July Powell is finishing up her booth at the Booth
Mansion.
There is to be a grand opening of the mansion. Several
different designers have small booths to display their
ideas.
Upon hearing a noise, she goes up stairs and finds a man
dying. To her shock it is her old high school
boyfriend Tom. Who would want to shoot him and why is he
back in town after disappearing for over fifteen years.
Ben is the town's sheriff, who also happens to be dating
July's sister, Mae. This puts Ben in the middle of an
investigation and Mae's family. Ben has to work from the
side lines as the higher ups feel he is way to close to
this
investigation.
Ben also discovers that one of Tom's friend's back in
college had committed suicide fifteen years ago. But was
it suicide, or a murder? Does this murder connect to this
potential
old crime?
TWO DOGS LIES SLEEPING is the second book in the Mae
December Mystery. I
have read both books and really enjoy Lia Farrell's cozy
mysteries. This is the kind of book, where from start to
finish it is hard to try and figure out who committed the
murder. Ms. Farrell brings back most of the characters
from the
first book. This is one item I really like about an
author.
Even if you haven't read the first book in this series,
some
give you the back ground on the characters so that you are
not confused as to who is who.
It’s early August in Rosedale, Tennessee, and July
December
Powell is alone at the historic Booth Mansion, putting the
finishing touches on the Showhouse room she designed for
tomorrow’s grand opening. A loud noise draws her to the
nursery, where a man lies dying. Not just any man, but Tom
Ferris, the love of her life, who she hasn’t seen since he
disappeared with no explanation some fifteen years
earlier.
Who shot Tom in the back? What drove him away in the first
place and made him stay away, even after his parents were
killed in a car accident? What was he trying to tell July
with his last breath? The gossip mill is in high gear in
the
small town of Rosedale, and July is the sister of Mae, a
dog
breeder and kennel owner who happens to be dating the
sheriff, Ben Bradley.
Ben’s close relationship with the December family has
thrown
a wrench in his investigation, forcing him to rely on
Detective Wayne Nichols, his deputies, and his office
manager Dory to do most of the legwork. Meanwhile July’s
marriage is imploding, and Mae already has too much to
deal
with—including a new corgi puppy and Ben’s four-year-old
son. Mae is torn between loyalty to her boyfriend and her
sister as she does her darndest to get the bottom of a
case
that just seems to involve more and more of their friends
and neighbors.
Two Dogs Lie Sleeping is Book 2 of the Mae December
Mystery
series, which began with One Dog Too Many.