Jazz Ramsey gets the sort of call nobody ever wants, the one you get at 2am and you know trouble is ahead. Her boyfriend, Nick, is out of town on police business and her first thought as she answers the phone is about him, It sort of is but it's his mother calling and, in her drunken fog she tells Jazz that she has killed a man and his body is in her back yard. Before Nick left he asked her to keep an eye on Kim but so far Jazz hadn't connected with her. Kim is an alcoholic and is hard to deal with but Jazz gets dressed and heads for Kim's house. Turns out there is no dead body but very soon one is found about three miles away in a park. Needing answers in order to help Kim sort out what she may or may not have done that night, Jazz first turns to her pup, Wally. He's only 7 months old and learning to be a cadaver dog. He is still too young to give her the hit she seeks so she borrows a friends much more experienced dog and gets a solid hit. Now to figure out why the dead man was in Kim's back yard, who moved him to the park and what is the connection between Kim, the dead man and another killing that happened 30 years ago.
This is my new favorite in this outstanding series. I have read all of her series written as Casey Daniels, Kylie Logan and her new persona, Lucy Ness. Not one has ever disappointed me. In A Trail of Lies the tone is more serious, a bit darker but very realistic. Her handling of Kim and her alcoholism and how it impacts her life and her relationship with Nick is familiar and well done. The puzzle is well crafted and Jazz continues to be a very real main protagonist. She balances her job as administrative assistant to the principal of St. Catherine's Preparatory Academy, her dog training and the volunteering work that goes with it, her relationship with Nick and her family and various friends. It makes for a busy life even before she gets involved with another homicide. This is a series that is firmly on my list of must read mysteries.
My thanks to the publisher St. Martin's Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm really enjoying this series, and this third book definitely didn't disappoint. I love that Jazz and Nick have grown closer since the last book. Sweet Airedale pup Wally isn't completely HRD trained, but he's getting there. It was good to see Gus the Lab come out of retirement for a little bit to help out.

Readers got to know Nick's mom Kim a little better in this book along with her backstory. She wasn't a terrible person, but she didn't do right by her son when he was little, although I think she finally came to realize it by the end of the book. There were a couple of surprise reveals in the story, and wow what a showdown. I had definitely not suspected whodunit, at least not until Jazz realized, then it made sense. The very ending was really good too and was emphasizing family.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Jazz has become like an old friend. I've read every book in this series, which by the way, is fabulous. Disappearing dead man!?!?!? Where could he have gone if he were dead? This is a wonderful book to just sit and read and relax and feel like you are in a different world. Logan writes extremely well and her characters are described like "real" people. Highly recommend.

I was given an ebook ARC by Netgalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

This was the first in the series for me, but I really enjoyed the character of Jazz and her dog Wally.

There are several mysteries in this book, including a murder. The plot was sufficiently complex enough that it was difficult to figure out, even though I had a sense of who the killer might be about halfway through the book.

I enjoyed the world of Jazz and Wally so much that I want to go back to the beginning of the series and read them all. I also want to get the backstory of Jazz and Nick.

This was an entertaining cozy mystery that I recommend to readers who enjoy mystery books, especially mysteries with dogs.

The following review was posted on my blog (blogginboutbooks.com) on 05.10.21:

Note: Although this review will not contain spoilers for A Trail of Lies, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier Jazz Ramsey mysteries. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.
Jazz Ramsey is crazy about Nick Kolesov, her cop boyfriend. His mom? Not so much. Kim's not only a lousy mother, but she's also an alcoholic with a flair for the dramatic. So, when Jazz answers a phone call in the middle of the night to hear Kim raving about how she's just killed a man who was trying to break into her home, Jazz isn't sure what to think. There's no evidence of trespassing at Kim's house, nor a body in the drunk woman's yard. Most likely, her wild bender caused her to hallucinate the whole sordid affair. The fact that Wally—the human remains detection dog that Jazz is training—finds no evidence of human decomposition on the property confirms it.

Then, a body is discovered in a local park. Murder isn't uncommon in Cleveland, but what is weird is the photograph the dead man had in his pocket. The snapshot clearly shows Kim holding an infant Nick. Although Kim swears she doesn't know Dan Mansfield and had nothing to do with his death, Jazz can tell she's lying. Who was Dan? Why was he killed? Although Nick insists Jazz stay out of it, she's not about to back down now. She can't rest until she finds out what happened, why, and what exactly Nick and his mother aren't telling her.

