BARKING UP THE WRONG BAKERY by Stella St. Claire

Title:  BARKING UP THE WRONG BAKERY

Series:  Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries #1

Author:  Stella St. Claire

Narrator:  Machelle Williams

Length:  5 hours, 6 minutes

Audible Release Date:  01.04.2018

Publisher:  Relay Publishing

Publish Date:   05.16.2017

Category /Genre:  Cozy Mystery

Recommended for:  18+ due to sexual content

Listenability:  OK  or  NSFW

Received from:  Stella St. Claire (as an Audible gifted copy)

Goodreads link: Barking Up the Wrong Bakery

Date completed: 11.16.2018

Description from the publisher:

Some people would kill for coffee…

Olivia Rickard would kill to keep everything just the way it is. She’s got a gorgeous boyfriend who loves her, a supportive sister to lean on, and a dog walking business that’s briskly barking away. But just as she’s getting comfortable her sister suddenly wants to buy an entire brownstone with her and her boyfriend looks like he’s going to pop the question at every opportunity. Changing the status quo has always been disastrous for Olivia and now everything is changing at once…

What Olivia needs is a distraction and she’s found one in stumbling upon Yvette Dunn dead in her coffee food truck – drowned in a vat of fresh coffee. Olivia starts out as an unlucky bystander to the crime, but she’s forced to dig in deeper when it looks like her sister’s bakery could be involved in Yvette’s death.

Olivia is running out of time in regards to the mystery, the mortgage, and the marriage. She’s going to have to solve all three problems – and quick – or face a future most foul.

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BARKING UP THE WRONG BAKERY is the first book in the Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries series.  It is unclear as yet if they will need to be read in order, but usually the first book needs to be read first because it establishes the characters and setting.

I was hooked from the beginning.  Being in the mind of the murderer (told from their point of view), I wondered if there would be more chapters from that mind.  It was a wonderful and unique way to introduce me to the crime scene and the motive.

After that there is the cozy mystery side of this with Olivia finding Yvette and trying to emulate her favorite book hero while avoiding change in her own messy life. 

I loved the humor, the romance, the family ties, the community and the dogs.

The characters are great, the story and the subplots are well woven, and there are loveable dogs – a trifecta win in my mind!

This is the first book I have read (listened to) from Ms. St. Claire.  I would love to hear more of this delightful series.

P.S.  The titles are marvelous!

Narration:  The narrator, Machelle Williams, provides a nice voice to the characters.  Her performance is beautiful.  I enjoyed listening to her as I drove to and from work and that is all I ask – don’t make that stress higher than it already is.  I would love to hear her perform in more audiobooks.

Note:  While I received this book as a gifted audiobook copy via Audiobookworm Promotions, my opinions are my own and are given freely.

Happy Tail Dog Walking Mysteries:

1.      Barking Up the Wrong Bakery

2.      Till Death Do Us Bark

3.      One Bark and Stormy Prom Night

4.      All Bark and No White Night

5.      Kept in the Bark

6.      Without Missing a Bark

Also from Stella St. Claire:

Paws Fur Play Mysteries:

1.      Home is Where the Bark Is

2.      Bark Up and Smell the Coffee

3.      The Bark of the Town

BUY LINKS

AMAZON-US

AMAZON-UK

AUDIBLE