Title: Bending the PawAuthor: Diane Kelly
Series: A Paw Enforcement Novel
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Format: Paperback
No. of Pages: 320
Date of Publication: October 27, 2020
Description: 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 Thoughts: This is my first book by Diane Kelly and I quite enjoyed it. It was an easy and quick read. I found that it quickly grasped my attention from page one and took me on a fun emotional rollercoaster. Bending the Paw is well written and consists of two cases and Megan's personal life which takes a fun and exciting turn. The two cases, stand alone from each other, and work well within the book. I am often times not a fan of books that focus on more than one case at a time, as I find that it detracts from the main case. However, I did not feel like that was the case here.
The story also does well with keeping you guessing who the suspect(s) are in the brutal murder. It did so well that it actually blindsight's you a little by the time you figure out or the book reveals who it is. It had a very very good twist at the very end that I did not see coming and that I thought was extremely original and fresh.
This is not the first book in the Paw Enforcement Novel, it is actually the ninth in the series. As previously mentioned, I have never read a book by Diane Kelly before and I found that this book does well as a stand alone book.
I found that it was easy to relate to the characters in the book. I especially liked one of the characters involved with the roofer case specifically because we share the same name. Althea is such a rare and uncommon name, that I was quite surprised to see it in the book. This made me like the story just a little bit more. I also really liked the name of the dogs in the book, Brigit and Blast (Megan's boyfriends dog). I thought the names were very fun.
The book follows three peoples point of views: The Slasher, Brigit, and Megan. This is the first time that I have actually seen a book that was written in the point of view of a dog (Brigit). I found that it added a fun perspective to the book. Although, there were times that I found that Brigit's perspective did not add much to the story. Both Brigit and The Slashers point of views were short, usually a page or two long.
It is very clear to me that Diane Kelly did her research for the book. She uses commonly heard/read terms in other criminal or police procedural books/tv shoes. For example, blood splatter was one that caught my attention. I am actually a fan of the Dexter tv series and one of the scenes in the book reminded me a lot of Dexter.
Rating: 4 out of 5 for me because there were times where I didn't fee like Brigit's perspective added much to the story. If you are a fan of police procedural books than this is a must pick up for your next book.
I am certainly going to add the other books in the series to my to be read pile and be looking for any future book in the Paw Enforcement series.
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About the Author: Diane Kelly is a former state assistant attorney general and tax advisor who spent much of her career fighting, or inadvertently working for, white-collar criminals. She is also a proud graduate of the Mansfield, Texas Citizens Police Academy. The first book in Diane’s IRS Special Agent Tara Holloway series, Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure, received a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. Book #2, Death, Taxes, and a Skinny No-Whip Latte, won a Reviewers Choice award. Diane has combined her fascination with law enforcement and her love of animals in her K-9 cop Paw Enforcement series.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for this review copy. This is my honest opinion.
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