Murder, She Barked by Krista Davis

Murder, She Barked by Krista Davis
(Paws and Claws Mystery #1)
284 pages / 9 hrs, 38 mins

"Holly Miller's life has gone to the dogs. She has no job, her boyfriend's former flame is sniffing around, and a scruffy but loveable Jack Russell Terrier is scattering crumbs all over her borrowed car. Just when she thought things couldn't get worse, a troubling phone call about her grandmother sends her rushing home to the family inn on Wagtail Mountain.

"The staff--and a frisky Calico kitten named Twinkletoes--adopts Holly and her new dog on arrival. But someone in this friendly town is bad to the bone. One of the employees at the inn has been killed in a hit-and-run accident--which is looking anything but accidental. Now Holly and her furry companions will have to nose out the  murderer before someone else gets muzzled."  --from the publisher

This has all the makings of a great cozy mystery.  The only weakness, imho, is the ending.  The characters are likable, the peaceful, mountain setting is wonderful, and who wouldn't want to have an old-fashioned inn in the family!  I'll try the next in the series before giving up.

Kill Switch by James Rollins and Grant Blackwood

Kill Switch by James Rollins and Grant Blackwood -  384 pages
 

Wayne Tucker, a former Army Ranger, and his dog Kane are a unique team.  They are called upon to simply extract one scientist from Russia, but the extraction list grows to three people.  Racing to find an ancient biological threat before a powerful renegade Russian general finds it and makes it a weapon, the group runs through Russia to South Africa and Nambia on a mission to save the world from an ancient biological threat.  The relationship between Tucker and Kane and dog's level of training is interesting.  Kane is the right-hand man and integral to Tuckers success.