Hey everyone! I’m so excited that you want to talk to me today. Most people just ignore me. Some even consider me a nuisance, but like most of my fellow corvids, I’m sociable, highly intelligent, and have a long memory. For those of you who don’t know much about crows like me, here are a few facts:
♦ We live in extended family units, in which the whole family cares for and teaches the young.
♦ We can live up to thirty years.
♦ We have great memories, and we recognize faces. Treat us good, and we will be your friends for life. Treat us bad? Well, just expect to be dive bombed and scolded for the rest of your life.
♦ That’s right. The rest of your life. We crows pass information down through the generations. If we don’t like you, we’ll teach our children not to like you, too. So you’d better be nice to me, or you’ll regret it!
Which is why I like Kate Davidson, the yoga teacher/sleuth in Karma’s A Killer. She’s nice to me. Kate feeds me goat-shaped dog cookies. In exchange, I steal shiny objects from her. That might not seem like a fair trade, but I was raised as a fledgling before I was released back to the wild, and the best way I know to honor nice people is to take a shiny souvenir to remember them.
I love being back at Green Lake Park in Seattle. I had to be away for awhile because an obnoxious off-leash dog caught me and broke my wing. I have a scar near my neck to prove it. All of you dog owners reading, please keep your puppies on leash! Judith, my friend and a skilled wildlife rehabilitator, nursed me back to health and returned me to my corvid family.
I sure wish I could speak English. Not only was I here at Green Lake the day Kate overheard a fight between two women, but I saw one of those women get murdered later that night! I’ve been trying to tell Kate what I saw, but she doesn’t understand me. Bella, her crazy German shepherd, ignores me. Probably because I eat all of her cookies.
If I leave Kate a clue, do you think she’ll figure it out?
Hey! Is that a peanut in your hand? I love peanuts. If I hop on your shoulder and nibble your ear, will you give it to me? If not, you’d better watch out. I have a lot of crow friends. Like I told you before, we crows have very long memories. . .
Karma’s A Killer is the third book in the “Downward Dog” mystery series, published by Midnight Ink, January 2016.
About Karma’s A Killer
Yoga instructor Kate Davidson is about to discover that when it comes to murder, there’s no place like om. When she agrees to teach doga—yoga for dogs—at a fundraiser for Dogma, a local animal rescue, Kate believes the only real damage will be to her reputation. But when an animal rights protest at the event leads to a suspicious fire and a drowning, a few downward-facing dogs will be the least of Kate’s problems. . .
The police arrest Dharma, a woman claiming to be Kate’s estranged mother, and charge her with murder. To prove Dharma’s innocence, Kate, her boyfriend Michael, and her German shepherd sidekick Bella dive deeply into the worlds of animal activism, organizational politics, and the dangerous obsessions that drive them.
And if solving a murder weren’t complicated enough, Kate will also have to decide whether or not to reconcile with the estranged mother who abandoned her over thirty years ago. Not to mention having to contend with an almost-bankrupt animal rescue, a cantankerous crow, an unwanted pigeon houseguest, and a rabbit in a doga class. What could possibly go wrong?
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All comments are welcomed.
About the author
Tracy Weber is the author of the award-winning Downward Dog Mysteries series. The first book in the 
series, Murder Strikes a Pose, won the Maxwell Award for Fiction and was nominated for the Agatha award for Best First Novel. Tracy and her husband Marc live in Seattle with their challenging yet amazing German shepherd, Tasha. When she’s not writing, Tracy spends her time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house.
Karma’s A Killer is her third novel. For more information on Tracy and the Downward Dog Mysteries, visit her author website: TracyWeberAuthor.com
Giveaway: Leave comment below for your chance to win a Downward Dog mysteries coffee mug. US entries only, please. The giveaway will end January 15 at 12 AM EST. Good luck everyone!
Thanks so much for having Blackie here today at Dru’s Book Musings! If you have any questions for him, Kate, Bella, or Tracy, fire away!
I enjoyed the crow a lot. Great sense of humor I talk to the crows every summer and I will have to remember their long memories.. The rest of the story grabbed my attention. I don’t know how I would feel if I met a mother who abandoned me over thirty years before.
I love the cup!!!!!It is so cool.
Thank you for your giveaway and writing a story I am looking forward to reading. Melody
Thanks so much for reading the book, Melody! I had a hard time figuring out what Kate would do about her mom, too. And Blackie is based on some real-life crows my German shepherd, Tasha, and I have befriended.
I have been wanting to read your books for ages. There is something very appealing about a yoga teacher solving crimss and having a dog named Blackie. I had a dog named Blackie when I was growing up! Thank you for the chance to win the cute coffee mug that can remind me to add these mysteries to my shopping list!
Thanks carolee888! Good luck!
Love Blackie. Thanks for the helpful hints. Can’t wait to read this!
Thank you! He’s based on a crow that has befriended my dog. They are truly amazing creatures!
I love Blackie, and thank you for the information about crows. I am looking forward to reading the Downward Dog Mysteries series.
Thank you, Jen! Good luck! And I hope you love the series!
Oh what an awesome book this sounds like…..sure can’t wait to read it. I love, love, love all of the other books in this series! I just adore Blackie! The cover is so intriguing! Thanks so much for the chance to win dearest Dru! God bless!
Beverly–Thank you so much for reading the other books in the series. I’m delighted that you liked them! Blackie is a wonderful character, isn’t he?
Kate should teach that crow the difference between good and well..
He’s been living with a wildlife rehabilitator that doesn’t always use good grammar. 😉
How adorable. I never know what to expect from Kate’s world but I always look forward to it. Looking forward to Karma’s a Killer.
