The scent of murder

When Jazz Ramsey takes a cadaver dog to an abandoned building for training, she doesn't expect to find an actual body, let alone the body of someone she knows. Florie Allen was a student at St. Catherine's School, where Jazz works. To make things even more complicated, the lead detective on the case is Jazz's ex-boyfriend, Nick. Jazz doesn't want to get involved in the investigation, but the more she uncovers, the less she can help herself. She discovers that Florie had secrets secrets she died for. Logan (Button Holed, 2011) departs from quirky, cozy mysteries for this new series, and she is off to a thrilling start. The slightly naïve Jazz has a lot of growing to do, but she is smart and personable, at home in her native Cleveland. The city is itself a character, transforming from its usual stereotype of a flyover city to a setting of intrigue. Dog lovers will enjoy the relationship between Jazz and her pets, and they'll learn something about cadaver dogs as Jazz brings a killer to justice.--Cari Dubiel Copyright 2019 Booklist

Logan (the League of Literary Ladies series) makes a confident stride from cozies into a harder edge story with this solid series launch set in Cleveland. Jazz Ramsey, an administrative assistant at St. Catherine's, a prestigious Catholic high school, volunteers as a trainer and handler of Luther, a German shepherd employed by the Human Remains Detection service. During a training session, Jazz hides a tooth in an abandoned building, but Luther finds instead the body of Florie Allen, who graduated a couple of years before from St. Catherine's. The discovery brings Jazz back in touch with Det. Nick Kolesov, her ex-boyfriend, who's handling the case. To help her cope with the shock of Florie's death, Jazz tries to learn more about how she changed since high school. The appealing Jazz is guided by her love of dogs and her close relationship with her two firefighter brothers and her mother. Believable characters, crisp dialogue, and an insider's view of Cleveland's energetic arts and restaurant scenes enhance the mystery. Readers will hope to see a lot more of Jazz and Luther. Agent: Gail Fortune, Talbot Fortune. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

There's nothing like a murder to lift a dog trainer out of the doldrums.Jazz Ramsey has a home in a nice area of Cleveland, a good job at a girls' school, and a quirky hobby training cadaver dogs. But all is not well. She's recently lost her adored firefighter father and her golden retriever, Manny, and is no longer dating Detective Nick Kolesov. Jazz's life suddenly changes when Luther, the German shepherd she's training, alerts during an exercise in a building under renovation, leading Jazz to a body. In a case to which Nick is assigned, Jazz recognizes the strangled woman dressed in goth clothing as Florentine Allen. Florie was a talented art student at St. Catherine's who'd won a scholarship to the North Coast School of Photography and Design, where she was having problems so serious that she was in danger of flunking out. Jazz learns from her boss, the principal of St. Catherine's, that Florie had been harassed by some of her high school classmates, especially wealthy, entitled Grace Greenwald, another student at North Coast. Unable to let Florie's death go, Jazz starts an investigation of her own and finds that Florie had recently asked her parents, hoarders whose house is full to the attic with junk, for a large amount of money. Florie's part-time work for the Cleveland Horror Film Festival explains why she was wearing a goth outfit but not why she was paying a neighbor to take her unattractive baby out for photo sessions. Jazz's discovery that Florie was blackmailing people introduces a whole new group of suspects. Although her interactions with Nick, who seems to want to rekindle their relationship, awaken old memories and danger signs, any interest in her own relationship is sidelined by her disquieting discoveries about Florie's desperate search for money.The debut in a new series by the prolific Logan (Italian Iced, 2018, etc.) has shoals of red herrings and a nice touch of romance. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.