This Dog for Hire
This Dog for Hire

Author: Carol Lea Benjamin

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2015-04-07

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1504006364

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Winner of the Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel: In the first book of Carol Lea Benjamin’s acclaimed mystery series, Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her loyal pit bull must find a killer and a missing show dog Divorced dog trainer–turned–private-eye Rachel Alexander and her canine assistant Dash—short for Dashiell—are hired by a man named Dennis Keaton to investigate the hit-and-run death of his friend and neighbor Clifford Cole, whose body was found on an isolated Christopher Street pier. The police are treating the gay painter’s suspicious death as a hate crime, but Dennis insists Cliff hadn’t cruised the waterfront in months. Plus, Magritte, Cliff’s champion basenji—a competitor in the upcoming Westminster Dog Show—may have been a witness to the crime and is now missing. The search for answers takes Rachel and Dash from the SoHo art scene to the most famous dog show in America. Now Rachel is in the sights of a killer hunting her across a treacherous urban landscape. There’s no one she can trust—especially not of the two-legged variety. This Dog for Hire is the 1st book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries
The Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries

Author: Carol Lea Benjamin

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2016-10-25

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 1504041461

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A Greenwich Village PI and her pit bull hunt down killers in these three smart, witty mysteries from a Shamus Award winner. In This Dog for Hire, the debut of New York private detective Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash—short for Dashiell—a hit-and-run leaves a local painter dead and his show dog, a basenji, temporarily missing. After cracking that case, Rachel and Dash return in The Dog Who Knew Too Much to investigate a t’ai chi teacher’s fatal leap from a window. Rachel suspects there’s more involved, as the woman would never have left her beloved Akita behind. Rounding out the collection is A Hell of a Dog, in which Rachel, a former dog trainer herself, must find out who’s killing off trainers at a professional gathering at a posh New York City hotel. With comparisons to the mysteries of Laurien Berenson and Susan Conant, these novels—with “excellent” writing and a “nice touch of humor”—are an involving, atmospheric read for fans of strong female PIs, especially those with furry sidekicks (Library Journal).

A Hell of a Dog
A Hell of a Dog

Author: Carol Lea Benjamin

Publisher: Rachel Alexander and Dash Myst

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781504052948

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Someone is killing off the great dog trainers of the world--and it's up to PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash, to collar the murderer Rachel has just been hired as undercover security at a dog-training symposium at a posh Manhattan hotel. How can the Greenwich Village PI and her pit bull, Dashiell, turn down the hefty fee, plus free room and biscuits at the Ritz? All Rachel has to do is keep the peace among the competitive diva dog trainers who have come with their prize pooches from all corners of the globe. She and Dash have barely infiltrated the festivities when they find out that one of the trainers, the self-proclaimed guru of a controversial obedience technique, has been electrocuted in his bathtub. The cops are calling it an accident. Until another trainer dies . . . and then another. With suspects including a dog psychic and a behaviorist to the stars, Rachel discovers that it's the humans who need to be housebroken as she and Dash bring a serial killer to heel. A Hell of a Dogis the 3rd book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The Wrong Dog
The Wrong Dog

Author: Carol Lea Benjamin

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2009-10-13

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 006175885X

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From former detective turned noted author and dog trainer, Carol Lea Benjamin, comes the fifth book in the critically-lauded Rachel Alexander mystery series, for the first time in mass market. Sophie Gordon didn't let her epilepsy get in the way of her life as a teacher of deaf children. But without her trusty canine companion, an indispensable service dog named Blanche, she wouldn't be nearly as well-off. A service dog that can perform the difficult tasks that epilepsy requires--sensing when a seizure is about to occur and fetching life-saving medication--is extremely rare, so when a veterinarian's office promises that they can clone Blanche, Sophie jumps at the opportunity. Her former worries can now be put to rest, knowing that now she'll have a replacement for Blanche when the time comes. But the puppy they provided didn't have what it takes to be a service dog, and when Sophie visits the vet to alert them of the problem, none of the staff is anywhere to be found--they've disappeared without a trace. To get to the bottom of this clone-by-night operation, Sophie hires P.I. Rachel Alexander and Dash, her pit bull partner. And two days after meeting with Rachel, Sophie is found dead, apparently of a seizure, but it didn't take Dash's sensitive nose to tell that something doesn't smell right, and that the missing vets definitely need further examination.

