This is certainly a fun adventure and will suit lovers of pet rabbits. As we should know, rabbits are both smart and gentle, and make good house pets. They also may, in the case of Angora, say, have fur that’s useful as spinning fibre. So, Jules Bridge is the owner of Fur Bridge Farm, a pet rabbit and wool craft centre in Windermere, rural New Hampshire. In WHO’S DEAD, DOC? she gets involved in a tragic case which develops at a kids’ party.

Hang on to your hats, because we’re about to meet a talking bunny. Yes, Bun the handsome large rabbit who is Jules’ favourite companion, communicates telepathically with her and understands a lot of the human activity he sees and hears.  Bun and another rabbit called Petra are helping to entertain at a birthday party, when a local householder, Evelyn Montgomery, is found dead nearby. Look like foul play was involved. The hostess Carina Richland asks Jules to keep her eyes open. Petra was entered at a rabbit show but becomes unwell, so Jules is asked to step in as a judge in the place of Evelyn. Once in place, she can’t help seeing and hearing clues to the death of quite an unpopular lady. Who would have thought rabbit owners are such keen competitors?

Sheriff Jack Carver is never far from our amateur sleuth, but he doesn’t want a civilian being involved and before too long Jules is in fact in danger, with a threat made against Bun as obvious leverage. Jules also has to carry out the twice daily farm chores, deal with local vets if a rabbit is ill, pay staff, do her taxes and apply for funding, just like any responsible business owner. The cast of suspects can get a little hard to keep track of and Jules does an amazing amount of breaking and entering for a law-abiding lady. She’s fit and strong from hefting all the rabbit feed and keeping on the move, of course, and her long-eared friend acts as a lookout.

The ‘Jules & Bun Mystery’ series is going strong, with the intriguing first title being Left Fur Dead. I think this series is going to go down the crafters route, which is a highly popular branch of cosy mysteries, but pet lovers who want a change from highly trained dogs or cute cats will laugh and love the tales. J.M. Griffin is a lady from Maine, who has previously penned mysteries featuring Lavinia Esposito and a deadly bakery, to name but two of her series titles. WHO’S DEAD, DOC? is a great place to start and features a complex crime with several contemporary issues to give us pause for thought.