cover image The Portrait of Doreene Gray: 
A Chihuahua Mystery

The Portrait of Doreene Gray: A Chihuahua Mystery

Esri Allbritten. Minotaur, $24.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-312-56916-7

The three quirky main characters add an appealingly hip edge to the cozy core of Allbritten’s sequel to 2011’s Chihuahua of the Baskervilles, though readers should be prepared for a less engaging plot this round. Angus MacGregor, Michael Abernathy, and Suki Oota of Tripping magazine, which covers travel destinations with paranormal appeal, make a trip from the magazine’s Boulder, Colo., headquarters to Port Townsend, Wash., where artist Maureene Pinter has painted a portrait of her twin sister, Doreene Gray. Like Wilde’s original, Doreene’s portrait ages while she does not. When Doreene is found dead in a locked room, the police assume it’s a suicide or accident. But the portrait now looks young again, so the journalists keep investigating. Among the suspects are Doreene’s resentful sister and slick art auctioneer Maxwell Thorne. Dog lovers may be disappointed by the minor role canines play despite the subtitle. Agent: Jennifer Unter, the Unter Agency. (July)