Retro Reading: Till Death Do Us Bark by Judi McCoy
No Bride is Ever Ready for Murder
Although it took me a little longer to get through Till Death Do Us Bark the fifth installment to the Dog Walker's Mystery series, it was well worth the wait.
In this installment, Ellie Engleman is invited to the Hamptons for the wedding of her best friend Vivian's sister Arlene. Ellie's looking forward to a relaxing week of doing absolutely nothing, but at the first nights pre-wedding party, Arlene's fiancé is found dead. Word starts to get out that Ellie's solved a few prior murders and is asked to help put the pieces together. Previously she had promised her detective boyfriend, Sam, that she won't poke her nose into any more crimes. Since he's not around she enlists the help of Vivian and the two of them start looking for the killer.
The problem I had with this story was there were more supporting characters than usual. Author Judi McCoy tells the story from Ellie and her dog Rudy's point of view. Usually there are about five main characters so it's easier to follow. However, this time around there's Vivian's family, the local police and a few guests from the party.
Even though I finished the book in one sitting on a much deserved vacation (like Ellie) I had already figured out the murderer's identity but McCoy has a knack of leading you to question if the person you thought was the murderer actually committed the crime.
As usual McCoy told a great story and once the weather starts getting a little chillier you may want to pick this up just to put you in a warm vacation mood.
