Brooke Palmer runs a grooming parlour for dogs, and it's unfortunate that one show poodle's clip is damaged by a young groomer. Stuffing the dog into a Louis Vuitton carrier and demanding a sacking, the lady client stalks out. Can Brooke's business survive?

GROOMED FOR MURDER proceeds to follow Brooke to a wedding, taking her mind off her troubles, but later the aggrieved client goes on a TV show to complain and threatens a lawsuit. Drew Hudson, an attorney, calls to Brooke's home to ask her to settle for damages. He steps in through an open door and next thing a bulldog is hanging off the seat of his pants. The dog's sleek and strong owner refuses to settle... Drew just wishes they were meeting under better circumstances. Sneakily he takes to showing up wherever Brooke happens to be, whether volunteering at a homeless shelter or picking up groceries, so he can try to get on her good side. There's a partnership on the line if he can pull this off, and surely Brooke must see reason. Just as the two acknowledge the developing attraction between them, the unthinkable happens. The poodle's troublesome owner is found dead... and according to the police, Brooke is the prime suspect.

Brooke is an endearing character, feeding a careful diet to her elderly bulldog and protecting him from extremes of temperature. Even though she could have mollified the irate client by firing the groomer who was at fault, she chose to protect her employee and offered free services. I thought she was too quick to give into attraction to this man, in the circumstances. On the other hand, another girl complains that she went out on a date with a man who was far more into his computer than into her. Maybe good men are in short supply in their neighbourhood.

This is second in the Going To The Dogs series and unlike many cosy mysteries there is not a lot of clue-sniffing and alibi-comparing, more of a focus on adult romance. This may be because Zoe Dawson is a pen name for romance author Karen Anders. She has another in this series lined up and if you like this book you might check out her other works under either name. GROOMED FOR MURDER will please romance fans who like dogs and an edge of crime.