The White Shepherd: An Oxford Dogwalkers’ Mystery

Children’s and YA author Dalton (Nightmaze) makes her intriguing, though somewhat contrived, adult debut with the first in a canine mystery series set in Oxford, England. On a walk in the park, Anna Hopkins, an Oxford University administrator, and her white shepherd, Bonnie, come across the bloody corpse of an acquaintance, Naomi Evans, who agreed to help Anna trace Bonnie’s history before the dog was left in an animal shelter. Anna, who has avoided other people ever since returning home one night 16 years earlier to find her family slaughtered by a still-unidentified killer, soon opens up to the two fellow dog walkers who rush to the crime scene after hearing her screams: Tansy Lavelle, who works in a vegan café, and Isadora Salzman, who says she’s half-Russian and hence “genetically wired to babble.” The plot, which involves a hunt for a serial killer and includes a love interest for Anna, follows predictable lines, but dog lovers should be satisfied. [em](Oct.) [/em]