I've enjoyed all the books in the Jazz Ramsey mystery series by Kylie Logan and A Trail of Lies (available May 12, 2021), the third installment, is no exception. While the main characters are kind of ho-hum, they're definitely likable. Jazz's warm, strong bond with her family is palpable and is one of the highlights of the series. The working dog aspect is my other favorite element, although I never feel like the canines get enough stage time. As far as the mystery in this one goes, it's actually a lot twistier than I expected it to be. I did not see the killer coming at all. So, while there's nothing super original or shout-it-from-the-rooftops amazing about the book, A Trail of Lies is still an engaging, engrossing read that I enjoyed. I'm excited to see where the series goes next.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of other books in the Jazz Ramsey series, including The Scent of Murder and The Secrets of Bones as well as A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of A Trail of Lies from the generous folks at Minotaur Books (an imprint of St. Martin's Press) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Jazz Ramsey is back and training a new Human Remains Detection dog. When Kim Kolesov calls and tells her that there is a dead body in her yard, Jazz rushes to the scene. She arrives to find an empty yard and an intoxicated Kim. When she contacts Nick Kolesov, her lover and a cop who works undercover cases, she tells him about his mother’s call. Jazz learns later that a man was found dead in a nearby park, but if he was the dead man in Kim’s yard, how did he get to the park? She learns that the man had been recently released from prison and wonders why he was trying to contact Kim. When Jazz begins to ask questions of people who may have seen the man prior to his death, she is attacked. Nick asks her to please leave the investigation alone and so does someone else, but they aren’t as polite. A complex mystery, mostly dealing with Jazz’s unofficial investigation. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

A Trail of Lies by Kylie Logan (Jazz Ramsey #3) 4 stars

While her boyfriend Nick is off on an undercover assignment, Jazz agrees to keep an eye on Kim, his alcoholic mom. Jazz gets a phone call in the middle of the night; it's Kim hysterically insisting that there is a dead body in her backyard. Jazz and her dog Wally, a cadaver dog in training, takes a look around the backyard and finds no evidence of foul play. But a body is discovered in a nearby park; the deceased is Dan Mansfield, a recent parolee who was convicted of the murder of an antiques dealer. He was found with a picture of Kim and Nick in his pocket. Kim tells the police that she doesn't know the dead man, but Jazz knows something is wrong. In order to safeguard Kim, Jazz follows the trail of clues to find out why Dan Mansfield was at Kim's house and who might have had a motive to kill him. In the course of the book, Jazz receives little or no cooperation from the people who know Mansfield, but that doesn't stop her from delving into the past in order to protect Kim from unknown suspects.

A suspenseful mystery and a fun read. I liked how Jazz was determined to follow the clues in order to find the killer. I was pretty surprised at the identity of the killer and I thought the end was excellent. I also like the depicting of the relationship between Nick and Jazz, the author shows that it isn't easy to be in a relationship with a cop, especially one that has to be away at times. I look forward to the next Jazz Ramsey book.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC.

A Trail of Lies by Kylie Logan is the third book in this series, and the second one I've read. This is an enjoyable series even though I kind of wish the dogs were a little bit of a bigger part of this story, but Jazz has a new dog now...Wally....an Airedale terrier..Nick and Jazz are still involved, although Nick is working on a task force so he plays a minimal part in this story.
Nick's mother,Kim, calls Jazz one night to tell her Nick is dead in her backyard. Jazz races over to Kim's house but thankfully he's not there. But another man from Kim's past is found in a nearby park. Despite danger to herself Jazz is determined to get to the bottom of what's going on. Kim is an alcoholic and Jazz isn't sure if she can trust what she is remembering. Some of the scenes between Jazz and Kim are heartbreaking. Even though Jazz gets frustrated with her she takes care of Kim and tries to help. Always telling herself that Kim is Nick's mother. Ultimately Jazz is forced to face huge betrayal and disappointment by a person she likes and trusts. Overall I liked this book...alot...and can recommend it for an entertaining read, some great characters and a sweet and clever pup.

In Book 3 of the Jazz Ramsey Mystery series, Jazz is awakened by Nick’s mom. Unfortunately, Nick’s mom is an alcoholic and it’s difficult to believe she is actually seeing the body of Nick in her back yard as Jazz knows her (police) boyfriend is not around. He had asked her to look in on his mother, however, and she dutifully drags herself over to inspect her back yard.

