Hi, I’m Andi Grace Scott. I’m the local dog walker in Heyward Beach, South Carolina. We’re part of the Low Country near Charleston. Some people spell it Lowcountry, but like a lot of issues in these parts, there’s disagreement regarding the correct spelling.

I didn’t start out to be a dog walker, but I love what I do. I’ve also expanded my business to include doggie day care, obedience lessons, and pet grooming.

My amateur sleuthing began one morning when I went to walk a friend’s dog, and I found my first murder victim. Years earlier, my parents had been killed by a hit-and-run driver. They guilty party had never been caught, and I never got over the lack of justice for them. So, when I was determined to get justice for my friend. The sheriff wasn’t thrilled with my actions, but I helped catch the killer. I’ve even helped catch a few more killers along the way.

Recently, Marc Williams proposed to me. He’s a local attorney, and he stands for justice too. It’s only one of the many reasons I love him.

I’m blessed to live on the island. I’m a beach girl, and there’s nowhere I’d rather be. Most mornings I wake up and take my faithful German shepherd to the back yard while my coffee machine goes to work. Although, I’ve been known to drink a Coke first thing in the morning. Sometimes I take Sunny with me on my morning rounds of walking dogs, and other times I leave her to rest at home.

After walking the dogs on my morning schedule, I’ll head to Stay and Play. It’s mainly a great big barn with an apartment, my office, and play areas for the animals staying with me. If you leave your fur baby in my care, they’ll get lots of attention. We have play areas both inside and outside the barn. We have heat and air conditioning so your pets are comfortable. At some point in the afternoon, I’ll walk the dogs on the afternoon schedule.

My schedule is flexible enough to plan my wedding and solve mysteries. It’s a good thing too, because while Marc and I are tasting cakes to choose for our wedding, a client calls. It’s Labor Day Weekend, and she needs us to swing by her house to look for her dog. Marc and I don’t find her dog, but we find her husband. Dead.

The dog is missing, and while we search for the schnoodle, a ransom note is left on my windshield. The schnoodle has been dognapped.

I resist, kinda, looking into the murder because I have a wedding to plan. Then my pregnant sister begs me to help when her biological father is questioned by the sheriff. And just like that, I’m investigating another murder.

A Killer Unleashed, A Low Country Dog Walker Mystery Book #5
Genre: Cozy
Release: February 2023
Format: Digital
Purchase Link

When a client’s dog turns up missing and her husband turns up dead, Low Country dog walker Andi Grace Scott will have to rely on dogged determination to track down a killer . . .

When a frantic client calls, worried about her dog, Andi Grace is happy to drop by the woman’s home and check in on her beloved pet. She’s initially concerned when she discovers the dog’s not in the house, but she’s out-and-out shocked to discover that the woman’s husband is—strangled to death in his office chair. On top of that, she soon finds a ransom note demanding a hefty sum for the dog’s safe return. Andi Grace knows better than to meddle in a murder investigation, but there’s no way she’s going to let a dognapper get away with it.

Unsure of whether the killer took the dog or if they were unrelated crimes, Andi Grace finds herself confounded from the start. More puzzling still is that the dog’s owner seems more upset about her missing pooch than her dead husband. Could the whole thing have been a setup? Did the woman murder her own husband and send Andi Grace to the house under false pretenses to discover the body? As sinister as that possibility may be, the trail of clues leads Andi Grace to uncover an even more nefarious scheme, and she knows she’ll have to tie up all the loose ends fast before the whole case goes to the dogs . . .

About the author
Jackie Layton loves living in the Low Country of South Carolina. She always dreamed of living on the coast, and reality is better than the dream. The warm weather, the beach, and the relaxed people make it special. Most of her travel these days is to Kentucky and Texas to spend time with family. She also enjoys working part-time as a compounding pharmacist and having more time to write cozy mysteries.

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