Review: Bending the Paw by Diane Kelly

Genre: 

Mystery 

Format: 

E-ARC

 

Publisher: 

St. Martin’s 

 Release Date: 

October 27, 2020 

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Make way for the long paw of the law as police officer Megan Luz and her K-9 partner Brigit investigate a baffling new mystery in Bending the Paw, by Diane Kelly. 

A MURDER WITHOUT A BODY IS LIKE A DOG WITHOUT A BONE 

A bloodbath is a shocking new challenge for Megan and Brigit when Detective Audrey Jackson calls them to the scene of what could only be a brutal murder. But the one thing the nightmarish scene is missing is a victim. The frantic homeowner’s husband is gone, seemingly without a trace—and so is the money he was holding. Has a vicious killer committed what might just be the perfect crime? 

Meanwhile, it’s hailing cats and dogs all over Fort Worth, and roofing contractors have descended on the city in droves. With plenty of damage and continuing storms, work delays are building up like so much runoff, but Megan is suspicious that one roofer may be a scam artist. Determined to leash every lawbreaker she and her K-9 partner find, Megan is building a case for prosecution, all while Brigit has her nose to the ground for a murderer… 

My Review 

Fort Worth Police Officer Megan Luz is getting ready for a romantic Valentine’s Day celebration with her firefighter boyfriend when she is called to a crime scene. Along with her K-9 partner, Brigit, they head out to the most grisly sight they’ve ever seen. Quite the opposite of what you’d expect to find on Valentine’s Day. There is blood everywhere…the wife is in shock while the husband is nowhere to be found. The days pass by with no answers. 

Megan is also assigned to another case. The weather is bad and roofing contractors are in high demand. Many people are signing up to get their roof repaired, but nobody is seeing any actual work being done. Megan is very suspicious and begins her investigation. 

Megan and Brigit have their work cut out for them with these two cases. Together, the plan is to put the guilty behind bars, but it won't be easy.

This is the ninth book of Diane Kelly’s Paw Enforcement series. It’s the first one I’ve read and all I can say is - where have I been? Without knowing any of the characters, I immediately fell in love with Megan and Brigit. I do wish I had started with the first book to get a better feel for all the characters, but I had no trouble at all jumping into this series. The mystery is contained in this book…there are no carryovers from other books as far as the current storyline goes. The author does provide information throughout the book so readers aren’t lost as to the relationships of characters and how everyone fits together. 

The story is told in three different POVs - Megan’s, Brigit’s, and the Slasher’s. I found this to be quite an interesting technique. It gave us the unique opportunity to get inside the heads of the K-9 partner as well as the killer’s. Brigit’s POV, of course, was the most fun for me. Even this cat lover fell in love with Brigit. 

The chapters that are the POV of Brigit and the Slasher are very short. The story was fast-paced. It’s a police procedural that grabbed from page one. I couldn’t put this down as I had to see how it all played out. I had my suspicions, but I so enjoyed how it all unfolded. 

This is going to be a “must read” series for me and I fully intend to start at the beginning. From the looks of it, I’m in for many hours of reading fun. 

For reading challenges: 

What An Animal Reading Challenge 2020

 

FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.