Kim continues to be quite adamant and after her own Airedale terrier Wally, seven months old and training to be a HRD dog, fails to find anyone, she thinks the issue is over until the body of a man is discovered in a park. Oops. Jazz brought in a trained dog who did alert. Double oops.

This episode focuses a little more on her position at St. Catherine and we get glimpses into the training involved with the dog, but again, I miss more dog involvement in the mystery. In the meantime, we are thrown red herrings, and follow Jazz as she pursues one lead after another up to and including the attack on her life. EEK!

Kim’s past appears to be catching up to her and pieces of the puzzle begin to fit, interesting twists exposed. The conclusion neatly wraps up the loose dog hair and I like the protagonists’ dogged character—she WILL get answers. A slightly more serious entry to the genre and fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy the inclusion of smart dogs. No problem reading as a standalone.

Another book in the Jazz Ramsey series, “A Trail of Lies” is indeed just that. Jazz gets one of those middle of the night phone calls from Kim, mother of her boyfriend, Nick. She says there is a dead man in her backyard.
Although Jazz is pretty sure that Kim is drunk, she takes her dog, Wally, who is trained to find human remains, over there. No body to be found.
But the next day, the body of Dan Mansfield is found in a park, with a photo of Nick and Kim in his pocket. Kim insists that she doesn’t know who Dan is or why he would be looking for them. Turns out that he had been recently paroled after serving a 30-year sentence for murder.
Although Nick would prefer she let this drop, that’s one thing Jazz isn’t going to do.
This was the first book I have read from this series. I liked it and will look for the others.

Jazz is back and this time the mystery has roots in Nick's past. His mother Kim is at the center of this story and readers get a deep dive into her life and past. While there were some moments that I didn't care much for Nick this time, you realize why he is the way he is. Jazz is dogged and when she solves the mystery and connected plots it came as a big surprise! Well written and perfectly paced, this mystery was one I couldn't put down. The dogs and their training are interesting. Wally was awesome and I hope we see more of him. I loved the ending. I can't wait to see what's next for Jazz and Nick.

A Trail of Lies by Kylie Logan is a suspenseful cozy mystery set in Cleveland, Ohio. Have you ever met someone and felt an instant friendship is quickly building? That’s how it felt reading this novel.

Jazz Ramsey gets a call from her boyfriend Nick’s alcoholic mother, Kim, in the middle of the night saying there is a dead man in her backyard. Jazz and Wally, the dog she is training to be a human remains detection (HRD) dog find no evidence of a body. But when a man is found dead two miles away with a photo of Kim and her son in his pocket, things start to get dicey.

Jazz makes for a great protagonist, with a caring and persistent but sometimes skeptical personality that tends to put herself in danger while trying to help others. It seems no one wants her trying to solve the murder, including Nick and his mom. But Jazz doesn’t let that stop her from trying.
There is some character growth in both Nick and Kim. During the course of the novel readers also get to see a lot of Wally, as well meeting a retired HRD dog and a search and rescue dog. However, there is only a small amount of information regarding their training. The author did a good job of setting the scenes in Kim’s neighborhood as well as some of the places Jazz went while investigating the murder.

The plot is steadily-paced, compelling, and kept me fully engaged. There are several red herrings and a twist or two. Will you be able to determine who the killer is and the reason for the death? Jazz’s upbeat nature along with Wally make this an enjoyable read. While this isn’t set in a small town like most cozy mysteries, it is limited to certain communities within Cleveland and isn’t graphic. The writing style pulled me in to the story immediately. It flowed well and kept me turning the pages.

Overall, this novel was suspenseful, captivating and entertaining. If you enjoy cozy mysteries or mysteries involving dogs, then this may be the next series for you. This is the third book in the Jazz Ramsey Mystery series, but it worked well as a standalone novel for me. Themes include alcoholism, murder, helping those in need, intimidation, and the importance of family. I can’t wait to find out what is next, as well as go back and read the first two books in this series.

St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Kylie Logan provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for May 11, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

A Trail of Lies by Kylie Logan is another good additionto the Jazz Ramsey mystery series. A good plot and good characters add to the fun and who doesn't love a book with a dog helping out?

Jazz Ramsey is looking in on her boyfriend Nick's mother Kim while Nick is on a task force when she gets a panicked call in the middle of the night from Kim saying that she killed a man and his body is in her backyard.

Kim is skeptical. After all, Kim is an alcoholic who sometimes sees things. However, she heads over and checks things out and is unsurprised to find that there is no body in Kim's backyard. After calming her down a bit she goes home but returns the next day with her cadaver-dog-in-training Wally to let him give the yard a onceover. There's still no body!