A Crack in Everything
A Crack in Everything

Author: Angela Gerst

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published: 2011-07-29

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1615953205

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"Gerst gets good mileage out of her political roots, but it's her finely honed plot that seals the deal. Here's hoping she runs for another term."—Kirkus Reviews STARRED review Politics, money, love . . . what could go wrong? Susan Callisto is pushing thirty and taking stock. Trading financial security at a Boston law firm for sandals and jeans in Waltham, she's reinvented herself as a political consultant for people seeking low-level office. Her income may be dicey, but Susan loves her new life—until her boyfriend, Detective Lieutenant Michael Benedict, dumps her without a goodbye. Not one to mope, Susan uses humor and perpetual motion to keep away the pain. When biotech high roller Charles Renfrow offers her a huge retainer to advise his political campaign, Susan is wary. Why would a scientist stalking the human genome want to be mayor of a small Massachusetts town? Rumor has it Renfrow's biotech company is dumping deadly waste and that a child has died. On her way to confront him, Susan finds the body of his gorgeous assistant. Assigned to the case, Michael reenters Susan's life. Soon mayhem rains down: Susan herself is attacked, an elderly client is beaten and left for dead, and a child is abducted. When Michael's suspicions settle on Susan's favorite candidate, she elbows her way into the investigation. She hopes to prove Michael wrong. But now, with her own life on the line, Susan uncovers the crack in everything.

Chef's Kiss
Chef's Kiss

Author: TJ Alexander

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2023-06-30

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1398530611

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Out now - SECOND CHANCES IN NEW PORT STEPHEN, the charming new TJ Alexander rom-com! A high-strung pastry chef’s professional goals are interrupted by an unexpected career transition and the introduction of her wildly attractive nonbinary kitchen manager in this deliciously fresh and witty queer rom-com. Simone Larkspur is a perfectionist pastry expert with a dream job at The Discerning Chef, a venerable cookbook publisher in New York City. All she wants to do is create the perfect loaf of sourdough and develop recipes, but when The Discerning Chef decides to bring their brand into the 21st century by pivoting to video, Simone is thrust into the spotlight and finds herself failing at something for the first time in her life. To make matters worse, Simone has to deal with Ray Lyton, the new test kitchen manager, whose obnoxious cheer and outgoing personality are like oil to Simone’s water. When Ray accidentally becomes a viral YouTube sensation with a series of homebrewing videos, their eccentric editor in chief forces Simone to work alongside the chipper upstart or else risk her beloved job. But the more they work together, the more Simone realizes her heart may be softening like butter for Ray. Things get even more complicated when Ray comes out at work as nonbinary to mixed reactions—and Simone must choose between the career she fought so hard for and the person who just might take the cake (and her heart).

Unstable
Unstable

Author: Alexandra Ivy

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2022-04-26

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 1420151460

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In New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy’s third bone-chilling romantic thriller set in Pike, Wisconsin, a small town with more secrets than residents, a cold case expert and her sheriff ex-husband reunite to solve a cold case when footage of a bound and gagged girl is discovered on a mysterious old VHS tape. WHEN IT COMES TO KILLING A dead man in a cemetery isn’t news—unless he’s found on top of a grave, with a bullet through his head. The body belongs to Jude Henley, who was supposed to be buried below. Instead, the grave contains the remains of Staci Gale, thought to have run away nearly three decades ago. Then an old VCR tape arrives at the sheriff station, showing Staci before her death—bound and terrified—with a note, claiming to be from the killer’s apprentice... PRACTICE Rachel Fisher’s job in cold case files has brought her back to Pike, Wisconsin—where she’ll be working alongside her ex-husband, Zac Evans. As Pike’s interim sheriff, Zac expected a low-key assignment. Instead, he and Rachel are racing to solve serial murders from decades past while a new monster goads them with a chilling promise. Every week there’ll be another old tape—and a fresh victim... MAKES PERFECT... In this small town a killer walks—twisted, ruthless, determined to continue his master’s work. And unless Rachel and Zac can find a way to get ahead of him, the nightmare will never end.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much
The Girl Who Knew Too Much

