Adult Review - New Leash on Life - cozy mystery

Y’Barbo, Kathleen. New Leash on Life. Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour Publishing, 2023.
Gone to the Dogs Mysteries series

About the Book:

How Is a Missing Military Working Dog Related to Two Local Fires?

Snuggle with your trusty hound and settle into a small-town mystery in book 6 of the Gone to the Dogs series.

Air Force veteran Dr. Lane Bishop and Nora Hernandez’s romance has cooled. He is busy working as a researcher at the vet school, and she’s busy with her restaurant and opening an antique shop. What Lane hasn’t told her is his PTSD, which manifests mostly with nightmares, makes him believe he’s damaged goods. But that is about to change when he meets a stray pup that acts a lot like a military working dog.

When a tornado hits Brenham, there is damage in the downtown area and a fire is ignited in Nora’s new store. A Belgian Malinois dog is seen at the fire and later Lane sees him at a wedding venue where an explosion occurs. Not long after, a second explosion rocks Brenham and sends Nora and Lane on a hunt for the person responsible. Will the pair find the guilty party before more damage is done to the city’s landmarks? And will Lane find the words to tell Nora how much he loves her before it’s too late?

Series: Gone to the Dogs: Book 6

Purchase New Leash on Life on Amazon

My Adult Review

As the Gone to the Dogs series continues, New Leash on Life focuses less on the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic and more on the relationship between Nora, former dog food sales rep, and Lane, veterinary researcher. If readers have followed this series, the main characters will be familiar to them. Many characters from the previous books are included in some way, whether it is a brief mention or actual involvement in the plot.

As usual in this series, there is a mystery or two to solve – one that involves finding the owner of a rescue dog that appears to be a military working dog – readers may be surprised by who the “owner” is. There is also the mystery of who started the fire in Nora’s new building – readers may be surprised again to find out who did start the fire. Y’Barbo drops hints along the way to both mysteries but they are subtle and weren’t quite enough for me to solve them before the resolution was shared in the story – and that’s okay with me.

Each of the books also contains a romance. In New Leash on Life we learn more about the somewhat rocky relationship between Nora and Lane. They, especially Lane, learn some important relationship advice about valuing those you love over your work “responsibilities.”

Even though New Leash on Life is an adult cozy mystery, it would make a great addition to a K-12 Christian school library. I think older middle school and high school students would enjoy this series, especially if they are dog lovers.

I received a complimentary copy of New Leash on Life. This is my honest review.