going to need all her wits about her if she is to get to the bottom of this case. Will she be successful in her quest for justice? Or will this case leave Jazz stumped?

A terrific mystery I simply could not bear to put down, The Scent of Murder is a first rate crime tale that kept me up way past my bedtime. Kylie Logan knows how to keep her readers on the edge of their seats and I was completely enthralled by this gripping, intriguing and suspenseful mystery. Jazz is a wonderful sleuth and a brilliant heroine whom it is impossible not to cheer for and readers are sure to admire her strength, intelligence and resilience.

An outstanding mystery crime fiction fans are going to lap up, The Scent of Murder is not to be missed!

Still reeling from the deaths of her fireman father and the dog she has been training, Jazz Ramsey grudgingly agrees to temporarily train another dog. In The Scent of Murder by Kylie Logan, we are introduced to a new series published by Minotaur Books. The murder victim is a former student at St. Catherine's Preparatory Academy where Jazz works. What has happened in Florie ALlen's life that leads someone to kill her?

An excellent start to a new series.

The Scent of Murder by Kylie Logan is the first book in A Jazz Ramsey Mystery series. Jasmine “Jazz” Ramsey is working with Greg Johnson’s cadaver dog, Luther in a building that is going to be rehabbed into condos. When Luther gives the signal that he has found something, Jazz is surprised it is a young woman dressed in Goth clothing with white make-up, black nails, piercings and tattoos. She recognizes the deceased as Florie Allen who graduated from St. Catherine’s Preparatory Academy, where Jazz works as an administrative assistant, two years ago. The lead detective is Jazz’s former boyfriend, Nick Kolesov whom she has not seen in a over a year. Jazz is troubled by Florie’s death and feels the best solution is to get answers. She wants to find out what has happened to the young woman since she graduated and how she ended up dead in the empty building. Will Jazz’s determination get her the answers she desires, or will she end up the next victim?

The Scent of Murder is the latest novel by Kylie Logan. We are introduced to Jazz Ramsey who works as an administrative assistant to Sister Eileen Flannery, the founder and principal of St. Catherine’s Preparatory Academy. In her spare time, Jazz trains cadaver/rescue dogs and runs to work off her excess energy. Jazz has lost her father and her dog in the last year. She is close to her mother and two brothers plus she has a close friend in Sarah Carrington. I like that the author took the time to establish the main character plus her family and close friends. I did find, though, that Jazz is hard to connect with as a reader. I wanted her to be more relatable instead of distant. I like that the author is a descriptive writer who describes the characters, the setting, homes, dog searches and more. We are given just the right amount of detail. I could picture Cleveland and its various diverse neighborhoods. It was interesting to learn about the training of cadaver/rescue dogs and how they conduct searches. I hope there will be more of it in future books. The mystery was straightforward with a couple of suspects and good clues to aid readers in solving the crime before the reveal. I think Jazz needed more of a reason to investigate Florie’s death. I do want readers to know that the story contains foul language and the story is darker than most cozy mysteries. My favorite phrase from The Scent of Murder is “. . . she knew holidays weren’t dates on a calendar, but the time spent with family.” I thought that was a lovely sentiment. The Scent of Murder is a good start to this new cozy mystery series. The Scent of Murder has a strong female protagonist, good friends, a loving family, a curious mystery, and some cute canines.

I’ve always enjoy Kylie Logan’s books and I love dogs, so this series seemed like a natural fit for me. I liked getting to know Jazz as a protagonist. The author left some teasers in regards to Jazz’s past that I wonder if they will be explained in the future books. The mystery was captivating and the characters entertaining. The subject of a cadaver dog trainer as a cozy mystery protagonist is new to me – and I always enjoy when there is a unique element to a cozy that I haven’t seen before.

The Scent of Murder by Kylie Logan is the first book in her Jazz Ramsey series.
Jazz Ramsey is a 35 year old woman, loves her job as admin assistant at a privat school and she's training a HRD dog. This dog leads her into the adventure of her life.

The Scent of Murder is a mystery with thriller elements. The writing is good ansd the story had a good flow, but for the life of me I couldn't connect with the maincharacter. She stubbornly refused to let me in. But like I mentioned, just because it's not my book, it is a good read and worth giving it a try. 3,5 stars from me.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It was very tough for me to get into. I had a hard time keeping up with the characters and it just felt like it dragged. But, about 2/3 of the way through, this book really perked up for me, and I got totally involved in the murder and trying to figure out “whodunnit”. And it was a good plot, with an exciting ending. If I re read the book now, I might be able to get more into the first of the story. The set up for this took too long for me, but I have to admit I really enjoyed the ending. 3.5 stars!

I did like this book. I don't know what it was but I couldn't connect with Jazz. I like her enough it was just something off I couldn't connect with. The story was interesting. I did know who the killer was early on but was still interesting to see how they got to that point to find who the killer was. I would like to see where this series goes as I'm thinking I will like Jazz the more I read about her.

*I received a free copy of this book via the NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

I feel like the synopsis of this book is deliberately misleading in order to entice people to read it. So let me sort through the two main points that I had an issue with to keep other people from going into this story unprepared.

TRUE. Jazz is a cadaver dog handler. In fact the story opens with (as promised) her putting a dog in training through his paces. However, this dog (and the mentions of her prior dog) are merely background noise. Used when handy to explain how she finds a body, used to explain why her relationship with her ex failed. Used now and then as filler for the story, and then forgotten.

