Ice Pick in the Ivy

Doreen Montgomery had escaped from a marriage to a very wealthy but controlling husband to Kelowna, a small town in British Columbia and a house given to her by her grandmother, she has no money, she had social skills but no life skills but very soon established herself in the community with her skills as an amateur sleuth. This is the 9th Dale Mayer book in this delightful series, although it is a standalone, all the ever so slightly eccentric characters from the previous books are there, Doreen, her incorrigible pets, Mugs the dog, Goliath the cat and Thaddeus the irrepressible talking parrot. It became apparent soon after Doreen arrived in the village that she had an inquiring mind and was good at solving cold cases. Her best friend, Corporal Mack Moreau of the Kelowna police department was in equal proportion exasperated and impressed, he would rather she left the policing to him but Doreen continues to jump in with both feet often with a risk to her own safety. When Thaddeus drops two metal tags at her feet another mystery begins, the tags are a trademark of a defunct local woodworker. In investigating, Doreen discovers that the tags were from a pair of ice picks and with the help of her delightful Nan and a very tolerant Mack she starts her hunt for clues. This story involves the disappearance of an elderly couple and their handicapped daughter and the swindling out of their inheritance of two middle aged sisters. This is a very gentle story with serious undertones, the main characters are charming, there is slow burning chemistry between Doreen and Mac but Doreen doesn't want to risk getting hurt again. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, these stories are so different from the usual Dale Mayer books that I read but they are pleasant change I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Doreen and her pets, Thaddeus, Mugs and Goliath, are quickly deep in another cold case or more. This mystery involves an ice pick, maker's marks, coroner's reports, a will, a secret drawer, righting more than one injustice and a recycling bin. There is, of course, a lot more but leave it to Doreen to connect the dots and make sense of what others have missed. Corporal Mack Moreau would love to have Doreen play more with her cooking lessons and plans for her back yard but she is determined to discover the truth of each new finding. Mack is realizing she is looking out for others because she had been taken advantage of. He is no doubt correct. She needs to right wrongs and has been highly successful at accomplishing that goal. The epilogue includes a note about what happens 2 days later. When Doreen goes over to Millicent's (Corporal Moreau's mom) home where she has been helping with the gardening. Millicent happily shares a story about something she has found and here we go again! I really love the interaction of the characters in this series. The pets are so unique and definitely lovable, protective and forever doing the most interesting things. Doreen is equally unique, determined and very special.

The story revolves around Doreen who used to be a trophy wife, but now after a divorce needs to learn to get along on her own. She lives in the house that was given to her by her Nan along with a dog Mugs, cat Goliath and parakeet Thaddeus. Between Doreen and the animals, one of them finds an object and then out of curiosity Doreen starts to research the object and ends up involved in a cold case. What I like is the banter with Mack, her friend and a cop. Mack is always trying to keep her out of trouble but Doreen will not listen to reason. Being that she is not a cop people tend to tell her things that they won't tell the police which gives her more information to solve the crime. Dale Mayer does a great job creating characters that you just have to love. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.