What's better than a town where dogs and cats are treated like people, there are no cars, there's a neighborhood of hobbit houses, there are stores catering just to animals, and bordering it all is an enormous lake? Only one thing. This same town at Christmas time.

A new conference center has opened in Wagtail, designed by Holly's boyfriend, Holmes, and it's buzzing with activity as everyone prepares for a gingerbread house contest. Before the center is even open to the public a body is discovered encased in cement inside a large tree on the lawn surrounding the center. The body isn't a fresh one and no one is even sure who the victim is. Holly has her work cut out for her figuring out who killed the person and how he ended up becoming part of the landscaping.

Setting is always important to me in cozies and this series has quite possibly my favorite setting of all. I absolutely love Wagtail and wish it was real so I could go there! This might have been my favorite book of the entire series. There were so many fun things happening with everyone getting ready for Christmas and the guides on murder provided by Trixie in between chapters were adorable. I had an inkling of who the killer was but I was leaning pretty heavily through most of the book toward the one person who I really didn't want to be the killer, and in the end this person is one of few who has a really happy ending.

I've really enjoyed this entire series and highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

It has been a while since I've read a book in the series, so it was good to come back to it. I like how the dog is trying to help but the humans don't always get it. It would be nice to visit such a pet-centric town.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review. - I do need to go back and read the books I've missed.

A Good Dog's Guide to Murder by Krista Davis is the eighth book in the Paws & Claws Mystery series. What an excellent whodunit! Wagtail, Virginia is a pet friendly vacation destination for pet owners. Special regulations have been set up to allow pets in restaurants and all the shops in town. The restaurants even have special pet menus which feature meals similar to the human meals on the menu. Sugar Maple Inn has been renovated to become a pet friendly resort. Amateur sleuth Holly Miller co-owns the inn with her grandmother. Holly has successfully helped solve murders in the previous books in the series. I really enjoyed the segments, Trixie's Guide to Murder. A fun addition to the story.

This storyline is complex and filled with mysteries to solve. The characters are so much fun, especially Holly's, dog Trixie and cat Twinkletoes. There is a surprise at the end of the book that I loved. I look forward to the next book in the series.

A Good Dog's Guide to Murder by Krista Davis is an amazingly written story.

The town of Wagtail is always having special events and this year it's Thanksgiving in the mountains and many visitors are bringing dog and cat gingerbread houses to enter in the contest that will be held in the new convention center. Until a tree falls over revealing a body inside the trunk.

I just love the way she writes he cozy mysteries.
Krista writes great stories that keep you going until the end.
Wagtail, Virginia is one of my favorite fictional towns and it was so nice being in the company of Trixie the Jack Russell and Twinkletoes the cat, as well as Holly!
The murder mystery was intriguing and kept me very interested. I was kept guessing until the end.
Read this wonderfully, well written funny, and compelling story.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Berkley,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!