I have to give a huge
cheers to Amazon for recommending Jennifer Hawkins'
To Fetch a Felon {A Chatty Corgi Mystery Book, # 1} to me, because I likely would have
never unearthed this gem on my own, which would have been
devastating because
it. is. fabulous. Y'all, I was practically
raised by Rita Mae Brown's
Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, so to find another series with such a
prevalent animal presence {with the added bonus of human owner and Corgi
literally being able to communicate with one another} is legit the best thing ever.
Chef's kiss.
Fed up with watching her less-experienced male co-workers earn raises and promotions while she does the legwork in her London-based
high finance position, forty-something
Emma Reed elects to call it quits and
finally do something that
sets her soul on fire. Packing up her beloved Corgi,
Oliver, along with her posh flat, Emma abandons London for
Trevena, an idyllic village nestled in
Cornwall. Here, Emma has hopes to open a
village tea shop wherein she brings her grandmother's baked goods recipes into the spotlight
as they so rightly deserve. With its cobblestone walkways and lush greenery, Trevena also provides enough exploratory spaces to sate talking Oliver's curiosity. Did you catch that there? The
talking Oliver - because Oliver can, indeed, talk; and Emma is the
only one who can communicate with him.
While on an
explore the 'hood excursion with Oliver, the protective pup races into the garden of one
Victoria Roberts, eager to catch a sly fox cavorting about; but instead irking the village curmudgeon. Victoria dislikes dogs, abhors most of the village residents, and owns just about
all of Trevena - including
Penhallow's, the old tea shop that Emma is eager to revive. Convinced that she's gotten off on the wrong foot with Victoria, Emma makes winning her over her absolute mission. Thus, armed with an assortment of
homemade scones, Emma and Oliver head to Victoria's to make amends by way of tasty treats, only to stumble upon
Victoria lying dead in her kitchen.
Oliver, in his own
peculiar way, knows immediately that Victoria died not of natural causes, but rather, the victim of
murder - an observation that makes Emma eager to solve the crime. After all,
newcomer or not, as an individual with a
vested interest in the deceased's property, as well being the finder of the body, Emma is every bit a suspect as everyone else. Luckily for her, many of the villagers are
far more suspect. Take, for example, the visiting writer,
Parker Taite, who is obviously hiding something; the hungry real estate agent,
Maggie Trenwith, eager to make deals with developers but stopped at every turn by Victoria; or
Jimmy, Victoria's down on his luck nephew. It seems all of
Trevena had a bone to pick with Victoria. Now all Emma and Oliver need to do is uncover which of the many suspects is the true culprit - all before they find themselves next on the killer's list.
I truly did not know I would adore this story as much as I did, but
Jennifer Hawkins positively captured my heart with this perfectly charming cozy. At first, upon learning the extent of Emma's ability to communicate with Oliver, I {
wrongly} assumed that Emma could merely turn to Oliver, ask him who the killer was, and be done with it; however, that was most certainly not the case. Hawkins was
incredibly clever in showing the difficulties Oliver had in relaying information regarding individuals to Emma. Unlike humans, Oliver, as a dog, doesn't merely refer to human beings by name or description as we do; rather,
he relies upon scent, sounds, tastes...elements that were not so
black and white in sharing with Emma, and became a source of frustration for him at times. This
communication barrier truly created an added bonus of mystery, and made for an intriguing inclusion of dialogue.
As for the characters...I was quite charmed by all of them.
Emma is such an easy to relate to, down to earth character; while
Oliver himself gives off true
Paddington vibes {like I legitimately could hear Paddington's voice whenever I read his lines}. The relationship between the two is so sweet and heartwarming. The rest of the villagers, from Emma's insta-BFF
Genny Knowles to the kindhearted
Angelique and her daughter
Pearl, are such wonderful additions to the cast - each bringing their own personalities and quirks to the forefront to make you feel at home while nestled between the pages. Needless to say, I have already downloaded
Murder Always Barks Twice {A Chatty Corgi Mystery Book, # 2} to my Kindle, and cannot wait to dig in.
Brava Ms. Hawkins!
Star Rating: *****
xx