FALSE. Jazz finds herself sucked into the case. Sure, she finds the body. And yes, it was a former student in the school where she works as an administrative assistant. But absolutely no one told Jazz to start poking her nose into a police investigation. And that is exactly what she does. She does around questioning people, questioning potential suspects, and all the while withholding this information from the actual police. Even when she seemingly finds information that could lead to who the killer is, she still keeps it to herself.

And therein lies my biggest issue with this story. Had she been a police officer herself? This story would have been much better. Everything else could have stayed the same. She could have known the victim through her friend (who was an art teacher at the same school). She could have dated the lead investigator privately. Heck she could have even trained cadaver dogs. But at the end of the day there is no reason she should have been running around interviewing people (and potential suspects at that) just because she wanted closure. It simply doesn't work like that. And not only should the people she was questioning refused to talk to her, but she should have been arrested for interfering with a police investigation. I will say the twist at the end was enjoyable, but even that couldn't overshadow the rest.

Overall, as capable as this writer may be, I doubt very much I will be continuing on with this series, however I may give this author another shot.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

Summary from Goodreads:

"The way Jazz Ramsey figures it, life is pretty good. She’s thirty-five years old and owns her own home in one of Cleveland’s most diverse, artsy, and interesting neighborhoods. She has a job she likes as an administrative assistant at an all-girls school, and a volunteer interest she’s passionate about—Jazz is a cadaver dog handler.

Jazz is working with Luther, a cadaver dog in training. Luther is still learning cadaver work, so Jazz is putting him through his paces at an abandoned building that will soon be turned into pricey condos. When Luther signals a find, Jazz is stunned to see the body of a young woman who is dressed in black and wearing the kind of make-up and jewelry that Jazz used to see on the Goth kids back in high school.

She’s even more shocked when she realizes that beneath the tattoos and the piercings and all that pale make up is a familiar face.

The lead detective on the case is an old lover, and the murdered woman is an old student. Jazz finds herself sucked into the case, obsessed with learning the truth."

My Thoughts:

I'm always, always on the lookout for new cozy mystery series to follow! I jumped at the chance to read this one, but especially after I realized that it began a new series. Sometimes it feels like the only cozy mysteries I hear about are books that are part of long established series so I was super excited to hear about this one. What I really enjoyed about this book was the premise. Jazz is just working on training a cadaver dog when she and the dog accidentally stumble across a real body. And because she has found this body and knows of the girl, she feels drawn to figuring out what happened to her. This made sense to me and it felt reasonable as to why Jazz kept asking questions and trying to solve the murder. I liked that part of it because sometimes it doesn't make sense why a person would keep getting involved in murder investigations in books like this. Instead, I wanted Jazz to ask questions and figure out who was responsible for the girl's murder. I also was really intrigued by some of the back story that the author alluded to. For instance, Jazz's father was the fire chief and has recently died in a fire. There is some (for lack of better words here) curious circumstances relating to his death that has me intrigued. Is there more to it? Will we learn more in upcoming books in this series? I'm looking forward to finding out! I also really enjoyed the parts that focused on the training of the cadaver dogs. I actually would have loved even more of that because it was just so interesting to read about!

Overall, I enjoyed this one for the most part. It definitely felt like it was setting up more to come which sometimes happens with first books in a series. I'm intrigued enough though that I'm anxious to get my hands on the next book when it releases. The author did a good job of setting up characters that I'm eager to see more of. The mystery portion kept me guessing especially because the victim's motivations were a bit of a mystery. She wasn't portrayed as this perfect character but I found myself wanting Jazz to find her justice despite all of that. It was just an interesting beginning to a new cozy mystery series and I'm left excited about it. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble Jazz gets herself into next and if it relates to her father's death. I would recommend this one to fans of cozy mysteries and suspense.

Bottom Line: A good beginning to this new cozy mystery series - I look forward to reading more in this series in the future!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. Thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this story. I would have given it a higher star rating but there are a few confusing holes in the story. An example is why is Jazz allowed to investigate the murder when she is in fact a dog trainer not a cop? I just had to let some things go and use my imagination to fill in the holes to enjoy the story itself. I do wish there had been more of a focus on Jazz's work with the dogs and their training. Why? Because - dogs! The mystery part of the story could have been stronger as well. Neither Jazz nor Nick seem to be able to solve the mystery even though the answer seem apparent to me. Still with all this I did enjoy the story and was completely entertained so I would recommend it to others.

I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.
Great read. I enjoyed the characters and the plot that kept me happily enthralled till the end. I didn't figure it out till the reveal. I love when that happens.

Debut of new series from Kylie Logan introduces Jazz Ramsey, admin for a Catholic school, as she goes on a training exercise for a cadaver dog where she unfortunately finds a body. What's worse is that she recognized the body as a former student at the school. Jazz starts asking ahead to figure out what happened whether or not her ex (police detective, Nick) approved or not. Good story with an interesting cast of characters. Quite enjoyable!

The Scent of Murder by Kylie Logan is the 1st book in the Jazz Ramsey mystery series, and it's off to a good start. Jazz Ramsey is thirty-five years old, enjoys her job as an admin assistant at an all girls Catholic school, and on the side she helps train a cadaver dog, Luther. While training Luther in an old building, where she hid a tooth, he finds a body. Jazz know this women as an old student, and is determined to find out who killed her. I did not love this book, but it kept popping into my head for days after I read it. And I am looking forward to the next book in the series, to see what happens. I am use to reading Ms. Logan's cozy mysteries, and this book is definitely not a cozy. I recommend this book.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Thank you.

Loved this book! I love dogs anyway but this story fascinated me in the way that dogs can be trained to do this kind of find. Great mystery story by an author I have never read before.