Whiskey with a Twist: A Whiskey Mattimoe Mystery »

Nina Wright is an award-winning playwright and novelist. She is the author of the Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series (Midnight Ink), Homefree (Flux), and other fiction for adults and younger readers. When not at her keyboard, Nina leads workshops in writing and the creative process.

Whiskey Mattimoe's Afghan hound Abra has many talents: stealing purses, consorting with criminals, and farting, to name a few. Now, Abra's been chosen to participate in the prestigious Midwest Afghan Hound Specialty in Amish country . . . as a Worst-in-Show example of how not to train an Affie.

Suddenly, a prize-winning pooch disappears, an owner is murdered, and a handler turns up dead. The sleepy community's rustic charm is replaced by ruthless threats. Then Abra vanishes, too. Back at Whiskey's office, suspicious e-mails circulate. Could her colleagues be involved in the canine crimes? Something doesn't smell right—and this time it's not the dog.

Praise for the Whiskey Mattimoe Mystery series:
"Sprightly humor, delightful characters (including the animals), and a nicely mixed-up plot make this an entertaining debut."
—Library Review (starred review)

". . . a cozy series as satisfying as a fine single malt."
—Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

At the outset of Wright's frothy fifth cozy to feature Magnet Springs, Mich., realtor Whiskey Mattimoe (after 2008's Whiskey and Water), Whiskey agrees to enter her thieving "diva dog," Abra, in the Midwest's Afghan Hound Show as the "Education Dog" or "Bad Example." On the way to the show in Elkhart, Ind., breeder Susan Davies, who invited Whiskey and Abra, and Susan's co-breeder are shot at in their car. Soon after Whiskey arrives, breeder Mitchell Slater is shot dead. Meanwhile, Whiskey copes with bouts of the flu (or is it, gulp, morning sickness?) and frets about her affair with her singer ex-husband, Jeb Halloran. Dog show fans will find much to grin about, but sometimes the action gets too silly, and some readers may wonder why the neglectful celebrity parent of Whiskey's crime-solving eight-year-old sidekick, Chester, isn't reported to Child Protection Services. (Aug.)

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