From Publishers Weekly
Agreeing to care for two basset hounds while their elderly owner is away, bookseller Claire Malloy is introduced to the underworld of pet snatchers.redundant, if they're stolen When the hounds left in her care disappear, Claire discovers other neighborhood pets in her small university town are also missing. A check at the animal shelter turns up the information that the unsavory Newton Churls runs an operation licensed to sell animals for medical research. An official inspection, authorized by an unwilling sheriff, proves unavailing. The bereft pet owners and Claire's teenage daughter Caron attempt a nighttime commando raid; when Claire follows them, she finds Churls torn to death by his pit bulls. On the lam to keep up the search and avoid being called as a material witness, Claire is attacked by several unsavory country boys at an animal sale; a ransom demand further complicates the case. Hess again provides lively and diverting entertainment via her brash and articulate detective, last seen in A Diet to Die For . Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Farberville's bookstore-owner/occasional sleuth Claire Malloy (A Diet to Die For, etc.) has consented to care for Emily Parchester's African violets and basset hounds, Nick and Nora, while Emily takes a trip. Days later, the hounds have disappeared, along with the various pets of neighbors on the block, and Claire is in the middle of a plot to recover them from the filthy quarters of nasty Newton Churls, notorious local animal-dealer. Not so easy, especially after Churls is killed by his pit bulls--not accidentally; Claire's warned off by the local law; a couple of Churls's brutish redneck pals are prowling the neighborhood, and Claire's teenaged daughter, Caron, and friend Inez undertake some heroics of their own. Another of the author's ditsy mixes--a worthy issue; a few eccentrics; lots of ill-advised forays into danger; and a blithe heroine whose ironic reflections often produce a chuckle. Of special interest to dedicated animal-lovers. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"A worthy issue; a few eccentrics; lots of ill-advised forays into danger; and a blithe heroine whose ironic reflections often produce a chuckle. Of special interest to dedicated animal-lovers."--Kirkus Reviews



Review
"A worthy issue; a few eccentrics; lots of ill-advised forays into danger; and a blithe heroine whose ironic reflections often produce a chuckle. Of special interest to dedicated animal-lovers."--Kirkus Reviews



Review
"A worthy issue; a few eccentrics; lots of ill-advised forays into danger; and a blithe heroine whose ironic reflections often produce a chuckle. Of special interest to dedicated animal-lovers."--Kirkus Reviews



Book Description
Murder is going to the dogs. . .

Bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy has donned another hat (or is that a collar?)-as a petsitter extraordinaire. Her furry charges are Miss Emily Parchester's beloved basset hounds, Nick and Nora, and two very good dogs they are. Everything is just ducky...until they vanish. Other neighbors' pets have also disappeared, and no doubt a dognapper is on the prowl. . .

Switching to her sleuthing chapeau, Claire quickly locates the shabby abode of Newton Churls, who runs a black market in stolen animals. But instead of a pen filled with purloined pooches, Claire finds one very dead Newton-and it appears his own pit bull terriers did him in. Or did they? Claire smells a human rat behind the brutal murder. And mysteriously, Nick and Nora are still missing. Now Claire is doggedly determined to find them...and run a killer to the ground.



From the Inside Flap
Enjoy these other mysteries from Joan Hess

A Diet To Die For
A Conventional Corpse
Dear Miss Demeanor
The Murder At The Mimosa Inn
Strangled Prose

Praise for the Claire Malloy mystery series

"A worthy issue; a few eccentrics; lots of ill-advised forays into danger; and a blithe heroine whose ironic reflections often produce a chuckle. Of special interest to dedicated animal-lovers."
--Kirkus Reviews on Roll Over and Play Dead

"Witty, ironic, and biting...Joan Hess has an unerring comedic instinct."-Bookpage

"Joan Hess fans will find a winning blend of soft-core feminism, trendy subplots, and a completely irreverent style that characterizes both series and the sleuth, all nicely onstage."-Houston Chronicle

"Breezy and delightful...Claire Malloy is one of the most engaging narrators in mystery."
-The Drood Review

"Whether she's hammering my funny bone or merely passing a feather beneath my nose, Joan Hess always makes me laugh. Murder only raises Joan Hess's wicked sense of humor. Enjoy!"-Margaret Maron, author of Storm Track

