Retirement isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, believe me. If I’d known ahead of time that the decision to step down as a high school teacher would include a murder, I might have reconsidered it.

To be clear, I didn’t kill anyone. The body was discovered in the kitchen belonging to my lifelong best friend, the much married (and divorced) Nora Goldstein. According to the many mysteries I’d read, the nearest or dearest were always the top suspects. In this case it was Nora, and clearing her name became priority numero uno to me.

Before the body made its appearance in her kitchen, Nora, bless her meddling heart, decided that I needed a hobby. I didn’t want a hobby: I wanted to sleep as long as I desired, drink coffee in bed, and read for pleasure. So, between searching for a killer and adjusting to life without five classes a day, I now was partnered in a business called “2 Sisters Pet Valet Services.” For someone with massive animal allergies, this wasn’t ideal.

The pet business became the center of my world, especially when a certain rescue dog entered my life. I called him Hercule Poirot because of his dapper coloring: white breast and feet as well as a shiny black coat. Having Herc by my side helped me navigate the vagaries of retirement and sleuthing.

It was my vast collection of books by Dame Agatha Christie, though, that helped me crack the case that was (at least in my mind) baffling the local police department and giving my best pal undeserved ulcers. The answer was as obvious as the snout on Herc’s face, if one knew where to find the clues. Thanks to a few new sidekicks and hints from Miss Marple’s own cases, I was able to rescue Nora from a bad situation, rattle the killer, and live to enjoy another day in retirement. Now if I could just find time to do some reading. . .

Doggone Dead is the first book in the NEW “2 Sisters Pet Valet” cozy mystery series, released August 25, 2020.

Retired high school teacher Gwen Franklin has a new pet valet business with her BFF, and a whole new leash on life. But a killer is about to come sniffing around . . .

Gwen Franklin is looking forward to spending her retirement drinking her favorite coffee and reading mystery novels. Those peaceful plans are brought to heel by her best friend, Nora. Sporting stiletto heels, leggings, and a “more is better” makeup routine, fifty-something Nora Goldstein has a penchant for marrying—and divorcing—rich men. Now that Gwen’s got free time, Nora figures they should start a dog-walking and pet-sitting service together.

But it’s far from a walk in the park when the corpse of Linda Fletcher is found in Nora’s kitchen. Linda was Nora’s nemesis, and the large knife protruding from her chest points to murder. With no doubt that her bestie’s being framed, Gwen puts her sleuthing skills—acquired from reading every Agatha Christie mystery—to the test as she digs through suspects, including four disgruntled ex-husbands, ten greedy ex-stepchildren, not to mention all her exes’ exes. But with death threats and another body surfacing, can Gwen curb a killer before her own (dog) days come to an end?

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About the author
Dane McCaslin, USA Today bestselling author of the new Proverbial Crime mystery series, resides in the state of Arizona with her very patient husband. She has been writing all of her life: poetry, short stories, journals, letters (yes, those old-fashioned epistles that require pen and paper), and now she brings her talents to the cozy mystery genre.

In addition to being an author, Dane McCaslin is an educator. She currently teaches advanced language arts classes for grade 11; additionally, she teaches beginning writing classes at the local university. Being an educator is an important part of her life, and passing on her passion for reading and writing is one of her great joys.

All comments are welcomed.