The Dogwalkers’ Detective Agency by Michael Hogan was a delight, mostly because of all the adorable dogs! The Dogwalkers’ Detective Agency is a long cozy mystery full of quite short chapters which helps the book move at a nice pace. With different types of dogs and their busybody owners, this novel was a delight. If you’re looking for a debut full of mystery and murder, give this book a try!

After working in London for years as a graphic designer, Charlie Boardman moves back home to the sleepy coastal town of Framstone where his mother lives. She has been having some medical issues, so Charlie settles in Framstone and takes on some freelance graphic design work while also walking dogs. Charlie spends his mornings at the local coffee shop with several other dogwalkers, then his afternoons roaming the woods and beaches with his Staffordshire bull terrier named Ruby and sometimes other dogs.

One morning while walking through the woods with Ruby and other dogs, Charlie stumbles upon a corpse in the woods. The local community is shocked when the identity of the victim is discovered. Curious as to who could have committed such a horrible crime in sleepy Framstone, Charlie and the other dogwalkers search for clues to help the local police with their investigation. Soon anonymous threats are leveled against the amateur detectives, leading Charlie to abandon the case. When another body washes up on shore and other assaults occur, the others push on with their investigations hoping to stop another resident of Framstone becoming a victim.