Using a borrowed taxicab as cover, Mac and his Irish Wolfhound pal "Whiskey" are staked out at Dan Thayer’s sister’s house. Suddenly, the rear door of the cab is jerked open and a woman jumps in, yelling for the cabbie to drive her to the college gymnasium. The woman is Rachel Brenner, Dan Thayer’s older sister. When they reach their destination they find another freshly killed victim and take off in pursuit of the fleeing murderer. Rachel has no idea who this crazy cabdriver is but she is powerless to do anything about his wild chase because she’s being pinned to the back seat by an enormous dog. The killer gets away and Mac and Rachel return to the crime scene to fill in the cops on what they know. It’s the slightly rocky beginning of a lovely friendship: Mac, Rachel, and Whiskey.

There are a lot of characters in this story, but they’re not too hard to keep track of. There’s Rachel’s son, a student at an out-of-town college who seems determined to prove his uncle Dan’s innocence at all cost. There are his two teenage pals from the old neighborhood. Mac has a few buddies, too, like the Police Detective in charge of the murder investigation and an old friend who is now the local undertaker and J.J., Mac’s slightly kooky secretary. And let’s not forget our four legged friend, Whiskey. (I’ve been an Irish Wolfhound fan since I discovered Prince Valiant in the Sunday funnies so many decades ago, so I’m somewhat partial.)

This cast of characters is constantly on the move and seem to bump into one another now and then. There is a lot of clever wisecracking and it keeps the murder mystery from getting too dark. It’s a mystery story in the true sense of the word and only the most astute mystery fans will have a chance of predicting the villain’s identity.

Murder Off the Books comes off the blocks like a sprinter and accelerates all the way to the finish.