Dog Days of Summer by Kathleen Y’Barbo

Dog Days of Summer by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Series: Book 2 in the Gone to the Dogs mystery series
Publisher: Barbour Fiction on October 1, 2022

REVIEW BY VERA DAY

This is a cozy mystery set in small-town Texas and featuring Trina, a country music star. (Trina is based loosely on Miranda Lambert!) There are dogs, too, lots of cute, playful dogs. Dog Days of Summer is the second in the Gone to the Dogs mystery series, but I’ve been reading them out of order, so I can honestly say this book works well as a standalone.

Mari, Trina’s niece, is trying to establish a dog rescue center, but someone keeps sabotaging her efforts. This is the mystery (rather than a murder mystery), and it’s an intriguing one.

Trina, Mari, and Mama (Trina’s mother) are delightful characters and charmed me from the get-go. But Y’Barbo can write good villains, too, the kind that make you cheer when they’re caught!

There is a dash of romance in this tale. A local lawyer, Wyatt, catches Trina’s eye. His character is smart, sentimental, and handsome, and fills the role perfectly.

The faith element in this mystery centers around Trina, her prayer life, and her struggle to prioritize what is truly important. Struggling to prioritize is definitely something I can relate to! Trina has a particularly hard time figuring out how to live close to family in Texas and still tend to her singing career in Nashville. She discusses it with her mother:

“It’d be impossible to just up and move.”

Mama made a snorting sound. “You’re rooted to whatever you choose to be rooted to, Trina Potter, and I won’t hear you say that anything is impossible. You never have before. The impossible just takes longer.”

Kathleen Y’Barbo, Dog Days of Summer

As for any negatives, the text gets a little wordy at times, but I’m usually a fan of tighter prose anyway, so take that with a grain of salt.

Overall, I recommend this Christian cozy mystery to mystery lovers, dog lovers, and those who enjoy Southern humor. I award Dog Days of Summer four cozy-fun fish!

I purchased the Kindle version of Dog Days of Summer.