Author: Amanda Quick

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2017-05-09

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0698193628

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In 1930s California, glamour and seduction spawn a multitude of sins in this New York Times bestseller from the author of Tightrope. At the exclusive Burning Cove Hotel on the coast of California, rookie reporter Irene Glasson finds herself staring down at a beautiful actress at the bottom of a pool.... The dead woman had something Irene wanted: a red-hot secret about an up-and-coming leading man—a scoop that may have gotten her killed. As Irene searches for the truth about the drowning, she’s drawn to a master of deception. Once a world-famous magician whose career was mysteriously cut short, Oliver Ward is now the owner of the Burning Cove Hotel. He can’t let scandal threaten his livelihood, even if it means trusting Irene, a woman who seems to have appeared in Los Angeles out of nowhere four months ago. With Oliver’s help, Irene soon learns that the glamorous paradise of Burning Cove hides dark and dangerous secrets. And that the past—always just out of sight—could drag them both under....

Fall Guy
Fall Guy

Author: Carol Lea Benjamin

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2025-01-07

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1504099737

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A private detective and her dog investigate a cop’s death in this “page-turner” that will have “even die-hard mystery readers . . . guessing until the end” (Publishers Weekly). Officer Timothy O’Fallon’s death may have been ruled an accident, but private investigator Rachel Alexander can’t let the details of his case go. Allegedly, the cop was cleaning his service revolver when it misfired—but why did he name Alexander as the executor of his will? O’Fallon was a stranger to her, a member of the 9/11 survivors group she went to with her pit bull Dashiell. Though he attended all the meetings, he never spoke a word. Outside of the single sentence O’Fallon uttered to her one night after he’d taken Dash for a walk around the block—returning the dog with his fur soaked in tears—Rachel knows nothing about him. Now she’s calling the siblings he didn’t trust enough to settle his affairs to tell them the news of his sudden passing. And the more she searches through the details of his lonely life, prowling the corners of the Greenwich Village neighborhood they once shared, the more of a mystery he becomes. Was his death a suicide? Or something more sinister? As Rachel sets about her work, she soon discovers the secrets in O’Fallon’s past that led to his tragic end. . . . “One of the best private eye series around.” —Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Fool Me Once “Benjamin’s work [is] first rate.” —The Plain Dealer

Without a Word
Without a Word

Author: Carol Lea Benjamin

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2025-01-07

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1504099729

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“[A] heartfelt . . . complex portrait of a severely damaged child and her emotionally cut-off father” and the PI and her service dog who sign on to save them (Publishers Weekly). A missing mother. A child made mute by the trauma. A distraught father willing to do anything to help his daughter. It’s the kind of case private investigator Rachel Alexandra can’t walk away from—even though finding the girl’s mother seems hopeless. Sally Spector disappeared five years ago without a trace. But with young Madison now accused of murdering the neurologist who was managing her care, her father is desperate to find the key to unlocking Madison’s silence. Drawn to the troubled girl, how can Rachel refuse? Along with her pit bull Dashiell, Rachel starts putting together what clues she can find. What she uncovers is a case more complex and disturbing than she ever imagined. Suddenly Rachel understands that there are problems in this world some might be willing to die for—or kill for. “Benjamin captures the mood of New York City effectively. . . . An entertaining series for anyone who loves female sleuths, New York, or pit bulls.” —Booklist Praise for the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries “One of the best private eye series around.” —Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Fool Me Once “Rachel Alexander is someone who holds your interest and makes you keep turning the pages.” —Nevada Barr, New York Times–bestselling author of Flashback “Benjamin’s work [is] first rate.” —The Plain Dealer