Dog Dish of Doom: An Agent to the Paws Mystery

At the start of this nifty series launch from Copperman (Edited Out), animal talent agent Kay Powell is at an audition. Her client, fluffy, keen Bruno, looks likely to be cast as Sandy in famed director Les McMaster’s Broadway production of Annie. But the dog’s owners, Trent and Louise Barclay, so act up at the audition that McMaster bars them from the Palace Theater. That night, Trent is stabbed and dies face down in Bruno’s bowl. Kay lives in fictional, idyllic Scarborough, N.J., though that doesn’t stop the NYPD’s Det. Alana Rodriguez from knocking on the door and grilling her. Worse, Kay’s lovable, annoying actor parents, El and Jay, push her to play sleuth with them as sidekicks. Readers will root for Kay to be more than pals with Sam Gibson, proprietor of Cool Beans coffee house—and, of course, to keep Bruno as more than a client. Resilient, warm, funny supporting players more than make up for the stock villains. [em]Agent: Josh Getzler, Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency. (Aug.) [/em]