Delilah Doolittle and the Motley Mutts

I stumbled across one of the books in this series at a book sale and was immediately hooked! I promptly ordered everyone I could find and enjoyed everyone of them. The heroine is a down to earth, funny, not 24 year old beauty, but an older, common person. It has been a joy to read this series.

I was delighted to find a new detective series with elements such as a British main character (like me), one who lives in Southern California (like me), and one who loves animals (again like me). The story was fast-paced and the characters fairly believable. I did feel the inclusion of a Cockney and a Yorkshire woman in one story a bit much, though the dialog was done well. The story followed straight logic and I felt the murderer was a little too easy to guess; however, the reasons given at the denouement were interesting. I don't want to give away details because the book's detailing was very good; however, the mystery which revolved around two murders and a long ago disappearance was neatly dovetailed. Although I guessed the murderer easily enough, I did not twig to one of the most important details until the book's end. Personally, I would have murdered Mabel myself, and thought the Cockney a bit hackneyed; however, the one big error was the English detective's mentioning that a town the size of Taunton was in Devon instead of Somerset. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the dogs and I did enjoy the read, but it was over too fast.

After reading Guiver's first book, I was hooked. And not disappointed by her second. The antics of Delilah Doolittle and her animal friends are priceless. Love the British dialogue, and the relationships between Delilah and her odd assortment of acquaintances. My only complaints? Guiver's books are too short and don't come out often enough! They'd make a good TV series, in the manner of Murder She Wrote.

British born Delilah Doolittle, long time resident of Surf City, California, is having a slow work period. The pet detective has had only one case on her docket, find a missing dog. When her own canine, a Doberman named Watson becomes lost, Delilah ends up in the WW II bunker located in the nearby wetlands. Sharing the bunker with Delilah is a trapped wild cat. Delilah frees the animal and takes the feline to the vet before visiting Bill Watson, the wetlands biologist to learn if he knows anything about the illegal trap. To her horror, she finds Bill dead in his house and his wife is missing. The police believe his spouse is the most likely suspect. Delilah, who was a close friend to Bill and his spouse, believes that the biologist's murder has to with development of the wetlands. The death of an animal activist follows. This convinces Delilah that the wetlands serve as the common link behind the murders. Though it may lead her into danger, Delilah plans to prove that Bill's wife did not commit murder. Patricia Guiver gives an interesting perspective on an English woman living in the states. However, the canines steal the show with their precious personalities and antics. DELILAH DOOLITTLE AND THE MOTLEY MUTT is a quaint cozy that evolves around a first rate mystery. The blossoming interest on the part of the heroine for the senior detective on the investigation adds plenty of fun. However, the heat of this novel lies in the various reactions of factions, including government, towards coastal development. Harriet Klausner