Member Review

Dr. Ally Winter, a veterinarian in Willow Bluff, Wisconsin, is walking Domino, a dog who is boarding with her, on the beach. The dog manages to escape Ally and soon returns with a shoe that she recognizes. Ally investigates and finds Pricilla Green dead under a willow. Ally’s grandfather loves true crime, and he cannot wait to sink his teeth into the case. Detective Noah Jorgenson, though, does not want Ally or Gramps’s help and warns them to keep their prying noses out of his case. Gramps has no intention of being sidelined. He believes that a rash of recent robberies ties in with Pricilla’s death. Ally and Gramps work to unravel the clues and rope a killer. The murderer does not wish to be caught and sets out to eliminate the snoopy sleuths. Can Ally and Gramps catch the conniving killer, or will they end up the next victims? Tailing Trouble by Laura Scott is the second book in A Furry Friends Mysteries. Tailing Trouble can be read as a standalone. The story has likeable characters especially Gramps. He is a hoot. I like the premise of a veterinarian who investigates crimes with her grandfather. However, I felt the story was bogged down with the day-to-day details of Ally’s life. Her visits to Legacy House to visit Gramps, partaking of the meals at Legacy House (or not because she does not want to gain too much weight), walking the dogs, taking Gramps to library, etc. I understand that she needs to walk the dogs, but the readers do not need to know each and every time that she does it. It becomes tedious after a while. Ally manages to get a patient or two. Ally is treating a cat and it scratches her. This makes Ally look like a bad vet. A good vet knows how to hold a cat properly to avoid getting scratched or bitten (at least the ones I have gone to know how to hold a cat properly). She has two dogs fighting in the clinic which results in her losing a client shows us again that she is not the best vet. I wish the author had showed Ally in a more professional light. She does manage to take her boarder dog, Domino in hand. I did find the interactions between Noah and Ally to be awkward and their dialogue stilted. The mystery was interesting. I wish there had been more investigation and less wild speculation (Gramps). I tired of Noah telling Ally and Gramps to stay out of the investigation. I like how everything tied together in the end, though, the ending was rushed. I am curious as to how Ally can keep her practice going with so few patients. She tells us often that she does not have patients (very true) and cannot afford a receptionist or assistant. I am curious how she can pay the bills with the one to two patients a week. Of course, if Ally’s business were not slow, she would not have time to take Gramps to lunch, the library, visit Legacy House, and solve crimes. This series still needs work (a few tweaks). Tailing Trouble is a lighthearted tale with a playful poodle, a rash of robberies, a dashing detective, an eager elder, flavorful feasts, and a curious killing.