"Definitely entertaining. Hess deftly sprinkles red herrings and odd characters throughout."-Library Journal on The Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn

"Dear Miss Demeanor is great fun...Hess's poniard is tipped with subtle wit."
-Chicago Sun Times on Dear Miss Demeanor

"Hess's theme is a serious one, but she handles it with wit. Claire is an appealing character, and this is an engaging mystery for anyone who likes crime mixed with comedy."-Booklist on Roll Over and Play Dead

"Hess's style-that of a more worldly Erma Bombeck-rarely flags. Amiable entertainment with an edge."-Kirkus Reviews

"Joan Hess is one funny woman."-Susan Dunlap

"Joan Hess is the funniest mystery writer to come down the pipe since England's incomparable Pamela Branch. And oh, how well Joan writes."-Carolyn G. Hart



From the Back Cover
Murder is going to the dogs...

Bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy has donned another hat (or is that a collar?)-as a petsitter extraordinaire. Her furry charges are Miss Emily Parchester's beloved basset hounds, Nick and Nora, and two very good dogs they are. Everything is just ducky...until they vanish. Other neighbors' pets have also disappeared, and no doubt a dognapper is on the prowl...

Switching to her sleuthing chapeau, Claire quickly locates the shabby abode of Newton Churls, who runs a black market in stolen animals. But instead of a pen filled with purloined pooches, Claire finds one very dead Newton-and it appears his own pit bull terriers did him in. Or did they? Claire smells a human rat behind the brutal murder. And mysteriously, Nick and Nora are still missing. Now Claire is doggedly determined to find them...and run a killer to the ground.

"Doggone good...a well-plotted mystery that will fool the most clever sleuth."
--Mostly Murder

"Hess again provides lively and diverting entertainment via her brash and articulate detective."
--Publishers Weekly



About the Author
Joan Hess is a winner of the American Mystery Award and the author of twelve previous Claire Malloy books, including A Diet to Die For, A Conventional Corpse, Dear Miss Demeanor, and Strangled Prose, as well as the Maggody mystery series. A member of Sisters in Crime and a former president of the American Crime Writers League, she lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

ANNOTATION

The award-winning author of A Diet to Die For presents her sixth mystery starring intrepid bookseller/crimesolver Claire Malloy. Miss Parchester's pampered bassetts Nick and Nora mysteriously disappear while Claire is dog-sitting. In her search for the hounds, Claire encounters a despicable pet thief whose market in stolen and homeless pets is quite lucrative. Martin's.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Murder is going to the dogs. . .

Bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy has donned another hat (or is that a collar?)-as a petsitter extraordinaire. Her furry charges are Miss Emily Parchester's beloved basset hounds, Nick and Nora, and two very good dogs they are. Everything is just ducky...until they vanish. Other neighbors' pets have also disappeared, and no doubt a dognapper is on the prowl. . .

Switching to her sleuthing chapeau, Claire quickly locates the shabby abode of Newton Churls, who runs a black market in stolen animals. But instead of a pen filled with purloined pooches, Claire finds one very dead Newton-and it appears his own pit bull terriers did him in. Or did they? Claire smells a human rat behind the brutal murder. And mysteriously, Nick and Nora are still missing. Now Claire is doggedly determined to find them...and run a killer to the ground.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Agreeing to care for two basset hounds while their elderly owner is away, bookseller Claire Malloy is introduced to the underworld of pet snatchers.redundant, if they're stolen When the hounds left in her care disappear, Claire discovers other neighborhood pets in her small university town are also missing. A check at the animal shelter turns up the information that the unsavory Newton Churls runs an operation licensed to sell animals for medical research. An official inspection, authorized by an unwilling sheriff, proves unavailing. The bereft pet owners and Claire's teenage daughter Caron attempt a nighttime commando raid; when Claire follows them, she finds Churls torn to death by his pit bulls. On the lam to keep up the search and avoid being called as a material witness, Claire is attacked by several unsavory country boys at an animal sale; a ransom demand further complicates the case. Hess again provides lively and diverting entertainment via her brash and articulate detective, last seen in A Diet to Die For . (July)

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Joan Hess is the funniest mystery writer to come down the pipe since England's incomparable Pamela Branch. And oh, how well Joan writes. — Carolyn G. Hart