Title: Tailing Trouble ( A Furry Friends Mystery #2)
Author: Laura Scott
Published on: 11 January 2022
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Veterinarian Ally Winter has found a new leash since she moved to her hometown of Willow Bluff, Wisconsin. Though a slow start to her very own Vet business, Ally is adjusting well to her new life. Her gramps lives in an assisted-living-of-sorts and comes over to her clinic either to attend clients’ calls or solve murders.
Wait, what? Solve Murders??
A vet/amateur sleuth, Ally Winters has her hands full – not with tending to injured animals as the locals still miss their old vet (who sold his business to Ally). Ally takes Domino, the black poodle she’s been boarding for the weekend, for a stroll when the dog dashes off into the Willow, only to return with a polka-dotted-high-heeled shoe. Ally has seen this shoe before – on a person – particularly on a person named Pricilla Green who was cleaning the WBW house a while ago. Oh my paws! Looks like Ally’s found a dead body… again!
Tailing Trouble is the second book in Laura Scott’s A Furry Friends Mystery series. The first book of this series Dogged by Death – made it to my Best Books of 2021 list. If you are a pet lover, you might want to give this series a try. 2 books in the series so far and both are totally worth a read or two.
Ally moved to Willow Bluff after her fiancé and work-partner withdrew all their ‘joint’ savings and moved to a different country with their clinic’s receptionist. Oh-oh! As a cherry on top, Ally had to pay the debts and with whatever money was left, she bought the Vet clinic in Willow Bluff. In the first book, we saw Ally struggling to get paid customers. They missed their old vet and did not trust Ally to look after their furkids. But with time, things change… um, not a lot though.
Ally’s grandfather, Oscar – fondly known as Gramps – is a true crime buff. His curiosity leads Ally come face-to-face with a killer (in Dogged to Death). The local detective, a handsome hunk named Noah warns the grandfather-granddaughter ‘sleuthing’ duo to stay away from ‘solving crimes.’ But Gramps does not take NO for an answer. In fact, he tells Ally “That detective of yours cannot solve this case without our help.”
Yep, that’s another thing. Everybody in Willow Bluff believes Noah is Ally’s “that detective of yours.” They have been on just one date (three months ago) and this certainly does not make Noah Ally’s “that detective of yours.” Also, Gramps is a little hard of hearing but refuses to accept it. So, whenever he calls Ally or the other way round, HE YELLS INTO THE PHONE.
Pricilla Green is a twenty-year-old local and not in good terms with her mum Hilda – who is the city’s executive and Mayor’s right-hand. Pricilla works as a cleaner at WBW’s house – The Willow Bluff’s Widows house; the same house where Gramps resides. Speaking of WBW, the other residents of the house are Tillie, Harriet and Lydia. All three women have their eyes on Gramps and do their best to impress him. Ally gets drawn into the mess – the women think being in good terms with Ally gets them bonus points. *wink wink* However, Gramps is still loyal to his late wife and cannot see someone else taking her place as his wife. Oh-oh!
When Ally goes to pick her Gramps, she meets Pricilla; dressed in a tank top, shorts and a 3-inch-heel shoes, Ally wonders how Pricilla manages to clean the house. Meanwhile, a string of robberies has gripped the city of Willow Bluff. When Pricilla is found murdered, Gramps wonders if the robberies and the murder are connected. As a true crime buff and wannabe investigator, Gramps decides to solve the case – with the help of Ally, of course. Ally cannot say NO to her Gramps. But in the process of helping her Gramps, she’s in Noah’s bad books. Um, classic case of utter confusion, I say!
The newest furry entry to the series is Domino – the poodle Ally’s boarding for the weekend. He’s uncontrollable. In the previous book, Ally’s dog Roxy tracked the killer so Ally wonders if Domino can do the same this time. In the second half of the story, Ally is threatened. There are ‘incidents’ which makes it pretty obvious that the killer doesn’t want Ally or Gramps to solve the case. Uh-oh!
I absolutely enjoyed reading Tailing Trouble by Laura Scott. I am a pet lover (more of a cat person but who’s counting!) so this book made my read extra special. Laura’s storytelling is simply fantastic. A dash of quirky humor is a cherry on top. Each character has their share of the spotlight making the story interesting and unique. The mystery behind the murder(s) and robberies kept me guessing till the end. I couldn’t identify the perp until the end and their final ‘act’ was no short of a nail-biting scenario.
Tailing Trouble by Laura Scott is a unique, quirky and absolutely fantastic cozy mystery. Highly recommended!
I received an ARC from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
The Book Decoder 
Sounds very cute. I have a mystery story with a veterinarian as detective on my TBR, but wasn’t aware of this series. Must check it out
What is the book called? I hadn’t come across any until I read this one.
Fifty Four Pigs by Philipp Schott. From Netgalley. The author is a veterinarian and I had read his nonfiction memoirs last year, interesting incidents from his practice and such. I had never come across a vet as detective either, that’s why was interested to see your review.