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HOWLING BLOODY MURDER
by Sue Owens Wright
Deadly Alibi Press, April 2001
181 pages
$16.99
ISBN: 1886199124


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Medwyn Abercarn is every mother's nightmare. Tall, muscular, and deeply tanned, he has the mesmerizing eyes of a wolf and the deadly charm of a cobra. It's a combination of traits sure to stir the blood of any estrogen-driven female, including young Nona MacBean.

But Elsie "Beanie" MacBean isn't impressed by the young Adonis in designer clothes. She sees nothing but trouble in store for Nona when her daughter brings Medwyn home to wintry Lake Tahoe for the Thanksgiving holidays. Cruiser, Beanie's lovable basset hound, isn't too happy with Medwyn either. He shows his displeasure by greeting Abercarn with a bite to the hand. While this lands Cruiser in the doghouse with Nona, his unusual behavior only confirms Beanie's suspicions concerning the handsome stranger. Medwyn is not a man to be trusted, but how can Beanie prove that to headstrong Nona?

Beanie has more on her mind than just Nona and Medwyn. The day before their arrival, she and Cruiser stumbled over the mutilated body of a local land developer while hiking through the woods. Robert 'Chick' Robson was an executive of the Tallis Corporation, a company that plans to build a casino and rock climbing facility at Cave Rock. Because the Tallis proposal has come under fire from the Washoe Indians who consider the rock to be a sacred place, Robson's death puts half-Washoe Beanie in an uncomfortable position. As a stringer for the Tahoe Times, Beanie must cover the murder as objectively as possible. But as a member of the local tribe, Beanie feels obligated to help Deputy Sheriff Skip Cassidy find the killer before the

Washoes are blamed for the crime.

When a second Tallis executive is found dead in his mansion, his body as mutilated as Robson's, the only clue seems to be the sighting of a huge dog near the dead man's property. The body count increases after a meeting between Tallis executives and leaders of the Washoe. Tahoe Sheriff Mike Stoddard quickly arrests a Washoe tribal leader, but Beanie is convinced that the politically minded sheriff has fingered the wrong man. Hot on the trail of the killer, Beanie has little time to worry about Medwyn and Nona until her daughter suddenly disappears. Finding the girl becomes Beanie's primary concern, but when she and Cruiser set out to track down Nona, they run into more trouble than they bargained for.

HOWLING BLOODY MURDER marks the debut of mystery writer Sue Owens Wright. Featuring a well crafted plot and a beautifully described setting, the book glows with snappy dialogue and tummy-tickling one-liners delivered by both Beanie and her pal in crime, Deputy Sheriff Skip Cassidy. Adding to the fun of the book is Wright's portrayal of Cruiser, Beanie's overweight but

adorable basset hound. It's easy to see that Wright is a fan of the breed. She describes Cruiser's habits and idiosyncrasies with undisguised affection and a familiarity that speaks of her close relationship with these dogs. For a cozy without cats, mystery fans and dog lovers alike should try this first offering by West Coast author Sue Owens Wright. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Reviewed by Mary V. Welk, March 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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