When the body of Dan Mansfield is found in a nearby park, Kim is sure he's the one who was in her backyard. This time Jazz borrows a trained cadaver dog to make one final check and hopefully reassure Kim. But the dog does alert. There was a body in the backyard.

Now Jazz has to discover if it is the same body that was found in the park and, if so, what was he doing in Kim's backyard. Kim assures Jazz that he doesn't know the man but Jazz has seen an old photo of him in a stack of photos and Kim's table and Dan was carrying a old photo of Kim and Nick in his pocket.

Jazz finds herself in a perilous situation when trying to find out what happened long before when Kim knew Dan before he went to prison for murder. She wants to know why he looked Kim up when he was finally paroled. Someone is looking for something and it has to have its roots deep in the past.

I liked Jazz's persistence and desire to find answers. I also liked the information on dog training. There were a few really interesting dogs in the story including Jazz's new dog Wally. Fans of semi-cozy mysteries will enjoy Jazz's third adventure.

A phone call in the middle of the night leads Jazz Ramsey racing to Kim Kolesov's house. Kim claims she killed her son Nick, Jazz's detective boyfriend, and she is hysterical A chronic alcoholic, Jazz can't believe the story, but can't stop herself from driving to Kim's.

When she arrives, there's no body in Kim's back yard, but Kim is convince she killed someone. When a dead body is found in a nearby park the next day and a photo of Nick and Kim is discovered in the pocket of the corpse, Jazz cannot figure out what is going on. Kim could not possibly have moved the man, but what does she know or think she knows. Nick has been incommunicado as well so there is no chance to question him.

An twisty, turny addition to this excellent series.

You wake up to a call from your boyfriends mom... she killed a man, she thinks... she’s not reliable but he was in her yard. Then he’s not... but shortly after a man is found dead nearby with her picture in his pocket... what next?

Really great read. Starts a bit slow but picks up the pace. Good solid thriller.

This book started out slowly, but I got hooked on Jazz and Nick and Jazz’s training of her dog Wally. At first, I thought her job as an Administrative Assistant at a private girl’s school would make the story uninteresting, it was surprising what this added to the story. As the story went on, it got better and better. It was good enough that the “bad guy” was a total surprise. An excellent read for mystery lovers. #NetGalley

“A Trail of Lies” by Kylie Logan the 3rd instalment in the "A Jazz Ramsey Mystery“ series. I really enjoy this series and am collecting in hardcover. The books can be read as a stand-alone with no problem but I do think it’s better to read in order. I found myself engrossed in this story right away and reading it in about 4 hours. I find the writing style to flow easily making it for a quick read.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters of Jazz and Nick which are well developed. This time we learn more about Nick, his mum and what her life was like. You couldn’t help but feel for the situation they were both in, trying to help Kim.

I was surprised by who the bad guy was, although it did cross my mind once but only fleetingly. There were plenty of red herrings to keep us off the scent.

Kylie Logan is definitely an author I will be following in the future and I can’t wait for book 4 to come out.

I highly recommend this series to all my mystery loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Minotaur Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Nick is off working undercover leaving Jazz other own devices and to look in on his mother Kim from time to time. When Kim calls Jazz in the middle of the night saying she killed a man, Jazz wants to kick herself for falling for Kim’s drunken drama. Until Jazz believes there’s more to the story and Kim just may be telling the truth and begins digging into the mystery.

This is one of my favorite mystery series. An Airedale Terrier as the protagonist’s pet and partner in sleuthing makes it even better. You can’t help but get immersed in the story from the start a d it doesn’t disappoint.

Jazz is woken up by Nick's mom claiming she killed a man and his dead body is in her backyard. Jazz goes to her house to discover there isn't a body and Kim is quite drunk. In an effort to support and keep an eye out for Kim, Jazz brings a human remains detection dog only to have it indicate a section of the yard. Later a dead man is found in a nearby park. Jazz has to find out who killed the man so Kim arrested or killed by the murderer.
I found this to be a okay mystery, but not the author's best effort. It seemed a little short and I missed the descriptions of the training that Jazz does with her dog Wally. I enjoyed the new glimpse into Jazz's job at the school, but Nick is absent from most of the book so their relationship took hiatus. Though the novel does further the development of the characters it skimps on developing the mystery. #netgalley #atrailoflies