Hello, I’m Carrie Kennersly. In case you haven’t heard of me, I’m featured in a mystery series, the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries. The first one was Bite The Biscuit, and a new one is about to be published: To Catch A Treat. It’s available now.

So why am I featured in mysteries? It wasn’t that I set out to solve murders. Not at all. I’m a veterinary technician who always wanted to be her own boss, so I now also own a human bakery, Icing on the Cake–and, even more important to me, a dog bakery, Barkery and Biscuits right next door.

That’s because my good friend Brenda Anesco had to sell her bakery, Icing on the Cake, and move away from Knobcone Heights, California, because her mother is ill. I bought it from her and converted half of Icing into the Barkery. And the dog treats I sell there? They’re all very healthy recipes that I developed myself for my patients as a vet tech.

My own adorable dog Biscuit gets to hang out at the Barkery while I’m in the shops, which is always wonderful. Everything is great–except for those murders. Why are there murders in the small, elite town of Knobcone Heights, California, where we live? Who knows?

I had to solve the first one, though, since I was the main suspect. The person who was killed had argued with me about my opening my two shops, and then she was found dead. I can understand why the police thought I could have done it–but of course I didn’t. That story is memorialized in Bite The Biscuit.

And more recently, Janelle Blaystone, a photographer, came to Knobcone Heights to get away from her sorrow when her dog Go disappeared in L.A.–and after Janelle arrived Go showed up here! Of course there was a reason for it, and the person who might have stolen Go was also in Knobcone Heights. Since my brother Neal began a romantic interest in Janelle, of course I had to help her –especially because she’s also a dog lover. That story is described in To Catch A Treat.

I’ve started wondering whether there might be even more murders in Knobcone Heights. If so, will I try to solve them? I’d rather not. . . but of course it’ll depend on who’s killed and who’s suspected.

And by the way, I seem to be developing a romantic relationship with Dr. Reed Storme, one of the veterinarians at the Knobcone Veterinary Clinic where I still enjoy working part-time. I’m not sure how much of a relationship we’ll have, but I’m willing to find out. I think.

So how do my days go? Well, I first get up very early–like around 4 AM. I walk Biscuit, then head to my shops to start the baking process. Some of my assistants soon join me, and we open the shops around 7 AM. On days when I have a shift at the vet clinic, I generally head there in the afternoon, taking Biscuit with me to hang out at its doggy day care facility till I’m through. While there, I help to save animals’ lives (yes, I love that), assist the vets and do whatever is necessary there before heading back to my shops. We close at 6 PM, and I often meet friends–including Reed–for dinner, sometimes at the Knobcone Heights Resort where Neal works.

Things vary, of course. And, yes, I never quite get enough sleep. But I like what I do. A lot.

Even, when necessary, solving murders.

I hope you enjoy reading the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries! And, oh, yes, there are recipes in them for both dog and people treats.

To Catch A Treat is the second book in the Barkery & Biscuits mystery series, published by Midnight Ink, May 2016.

When a Dog-Snatching Scheme Leads to Murder, Carrie Must Sniff Out the Truth

Carrie Kennersly, veterinary technician and owner of the Barkery and Biscuits bake shop, agrees to a day of hiking with her brother Neal―mostly because she wants to meet and critique his latest romantic interest, Janelle Blaystone. But instead of judging her, Carrie feels only sympathy for Janelle, whose beloved black Labrador, Go, was recently dognapped.

Janelle thinks the culprit is Ada Arnist, a wealthy homeowner spotted at the dog park where Go was stolen. Soon after Janelle confronts Ada, though, the woman is found dead. With Janelle and Neal on the suspect list, Carrie must solve the mystery before the police bark up the wrong tree.

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About the author
Linda O. Johnston writes the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries for Midnight Ink, as well as the Superstition Mysteries. She has also written the Pet Rescue Mysteries and the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mystery series, for Berkley Prime Crime. In addition, she writes the Alpha Force miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne, about a covert military unit of shapeshifters, as well as novels for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Visit her at www.LindaOJohnston.com

All comments are welcomed.