New Veterinarian Mystery from Eileen Brady, LAST BUT UNLEASHED

What fun to have a new mystery from Eileen Brady, featuring "Dr. Kate" Turner and her busy animal care practice in upstate New York -- and the winter holiday setting of LAST BUT UNLEASHED is a great way to "make friends" with the snowy season ahead of us. After all, there's are plenty of reasons that New Year's Eve parties get wild, and one of them is sure to be the need to warm things up during the shortest days of the year.

For "Dr. Kate" the approach to the end of the year means trying to make a lasting decision about her boyfriend Luke, whose law-school journey has increasingly separated him from caring about her—even for their New Year's Eve date, he's not paying her much attention. In some ways, that's helpful, as Kate gets confirmation that this isn't the relationship she wants. She's actually getting much more affection from her dog ... her team at the veterinary practice ... her steady women friends ... and even the torn-up pitbull dumped on her snowy doorstep.

Unlike in many other "cozy" mysteries, Kate's approach to solving crimes doesn't depend on a close relationship with a police officer (even the local police chief can't make up his mind whether she's helpful or a terrible nuisance). But every now and then, like after the murder of an "organize-your-house" pro when Kate's found the body, she feels the need to give some extra invitation and calls Chief Garcia:

"Did I tell you I spoke to the janitor?"

"Yes. We've already interviewed him. He confirmed your statement." Now the chief sounded as if I'd interrupted his nap.

"Did I tell you about seeing the other janitor cleaning one of the meeting rooms? All I saw was their back, so it slipped my mind."

 ... "Do you remember anything about this other janitor? Height? Build? Did you catch a look at his face or even his profile?" Garcia asked in an urgent way.

I reminded him the whole thing was over in four or five seconds. "I'm not even sure it was a man. Why not interview them yourself?"

"Because, Dr. Turner, the community center only employs one janitor. That second person you saw might be the murderer."

After that, though, Kate keeps her observations to herself and her close friends—which of course is why she eventually needs to borrow an attack-trained Rottweiler to spend the night.

Brady is a pro, pacing her chapters briskly and weaving in the frustrations of adult romance with the puzzles of perpetrators. Although the book runs long for this subgenre -- about 400 pages -- all the threads come together for a very satisfying set of endings. Put this one on the winter TBR list, and pick up an extra for any dog-loving fellow reader. (The only non-charismatic critter in the whole story is an iguana.)

Note for those who always look at the author's website: Brady's is seriously out of date. Meanwhile, though, Poisoned Pen Press is doing a great job re-igniting her delightful series.

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Brief Mention: New Cozy Vet Mystery from Eileen Brady, SADDLED WITH MURDER

Eileen Brady already has four earlier "Kate Turner, DVM, Mysteries" from Poisoned Pen Press, but with the press transition to an imprint of Sourcebooks, Brady's books are also making a transition, positioning SADDLED WITH MURDER as a "cozy." Making it especially appealing for this season is its Christmas theme, twisted with an office holiday party that goes frighteningly awry.

Kate's staffers open up a game about saying out loud a "selfish Santa" Christmas wish. Frazzled and exhausted, Kate is foolish enough to wish she didn't have to deal with a couple of the practice's most challenging (human) clients -- and a staffer catches this on video and releases it on social media, without thinking about what could follow.

Soon Kate herself is taking deep breaths but unable to corral the tumbling emergencies: 

After a few more breaths I'd started to calm down, when the speakers came to life with a loud and lively chorus of "On the First Day of Christmas." I replaced their words with my own.

Two dead clients, one ex-boyfriend, and a present dumped in the trash.

From tender moments with dogs and other companion animals, to a struggle with an out-of-control adopted wild horse, to the machinations of staff, family, and boyfriends, Brady provides a generous set of veterinary and very human sidelights to her mystery in process. 

SADDLED WITH MURDER is a treat for animal lovers and for collectors of veterinary, horse, or dog mysteries, and a delightful lightweight treat for relaxing before, during, or after Christmas. 

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Vet School Mystery: AN ANIMAL LIFE by Howard Krum

Last month's "Bookstock" festival in Woodstock, Vermont, brought an unusual new book to me: AN ANIMAL LIFE: THE BEGINNING, first in a series from three veterinarians (and illustrated by a fourth). Described by the authors -- Howard Krum with Roy Yanong and Scott Moore, plus art by Patty Hogan -- as "a scientific medical mystery (animals and people are dying)," the book is far from a traditional who-dun-it. There is no sleuthing plot to speak of, there are few clues, and the focal point of the story isn't really the hunt for what's causing the deaths (a real discovery, by the way, from the late 1980s).

And there is definitely a taste of "first book" here, plus some structural issues betray the team aspect of authorship. The first few chapters wobble, and the pace has issues.

The good news, though, is that this book is so much fun, and so much a period piece -- an updated version of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance crossed with Mash and taken into veterinary school -- that I never did put the book down for much longer than it took to get a fresh glass of iced tea.

THE ANIMAL LIFE opens with two aspects of vet life: first-year vet college featuring cop-turned-animal-intern Jack Doyle and courageous Anna Heywood, who's battling Lou Gehrig's disease, complete with therapy dog; and the political pressures on a prominent zoo vet, Dr. Violet Marie Green, who might seem to have it all but is being blackmailed and bribed simultaneously (the closest the book comes to expected mystery terrain). With a couple of romances in blossom, entertaining dynamics among various types of students and their more advanced peers, and entirely endearing interactions with horses, dogs, and more, the book provides a delicious jumble of entertaining scenes, quickly spilled forward over a school year.

And the authors' attitude toward their storytelling is captured at the start with this short insert:

People ask: "So what's this book about?"

We usually reply: "It's about 300 pages. . ."

Also, it's about life, death, and finding your place in this world. And veterinary medicine. But that's it, just those three things: a medical mystery, finding Love, and becoming a veterinarian. Promise.

If you've ever dreamed of becoming a vet (I did, for years), or know someone who has (you'll want to give them a copy), or believe in treasuring the first efforts of promising authors who like to set up amusing moments in print -- zip over to the website AnAnimalLife.com and pick up a copy. You may also find the book at stores in or near Windsor, Vermont, where it's published.

Don't shelve it with mysteries, though. Put it on the shelf of rollicking fun in college form, and let your friends know it's there.