DOGGONE BONES

Animal-loving Mississippi detective duo Sarah Booth Delaney and Tinkie Bellcase Richmond embark on a mission to catch canine kidnappers.

Their adventure starts when Sarah gets a warning from her family’s ghost about pet safety. Soon thereafter, psychic Tammy Odom shows up and asks for help finding Jezebel. The adorable dog has been taken from a locked yard and her owner, Tilly Lawson, is heartbroken, but Nixville police Chief Bill Garwool won’t help. The state’s meager animal protection laws don’t help much, either. So, Sarah and Tinkie team up to find Jezebel with assistance from Dawson Reed, the leader of a local pet detective group. Because Tilly has enemies, Reed suggests looking into a legal dog swap, a gross flea market where many animals end up as bait dogs. At length, the investigation leads to the house of Rutherford Mace, a retired wrestler rumored to be involved in the drug trade. The sleuths leave with some info and with Avalon, an abused pit bull–hound mix, whom they rescue with help from Mace’s associate Zotto. Sarah’s romantic partner, the sheriff of Sunflower County, hates animal abusers and does his best to pitch in. When another dog disappears, the detectives follow every lead. The second missing pooch belongs to Squatty Adams, an animal hater who nevertheless loves Cupcake and is desperate to find her. Things are made even crazier by indications that the sheriff and the mayor of Nixville may be involved in a criminal enterprise. And guess who shows up again? Sarah’s old enemy, who’s now a threat to her life.

Pet lovers will root for the detectives as they fight for animal rights while solving a series of human crimes.