A Deadly Bone to Pick by Peggy Rothschild

A Deadly Bone to Pick
by Peggy Rothschild

ISBN-13: 9780593437087
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley Books
Released: February 8th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Ex-police officer and former P.I. Molly Madison is starting over. After the death of her husband, she and her golden retriever, Harlow, move cross-country to California. But as charming and peaceful as the beachside town seems, she soon learns its tranquil tides hold dark secrets.

On her first day in the new house, a large, slobbering Saint Berdoodle wanders in. Molly winds up taking on the responsibility of training Noodle since his owner is too busy to do the job. On one of their daily beachside walks, Noodle digs up a severed hand. Once Molly alerts the police and they run a background check on her, she's an immediate suspect--after all, Noodle's testimony to clear her name won't hold much water in court.

To prove her innocence, Molly must rely on instincts keener than a canine's to sniff out the real killer. But when Molly's life is put in danger, will her two very loyal pups be able to rescue her?


My Review:
A Deadly Bone to Pick is a cozy mystery. It took a bit to get into the mystery, though. Molly's settling in and working with the dogs. One dog found a severed hand and later a unique wedding ring. Then a neighbor was found dead. The police were so much at a loss at finding suspects that a jerk cop basically accused Molly and expended resources trying to find some vague, meaningless connection. This pushed her into investigating the clues and connections herself, and she still had her P.I. resources to do research on people.

Throughout the story, we got dog training as Molly helped a smart, young girl (awesome character) with her puppy and an adult neighbor with a deaf puppy. The main characters were interesting and acted realistically. Some of the characters really charmed me, like the girl, the party boy neighbor, and of course the dogs. Absolutely loved the ending with Noodles showing off his new training in the best way possible! However, I had whodunit figured out long before Molly. Certain factors (like the fact this is a cozy mystery) limited the suspect pool, so I had an advantage. But it was a fun read anyway.

There was no sex. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this engaging, interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.