A Portrait of Crime Mystery, by Sharon Pape, Berkley Prime Crime, June 2011
New PI Rory McCain, a former sketch artist with the Suffolk County Police Department, shares an uneasy alliance, an investigation business and her house with Ezekial "Zeke" Drummond, a federal marshall who died in 1878. Since Zeke is confined to her residence, Rory does most of the investigating alone. She is an independent, 28-year-old protaganist with a lot of gumption and a .45 as backup.
A stray dog named Hobo appears in her yard one day, and Rory drives him to the street address stamped on his dog tag. When no one answers the door, she follows Hobo into the house and discovers a dead woman on the kitchen floor, a knife sticking out of her back. An estranged friend of the victim shows up and tells Rory that Tootsie, the dead woman's prized Maltese, is also missing. Thus begins Rory's involvement in a dognapping case that may also be tied to the murder of Hobo's owner.
After Rory decides to give Hobo a temporary home, she's hired by Tina Kovack, another dognapping victim and the murdered woman's friend, to find Tootsie and hopefully track down her own stolen Malteses. The investigation becomes personal when Hobo is poisoned and almost dies. Rory suspects Hobo's veternarian of providing information to aid the dognappers, but she must rely on him to keep Hobo alive. More potential persons of interest come to light at the local dog park. Eventually an elementary school teacher helps Rory track down the people responsible for stealing the dogs when all other leads become dead ends.
To Sketch a Thief is filled with potential murder suspects, dog humor, a ghost consultant, and red herrings. This is the second book in the Portrait of Crime Mysteries and a strong sequel in the series. If you are a fan of mysteries involving ghosts, good stories with canines and novels with a strong female protaganist, then you'll enjoy To Sketch a Thief.
* The third book in the series, Sketch a Falling Star, will be released in March 2012.
PROTAGONIST: Independent, 28-year-old, .45-toting, female PI
CRITTERS: Hobo - a 90-lb, gray & white mutt
ACTION: Fun dog chases, not-so-fun dog vs man, humorous dog vs ghost
LOVE INTEREST: Hobo, the adopted dog
ROMANCE: Lots of dog kisses and drool
QUIRKINESS: Ghost from 1878 who's computer proficient
INTERESTING TIDBITS: A glimpse into a lawman's day in 1878
FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, cute scenes with Hobo
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