Bride and Groom
A Dog Lover's Mystery

By Susan Conant

     In Susan Conant's latest installment Bride and Groom, Holly Winter continues to write her column in Dog's Life magazine, is promoting her dog-treat cookbook and is planning to marry Steve Delaney, veterinarian. Needless to say, Rowdy and Kimi are in "tail wagging" agreement with the nuptials. However, Holly lacks the typical bride-like excitement about the wedding planning, and women, who are fellow dog lovers, are being bludgeoned to death. The victims are an anesthesiologist, a dog tarot reader, a dog healing-touch practitioner, a plagiarizing dog journalist, and a married veterinarian. What is most disconcerting is how well Holly fits the profile of the murdered women and she rapidly gets involved in figuring out whodunit rather than planning her wedding. Holly finally gets into the planning when she draws a mental tie between the wedding and her love of dogs and declares to her friends and family that she plans to have "the Westminster of weddings." Unfortunately Holly's flash of brilliance comes a bit late but her friends and family come to the rescue because they are determined to make sure that Holly and Steve's special day is memorable.

     Susan Conant does a magnificent job of providing all the information a reader needs to enjoy this book without having read the others in the series. The plot is crisp and entertaining; the characters, including the four-legged ones, are charming. With this installment, the 16th book in the series, Susan Conant continues with a romantic mystery that can only be considered "best in show" and one that I most highly recommend.