Thank you, Jeanie! Kate sure seems to get herself in trouble, doesn’t she? Hopefully you’ll enjoy her newest adventure!
Thanks for sharing your book with us. I’d love to read Karma’s a Killer while having a cup of coffee in that great looking mug! Thankyou for the opportunity!
You’re welcome. Good luck! I hope you do read Karma’s a Killer and love it!
Have not read this series but I love the crows little story so I’ll have to find these books to read.
I hope you enjoy the series! Crows are WONDERFUL creatures…..
I enjoy Blackie greatly and would love to read this delightful book. Thanks for this great feature and wonderful giveaway.
Blackie is quite the character. I’m so glad you enjoyed getting to know him! Good luck!
Interesting post from the crow POV :-). Thanks for the giveaway. Sounds like a fun series.
Thanks, Sally! I had fun channeling Blackie…. The series is lighthearted and, I believe, fun. But it does have serious themes. I hope you try and love it!
Sounds fun.
Thanks, Mary Jane! I hope you give it a try!
love the crow’s point of view…lol…sounds like a fun read!
Thanks, Johnna! I hope you give it a try!
I knew crows were highly intelligent but I didn’t realize that they had such long memories. This was fun reading from the crow’s point of view, thanks!
Thanks for reading it, Debbie! The astounding thing to me is that they pass information down through the generations.
I can’t wait to read this series. I really enjoy series with animals in the story line. Books and animals, what could be better?
I hope you love it! This installment features, dogs, a cat (minor character), goats, a crow, and a pigeon! Oh and an owl!
Can’t wait to start this series!
Love yoga. Course I only do it in water for balance. My knees won’t let me get up and down for mat work.
I hope I win!
Good luck, Amy! If you read the book, let me know what you think. Yoga is awesome. I own a yoga studio myself!
Love this idea of having the crow communicate the clues! I just know Kate & Bella will ‘get’ it. Congrats on the new release. Hoping to check out that mug a bit closer. Thanks Tracy & Dru for bringing us Blackie.
Thank you, KTBee! Good luck!
I love this series. Am anxious to read this one.
I’m delighted you like my series! I hope you like this newest one as much as the first two!
Love these books.
Comments like this make me SOOOOOO happy. Thank you!
Tracy’s books are always the type that keep you fixed on them, turning page after page and loosing track of time. Thanks for the giveaway. robeader53@yahoo.com
You just totally made me blush. 😉 I have a lot of fun writing them.
I am so excited to read this book! I love the fact there is a crow in it! I am very much enjoying the second book A Killer Retreat!
I love the books! Can’t wait to read the third one. The covers are adorable!
Thank you! My husband hired the artist to make the banner for my website, and Midnight Ink decided to use her for the series. I’m delighted with the covers, but this one is my favorite!
I have enjoyed Tracy’s two previous books in this series and have been looking forward to reading of Kate & Bella’s latest adventures! The book arrived a couple of days ago and this weekend looks like the perfect time to dive in. Warning, once you start reading, these books are hard to put down! And the characters and situations might haunt your dreams….
Thank you so much for this wonderful giveaway. I love Tracy Weber’s books and I love Bella! 🙂
Thank you, Robyn! I’m delighted you like the series. Bella is the best part!
You are a new author to me but I’m always on the look out for new authors and new books. So jazzed to be here. Can’t wait to read these great books. Thanks for the fun.
Thanks, Tricia! If you read the series, I hope you love it!
Thanks for offering the contest. I have your first book in the series to pickup from the library tomorrow. Can’t wait to start it. I enjoyed reading the daily peeks of your latest book on my Facebook page. Wasn’t this the book you had a contest to guess what was on the cover? I would love to win this coffee cup.
Thanks, Dawn! Crossing my fingers that you love the book!
Looking forward to the read!
Thanks, Prentiss! Let me know what you think after you read it!
What a fun post by the crow! Looking forward to the new release!
Blackie is SUCH a fun character. I’ve had a blast writing about him. He’s based on a real-life crow that my dog has befriended.
Thanks for the great article. I just found out about this series recently, and it is on my TBR list. Thanks, again!
Thanks Amy! I hope you give it a try and thoroughly enjoy it!
Actually i have not read one of your books but am a fan as love the cozy mysteries i plan to read them it’s just that i haven’t yet. Last night on WOF my husband and i were talking about you as one of the puzzles started out Yoga —- . When we saw that both of us looked at each other and he said isn’t that the author you have been talking about i laughed as i was just going to say yoga that reminds me of the author and we were in a restaurant and in front of the tv. I love seeing your posts on facebook and so looking forward to reading a book of yours once i get down to it.
Thank you, Peggy! Glad to know you enjoy my Facebook posts. I love Facebook!
I enjoyed your talking with Blackie. I love crows. I had a pet crow when I was a child. Now we feed crows during the winter months when food is scarce—I gave them the scraps from our prime rib roast at Christmas and was surprised that they were strong enough to carry off the bones. They are so smart that I enjoy watching them.
Thanks for the contest—I’d love to win.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Sue–they are amazing animals, aren’t they! It must have been really cool to have a pet crow. I’m jealous!
Thank you Blackie, crows are amazing. So is this series
Thanks for the chance to win this AWESOME mug! I’m also looking forward to reading your book! 💙
Thank you for the chance to win one of your mugs – it looks so fun and fresh! This also looks like a great book, even as the crow eyes the situation!
Cute mug. I’d love to get one. The post is most interesting. Book in on my TBR. Thanks for this chance
Thanks Tracy for commenting and interacting with my readers.
Contest is closed.