Back in January I first highlighted this novel in a recently added post. The premise instantly appealed to me: the main character trains Human Remains Detection dogs… aka cadaver dogs. Fun fact: a few summers ago, right after we adopted Bay, I was looking into requirements for cadaver dogs (make Bay earn her keep, you know ha!) Turns out a major part of the job involves being in a car for extended periods of time. Well that ended Baylor’s fantasy cadaver dog career real fast!

By day, Jazz Ramsey works as an administrative assistant at St. Catherine’s, an all-girls’ school. In her off time, however, she trains dogs in human remains detection. When Jazz puts Luther through the paces in an abandoned building (she lets him do his thing, carefully watching while he searches for the tooth Jazz hid), she’s more than a little surprised when he lets out three barks, his signal for a find. The tooth Jazz hid was on a third floor, much too far away for Luther to have detected.

Instead it’s a body. A body Jazz recognizes. Though she’s dressed like something out of a horror film, Jazz knows the girl is Florie Allen, a former St. Cat’s student. What follows is a search to discover who killed Florie, unfortunately Jazz’s investigation only leads to more questions. Why was she dressed like a Goth kid from Jazz’s high school days? Did Florie’s own high school rivalry carry on after graduation? Why is an ad for a divorce attorney found among her belongings? And why does the lead detective on the case have to be Jazz’s ex?

I’m beyond delighted to say The Scent of Murder was just as entertaining as I had hoped! While the tone is a bit darker than Kylie Logan’s cozy series (League of Literary Ladies, Button Box, Ethnic Eats, and Chili Cook-Off), it nonetheless retains that easy readability that makes tearing through the novel a breeze – and don’t forget the hallmark of all cozies: the main character who decides to start her own investigation!

Other readers have mentioned the lack of dog scenes, particularly when the dogs are such a driving factor of the series. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t until after I finished the book and was reading reviews that it even crossed my mind – and that right there should say something about how intriguing and enjoyable this novel was! I came for the cadaver dogs, but ultimately stayed to solve the mystery behind a young woman’s death.

One thing I want to point out is that the blurb mentions Jazz is 35. I’m not sure that’s right unless I missed something! Florie graduated two years prior to the novel and one of her classmates mentions that Jazz isn’t much older than them, no more than five years. While reading I was under the impression Jazz was in her mid/late 20s. Not a huge deal, but something I noticed!

The Scent of Murder is a fantastic start to a new series that I will certainly be continuing! A main character who trains cadaver dogs is not a premise I’ve come across before in my reading and I was hooked from page one. Dogs and a captivating mystery made this a book I couldn’t put down!

Cozy Murder with Working Police Dogs
I loved this book! The murder mystery is well done and has enough twists to make it fun. The story is highly populated with working police dogs. Our heroine is a dog trainer and is deeply involved with search/rescue dogs, cadaver dogs and all types of first responder pups. I am excited about this new series and want to read them all! I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

I was pretty excited to read The Scent of Murder. I was excited to learn about how cadaver dogs are trained. In all the books I have read, I don’t think that I have read a book where cadaver dogs (or their training) was mentioned. I was also in the mood for a good mystery. The Scent of Murder delivered on the mystery but didn’t deliver on cadaver dogs.

I thought The Scent of Murder’s plotline was predictable but well written. The author did a great job of having Jazz follow the trail of evidence to Florie’s killer. I was able to call everything that happened in the book. But, that isn’t a bad thing.

I do wish that more emphasis had been put on the cadaver dog training. I was fascinated by it. The training that the dogs went through, when showed, was fascinating. I was disappointed when there were only a handful of scenes involving the dogs.

I did like Jazz, but I couldn’t quite believe the situations that she got herself into. Like being in the car line at her school and hopping into an ex-student’s car to grill her about Florie. That made me go “WTF” Another example is when she approached a student at lunch and had a conversation about her lack of a love life. The student was around 14 years old. Again, another “WTH” moment. I was also a little iffy about her obsession with finding Florie’s murder.

The Scent of Murder was a solid but predictable mystery. I did figure out who the murderer was halfway through the book. But that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the wannabe second chance romance between Jazz and Nick. Neither of them seemed to be trying too hard to make time for the other. I will say that Jazz did do a better job at investigating Florie’s murder than Nick did. He seemed always to be one step behind her.

The end of The Scent of Murder was ok. It went the way I thought it would. I do like that the author left it open for another book. Maybe in this one, there will be more emphasis on the cadaver dog training!!

If you tell me a book is about training dogs, then there should really be some dogs in it. In this first installment, Jazz's dog has been gone awhile already. The only dog is the one she watches while a friend is out of town. Sure that dog finds a dead body, but I was looking for a book that centered on the relationship between the main character and their dog. I also did not really understand why Jazz felt compelled to investigate the murder, the connection was very tenuous. I think the concept is a good one and I hope Ms. Logan and/or her editor are able to finesse the idea better in future stories.

