#19 A Dog Among Diplomats by J.F. Englert

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

The follow-up to last year's A Dog About Town comes out of the gate running. And it's a winner! Like the first book in the series (review here), this one is written in the first person from Randolph's point of view. But I was now used to seeing through the eyes (and nose) of a dog by this time! :P

In this installment, Randolph and Harry are still pining after the missing Imogen, but now there's been evidence that she's still alive and in New York City. Though why she was last seen fleeing the scene of a murder, and is now nowhere to be found again, has the police, as well as Harry and Randolph, a bit baffled. Randolph has even been asked to play a part, by playing the role of "therapy dog" to a visiting diplomat who will be staying at the Bed & Breakfast from which Imogen recently fled. Now as a few more dead bodies turn up, Imogen's involvement in this string of murders is questioned, though she still can't be found and brought in for questioning herself. Is this just some elaborate hoax someone is trying to pull? Or is there a reason for Harry and Randolph to be worried?

This was another fun cozy and I look forward to reading more about Harry and Randolph in future books.

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#18 A Dog About Town by J.F. Englert

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Are you sick of all those mysteries series which feature that snotty feline breed? Are you a canine lover like me? Well if so, then make way for Randolph! He's a fully cognizant—if a little pudgy—Black Labrador dog with a taste for fine literature and a nose for crime. He and his owner, Harry, have found themselves in the middle of a string of murders. If Randolph is going to help Harry steer clear of trouble, he must find a way to communicate everything that his nose is telling him. The solution will crack you up!

I enjoyed this cute new cozy mystery series which prominently features a dog instead of the usual cat. Randolph is a thinking—though not necessarily talking—dog, and the story is written from his first person point of view. This took a few seconds to get used to, being inside the head of a dog, but once there and settled it, I found it quite comfy. :P This is the first book of the Bull Moose Dog Run Mystery Series, and I look forward to reading more about Randolph and Harry in future books.

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#17 X-Rated Blood Suckers by Mario Acevedo

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

This is the second book in the Felix Gomez series, but for some reason, I didn't find it quite as entertaining as the first. A lot of the ridiculousness of some of the situations, that I found so amusing in the first book, were missing from this second book.

In similar vein to book 1, Felix Gomez, still a private eye, has now been called to Los Angeles to investigate the death of porn star Roxy Bronze. Upon arriving in LA however, he finds that the person who visited his office only the day before to hire him, one Ms. Katz Meow, has joined the ranks of the missing herself. But Felix has been given a secondary, and perhaps even more important, assignment while in LA. The Araneum, the governing force of the Vampires, has asked him to look into suspected collusion between vampires and humans, since it's forbidden for the vampires to reveal their true identity to any human other than those who provide them blood, conveniently called chalices.

I definitely liked this book enough to want to read the 3rd in the series, The Undead Kama Sutra, which was just released this past March. I only hope that this series doesn't begin to take the "sequel spiral". I'd prefer to see it get better instead. ;)

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