The Dog Sitter Detective

If you know Antony Johnston’s name, it’s probably because he created the graphic novel that became Atomic Blonde. I know his work best from the excellent, forgotten science-fiction comic series The Fuse. But it turns out he also writes a wonderful cozy mystery novel! The Dog Sitter Detective was a fun read I really enjoyed.

The middle-aged Gwinny gave up her acting career ten years ago to take care of her father. Now he’s passed… and there’s no money left, just a London house in need of a lot of repairs. She’ll worry about that after her best friend Tina’s wedding, though.

Unfortunately, the groom-to-be is found dead at the wedding location, Tina’s country house. The local police blame Tina, so Gwinny sets out to find out who really did it, amongst a cast of family members and other aging former celebrities.

The groom’s sister refuses to fly in from Italy but sends along two Salukis as an unwanted gift. With Tina’s troubles, Gwinny — who has previous experience training dogs — takes charge of the two, and they become essential help in finding the killer, along with a retired former police detective and his Labrador.

I enjoyed the characters, the mystery, the setting, the clever observations, and especially the dogs. The sequel, The Dog Sitter Detective Takes the Lead, is out digitally now. The series website has book club discussion questions as well as news that there will be at least four books in the series!