A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

 A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron-327 pages

Bella is a loving stray dog found living in a den with cats under a condemned house by Lucas. He lives in an apartment across the street from the condemned house and feeds the cats frequently. Bella immediately takes to Lucas and he takes her in even though it's against his lease agreement. Lucas lives with his mom, who is an Army veteran who struggles with depression and seizures. Bella twice recognizes oncoming seizures from Mom and saves her. Bella and Lucas build a strong bond and Bella views him as her person. However, Lucas runs afoul of the mean man building new housing across the street by continuing to feed and advocate for the cats still living in the den under the house. This man, Gunter, recruits an Animal Control Officer (ACO) to certify Bella as a pit bull. Pit bulls are banned in Denver, where Lucas lives. Soon, Bella is captured by the ACO and separated from Lucas. They're reunited only to be separated again. Bella is determined to get home to Lucas. Will she be able to survive the nearly 400 mile trek back to Lucas? I would rate this one 3 out of 5 stars.

Prime Cut by Diane Mott Davidson

Prime Cut by Diane Mott Davidson, 320 pages
Book 8 in the Culinary Mystery series finds our favorite caterer fighting a competing new caterer in town.  He seems to have an unfair advantage over Goldy - endless supplies of money and no conscience!

Goldy teams up with her culinary teacher for a photo shoot for a holiday catalog, but is soon devastated by his untimely death.  Of course, she must try to solve his murder herself - and then must also defend herself against an unknown murderer AND her ex-husband.

Be sure to watch for the scrumptious recipes scattered through out the book!

Tough Cookie by Diane Mott Davidson

Tough Cookie by Diane Mott Davidson, 336 pages

Book 9 in the Culinary Mystery series features top caterer Goldy Bear hosting a PBS cooking show in the Denver area just before the Christmas holidays.  She views this as an opportunity to promote her new business as a personal chef - a change made necessary as her newly remodeled professional/home kitchen has been shut down by the health department.

Of course it's not long before Goldy is knee deep in a murder mystery - and soon thereafter finds herself in danger.

Davidson's reads are nice, easy reads with some violence, but not a lot of gore or lurid sexual content.

The Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson

The Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson, 372 pages

Nice mystery story featuring Goldy, a caterer who can't seem to keep herself out of trouble. Goldy is surrounded by her teen son and police officer husband, and many socialite friends.

In this caper, one of Goldy's friends collapses while leaving a birthday thrown for both women's sons. Soon, there are other attacks and while the police are left scratching their heads, Goldy and her troop set out to solve the mystery.

Lots of characters with several intricate story lines, this book will keep you guessing.  Having the main character be a caterer means there are several mentions of food through out. Look for some of those recipes at the back of the book.