Bloodlines: a Dog Lover's Mystery

Dog writer Holly Winter trains, shows, and loves her own Alaskan malamutes and helps rescue others in need of protection. When she learns that a malamute is for sale at a pet shop, Holly visits Puppy Luv, where owner Diane Sweet is doing a brisk Valentine's Day business. Hours later, Diane is the victim of a gruesome murder. Meanwhile, Holly takes responsibility for a rescue malamute, the trusting and overwhelmingly lovable Missy. Before long, however, Missy is nowhere to be found, and her disappearance is Holly's fault. Holly's desperate efforts to trace and reclaim the lost Missy lead her from the happy world of purebred dogdom to a merciless underworld where dogs mean nothing more than easy money. Is there a connection between Diane's death and the disreputable characters who furnished Puppy Luv with its constant flow of purebred puppies? Did a rival pet shop operator kill the competition? Or did a respected breeder take revenge when her kennel name appeared on the pedigree of a malamute sold by Diane? And not just any malamute, either, but the missing Missy. In search of the dog she blames herself for losing, Holly confronts the grisly remains of yet another murder. She enters a purebred hell of avarice and evil, but emerges with a story of surprising hope and triumphant love.

About Susan Conant