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Beanie and
Cruiser Mystery Series Release #4
Introducing Calamity, Cruiser's Canine Partner in Crime
Sue Owens Wright
Five Star
June 5, 2013 / ISBN 978-1432826895
Cozy Mystery with animals
Amazon
Reviewed
by Linda Morelli
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Half-Washoe Indian
Elsie "Beanie" MacBean is a reporter for “The
Tatler” newspaper at Lake Tahoe. She loves basset hounds,
especially her own dog Cruiser, and agrees to foster a troubled
hound, Calamity, from a shelter with a goal of getting her
adopted into a good home. Beanie, however, realizes that the
hound’s name forecasts trouble when Calamity soon makes
a hovel of Beanie’s home. Then Beanie’s daughter
Nona arrives, fearing that the lumps she's found may signify
she has inherited the cancer that killed her grandmother.
Beanie tries to soothe her daughter’s fears –
and her own – by taking Nona to a Washoe Indian healing
and encouraging Nona to see a doctor and have the lumps biopsied.
If these problems aren’t enough to keep Beanie busy,
Sheriff Skip Cassidy asks for her help when a local shelter
owner is murdered. Beanie soon realizes that more than one
area resident has a motive. The killer is not opposed to committing
one more murder – Beanie’s.
This is my first exposure to the Beanie and Cruiser series,
but it won’t be my last. While most cozy mysteries I’ve
read concentrate on providing clues and red herrings in helping
the reader solve a murder, Braced for Murder is a refreshing
change and thoroughly enjoyable read. This novel is more character
driven, with individuals who suffer through various emotions
that drew me into the story and made the read far more enjoyable.
As a dog lover and owner, I laughed at Calamity’s antics
and appreciated Cruiser’s somewhat blasé attitude
toward his temporary co-resident. I felt Beanie’s deep
concern for her daughter and was especially fascinated by
Ms. Wright’s inclusion of the Washoe Indian healing
ceremony. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Washoe heritage
and traditions. Braced for Murder is a cozy with heart --
and one I highly recommend.
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