Crosbyville, Indiana, is the location for a new dog-lovers cosy crime series, featuring Priscilla Cummings and her trusty pet, Bailey. Having been a young children’s teacher, Priscilla was inspired to write a children’s story about the adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound. This has sold well so she’s quitting the teaching life to write, perhaps prematurely. That’s before Bailey starts SNIFFING OUT MURDER for real.

One of the school board trustees, Whitney Kelley, has decided to cut back on spending on arts and increase on maths subjects. I don’t know why one person has such a big influence on the direction of the whole school, but this puts Whitney at odds with Priscilla. Since Pris is leaving anyway, she gets more irate in public on the topic than would seem likely. Maybe she has her future book sales in mind. Anyway, their argument in the diner increases to the point that Whitney steps on Bailey’s tail, perhaps deliberately. The police chief has to defuse the situation. When Bailey sniffs out a body the following day, it doesn’t look good for Pris.   

A bloodhound is a big personality of a dog, with ample energy and needs hours of exercise each day. Pris has managed to qualify Bailey as a licensed therapy dog, but otherwise, he’s not asked to work regularly. Some other characters we meet include Police Chief, Gilbert Morgan, and his bright young daughter, Hannah; and Pris’s only relative, her Aunt Agatha Bell, who runs the Blue Plate diner with regular custom. There are new friends for Pris in the hair salon and an old friend, Marcie Rutherford, a teacher, who thinks it’s perfectly okay to ring Pris and dictate exactly what she should wear.

I liked reading the adventure, and the friendly dog of course, but a lot of clichés are present. A public row and uttered threats just before a murder. A police officer who’s attracted to a witness. A writer who’s got a deadline looming but does everything except write. To compensate, we meet a diverse group of characters, and there are even a few Amish and Mennonite folks in town who might grace another mystery and lead us in new directions. While kids and a children’s book author may lead us to think the book is fine for teens, the motives in the case turn out to be quite adult, so parents may want to exercise caution.

The initial book in Bailey the Bloodhound Mysteries is a fun read. I recommend SNIFFING OUT MURDER by Kallie E. Benjamin for dog lovers or those who are getting started reading cosy crime stories. Crosbyville is an interesting town and I’ll look forward to returning.