Lauren has been called to a puppy mill rescue operation where she sees Efram Kiley, a man who has been working at HotRescues, learning how to care for animals, but who also appears to have been working at a puppy mill.  Lauren is certain that Efram is responsible for the four beagle puppies who have just been pulled from a storm drain, and when he arrives at HotRescues the next day she orders him to leave and to never return. 

Later, she finds him dead outside the shelter and becomes the police’s number one suspect as people have witnessed several confrontations between the two in recent days.  Even though Lauren did not like Efram one bit, her humane side tells her that no one deserves what happened to him. She also doesn’t want to end up in jail for a crime she did not commit and so she begins to sniff around for the trail of the real killer, brining her closer to home than she is comfortable with.  But when you have hottie Captain Matt Kingston from the area SmART animal rescue team on your side, what can go wrong?  

Lauren is an engaging new heroine whose caring toward humans and animals will warm readers’ hearts.  She not only rescues animals, but chooses which animals HotRescues can serve best, and which they will be able to find good homes for. When she is approached by a woman who is looking for the shelter to take the pet she can no longer care for, Lauren approaches Dante to see if there isn’t something they can work about so the woman can keep her dog, and maybe even her home. 

There are enough suspects in Efram’s death to keep Lauren on her toes and readers guessing.  Johnston does a good job describing the puppy mill in a way that conveys the deplorable conditions but does not over-dramatize or become too gruesome and upsetting for an otherwise cozy mystery.  A tough topic is handled well and tastefully and a new detective is introduced in this new series and sure to quickly win a large following.                                       

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry