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srivalli 's review for:
Murder on a Country Walk
by Katie Gayle
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4 Stars
One Liner: A short and quick mystery
The last thing Julia Bird expects is to find Dr. Eve (the town’s vet) dead at the bottom of a cliff, near their walking path. She thinks it could have been an accident until details emerge. Julia wonders if there’s something sinister at play but DI Hayley is not convinced.
When Julia finds another body at the same spot some days later, she knows it cannot be a coincidence. Can she solve the case and expose the killer?
The story comes in Julia’s third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
My favorite Jake is back again! The book starts with our chocolate lab participating in the dog talent show and winning an award in a category (guess which one?), much to Julia’s delight.
The MC knows the victim and is naturally sad to see her dead near the cliffs. It is never easy when she is the one to find the body.
The mystery has quite a few elements, some of which are solved pretty quickly. However, we don’t know if there’s more to be discovered! I connected the dots way before our MC did but that’s not new either.
The book deals with a few themes like conservation vs. development (hot topic), competitive spirit, addiction, shady activities, puppy farms, etc. Each of these gets different weightage based on the plot requirements.
The MC is, as usual, trying to gather more information. She isn’t the one to let something go when she knows the details don’t add up.
The side characters do their bit to provide information and entertainment. Little Sebastian makes an entry early in the book for a teeny while and manages to get into trouble.
The best thing is that I learned three new things by reading this book:
- Do you know there’s something called happy tail syndrome where the dog’s tail sprains from too much wagging? It could even cause a mild fracture if the tail hits hard objects when wagging.
- I had no idea cross-breeding dogs was a lucrative (shady) business with loads of income. There’s an increase in demand for customized crossbreeds, and the pups can cost a thousand pounds or two, depending on the breeds. Whoa!
- There’s a game called Padel (tennis) which seems to be a cross between tennis, table tennis, and maybe even a little badminton. It’s played in teams of twos (so like doubles in tennis). It is easier than tennis and hence becoming popular (as older people can also play and get good exercise).
To summarize, Murder on a Country Walk is a good continuation of the series and should work well as a standalone. There is enough detail to get an idea about the character’s backstories without weighing down the plot.
Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.