The Long Paw of the Law by Diane Kelly – a #BookReview

Title: The Long Paw of the Law (A Paw Enforcement Novel Book 7) by Diane Kelly

Genre: Thriller & Suspense, Cozy, Animals, Police Procedural

Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Publication Date: Happy Publication Day! October 30, 2018

ASIN: B079DW9LW3

Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title and Cover: The Long Paw of the Law – Love the series covers-Tells you exactly what it’s about!

Book Blurb:

One night, while on duty with her four-legged crime-fighting companion, Meg gets an urgent call from her boyfriend Seth, who works for the Fort Worth fire department. A baby girl has turned up at the station with only two clues to her identity: One is a peace-sign symbol stitched into her blanket. The other is a word, written in string: help.

Megan follows every loose thread and, along with Brigit, ends up on a twisted path that leads to the People of Peace compound, the site of a religious sect on the outskirts of the city. Its leader, Father Emmanuel, keeps his followers on a short leash—and his enemies even closer. Could this be the abandoned baby’s original home? And if so, why was she cast out? Now that Megan and Brigit are on the case, the secrets of this reclusive cult are bound to be dug up. . .

Diane Kelly is back with The Long Paw of the Law, the seventh installment in her drool-worthy Paw Enforcement series.

My Review:

Loved this book, the K-9 Brigit, and her savvy handler, Texas officer Megan Luz. Meg has a boyfriend, Seth, a bomb squad technician and firefighter for the Ft. Worth Fire Department (and army reservist). Seth also has a service dog, a yellow Lab named Blast, definitely a laid back, easy going beta to Brigit’s alpha. It is on Seth’s rotation that a baby is dropped off at the fire department, owing to the Texas Safe Haven Statute, referred to as the “Baby Moses Law.” As Meg is marveling at the newborn, however, she detects a hastily sewn in message in the baby’s blankee, turning an abandoned baby into a crime that has yet to be determined, but one that Meg is determined to solve.

This is a story told in multiple POVs, one of them being Brigit’s which usually has to do with food, and the things humans do that are so strange to a simple live-in-the-moment animal. Protagonist Megan fills another POV voice, while the antagonist fills the third. So discovering the “who” is not the problem–it’s the crime itself that must be ascertained and then properly finessed into conclusion. The author has done a very credible job of describing the cults inhabiting the southern area of the U.S. and particularly some well-known cults, whether now dispersed or not. In this, the storyteller issues a composite of several egregious members we might remember in Father Emmanuel, who has created the People of Peace compound. Cut off from society, largely living without electronics or information of current events, the people enclosed live simply and self-contained.

While we are being treated with multi-POV’s, the author throws in a subplot and weaves in the footwork necessary to solve neighborhood burglaries, which she does throughout the main story with careful police work and stubborn investigation.

Author Kelly has included support characters given personalities of their own and issuing many laugh out loud moments with Seth’s grandfather and Derek, the “Big Dick” Mackey. Meg’s mentor, Detective Audrey Jackson is supportive, and it’s obvious Meg is on a detective track. She’s well developed and even as this was my first book with this author and series, found her well-developed with an interesting history, life outside of the department, and keen intelligence. Oh, wait a minute, is that the person or the dog? Loved them both!

This novel grabbed my attention immediately, proceeded to bury me in succeeding pages impossible to put down. Really enjoyed the characters, the pace, the well-plotted storyline, and the brilliant way Meg and the members of her department supported her collar.

So if I loved the whole book so much, including the capture strategy, why not six stars?

***spoiler alert***

The baby’s mother and her beloved, both young, uneducated, managed to find a satisfactory, even happy resolution to where or how to live. Her parents and his mother? Their assimilation back to society in the fashion pictured stretched credulity. While it was a perfect solution all the way around, just didn’t seem it would have been possible.

I was given this ebook download by the publisher and NetGalley and was thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review. Difficult to part with, would absolutely love to follow any succeeding new novels in the series. Recommended for any who enjoy K-9 associated books, police procedurals, suspense, and sweet and easy pseudo cozy.

Rosepoint Publishing:  Four point Five of Five Stars 

The Author: A former tax advisor, Diane Kelly inadvertently worked with white-collar criminals. Lest she end up in an orange jumpsuit, Diane decided self-employment would be a good idea. Her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her “Death and Taxes” romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown’s Citizen Police Academy and “mom” to three spoiled dogs, Diane Kelly also writes the hilarious K-9 cop “Paw Enforcement” series.

Diane’s books have been awarded the prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award and a Reviewers Choice Award.

Try a sample of Diane’s work, along with works by other cozy mystery authors, by checking out “Cozy Case Files” for free on Amazon Kindle!

Be the first to receive book news by signing up for Diane’s newsletter at http://www.dianekelly.com/ “Like” Diane on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/dianekellybooks. Follow her on Instagram at dianekellybooks and on Twitter @dianekellybooks.

RELEASING OCTOBER 30TH – THE LONG PAW OF THE LAW! Look for book #7 in the Paw Enforcement series at your favorite bookstore and Walmart stores!

©2018 V Williams