The Scent of Murder is well-written and despite the nature of the story, an easy read. I prefer something with more grit, so the story is a little bit too cozy mystery for my tastes, but the fast pace and whodunit did hold my interest. This one reminded me of Murder She Wrote with Jazz and her determination to solve the murder regardless of any warnings from police or any danger to herself. There is an almost romance between Jazz and her ex - a bit of push and pull between them and some flirting on his part, but I didn't really see them as a couple until the end. Nick's feelings come across clearly, but Jazz is closed off and comes across as more confused about a relationship than anything else. In the end, I did enjoy the mystery, and we're introduced to some interesting and quirky characters in Jazz's world, especially Sarah and Eileen. The story is certainly worth the read, and I'll be interested to see where things go for these characters.

The Scent of Murder by Kylie Logan
Jazz Ramsey #1

At the end of this book I felt this book was a bit more like a cozy mystery than anything else. The main character, Jasmine “Jazz” Ramsey is training Luther for his owner before Luther is to be tested and certified to be a Human Remains Detection (HRD) search and rescue dog. Stumbling upon a corpse at the beginning of the book is the introduction to Jazz, Luther and one-time-lover homicide detective Nick Kolesov. The blurb/synopsis of the book lays the groundwork and quite a bit of the backstory for this book and the characters within it.

To me Jazz felt a bit lost and I am not sure if that is due to the death of her father, the loss of Nick as her significant other or something else. I hope to learn more about what motivates Jazz in future books of the series. Nick was someone I could understand as he seemed to be dedicated to his work and because he seemed to care for Jazz. I sometimes wondered if Jazz was into finding out who killed Florie because she was at loose ends and needed a purpose or if she is in fact nosy and likes to solve puzzles.

I enjoyed following the leads that finally revealed who killed Florie. The supporting characters were interesting and no doubt will pop up in future books. I enjoyed the way the book was plotted and written and hope that Jazz’s personality will emerge more in the future.

What I liked:
* the dogs – when they appeared
* the puzzle pieces that at first didn’t seem to have any reason being there and then later made so much sense
* Nick – he seemed a level-headed and nice guy
* Jazz’s brothers
* The information about location
* Finding out that my first thoughts about some “bad” people were unfounded
* Not realizing right away who the murderer was

What I didn’t like:
* Some of Jazz’s less than polite ways of dealing with people she was questioning
* Not finding out what happened to break Nick and Jazz up – was it volatile or just a slow moving away from one another
* Not truly understanding what motivated Jazz

Did I enjoy reading this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

Jazz has had a hard year after losing her father and her dog and breaking up with her boyfriend. Now as she is training a cadaver dog, she is surprised to hear the dog signal a find in a room where nothing was hidden. Jazz is shocked to find that it is a former student from school, who has been murdered. Then to top it off, Nick her former boyfriend is the lead detective for the case. Jazz has to find out what happened to the murdered girl. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Netgallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I really like this book and would like to read the next book in the series. The relationship between Jazz and Nick is believable. I recommend this cozy mystery.

This is the first book in a new series by cozy author Kylie Logan. This is a crossover from cozy mystery to a thriller. I was thrilled to receive this for review by the publisher and Net Galley. Thank you for the opportunity. My opinion is my own.
I enjoyed reading this first in series and found it a exciting mystery. The author introduces us to
Jasmine “Jazz” Ramsey who is a administrative assistant at a private girls’ school. She owns her own home in Cleveland and enjoys her work and her volunteer work training dogs. She trains cadaver dogs which is a new subject to me and interesting facet of this series. Jazz is training Luther, a German Shepherd belonging to a friend, This is a very interesting side to this mystery as I enjoyed learning about the training of cadaver dogs and their important work.
Luther finds the body of a young woman who attended the school where Jazz works. Jazz is very upset at her death at such a early age and decides to investigate herself. She is soon working with her ex-boyfriend, Detective Nick Kolesov. As with the start of any series Jazz learns as she goes along. She proves to be apt at interviewing and soon has suspects and clues she suspects will lead her to the killer. She has a working relationship with her ex the detective and that gives some witty repartee and reason for her to stand up for herself. I like her independence and her ability to stand alone in her beliefs.
The sleuth was well plotted and I did not figure out the killer . The conclusion was satisfying . Jazz is a likable savvy protagonist who proves to be a good detective on her own., I found this a strong first in series and I look forward to the next book.

Meh.

A mystery book with way too much going on.

Training cadavar dogs.. Amateur sleuthing into a murder. A romance type thing? (I'm not knocking romance I love romance novels but this was just unnecessary)

The main character doesn't like dead bodies but trains cavadar dogs. Which turns out to be a very minor thing in the book even though there is a dog on the cover.
The main character once dated the completely competent cop -- because of course. So there is *tension*.
The main character has to investigate the dead body herself because she sort of knew the victim.

It was hard connecting with the main character. She was obnoxious and intruding.

3.5 stars for this first mystery in a new series. Jazz works as an admin in a private school, but in her off time trains cadaver searching dogs. On a training exercise, she discovers the body of a former student. The lead detective is her ex, Nick, and she can’t seem to stop asking her own questions to figure out what happened.

The mystery of what happened to Florie was good. I did see the twist coming, but getting there was still an enjoyable read.

I guess since this is first in a series, it’s setting up other plots and mysteries to be uncovered in future books. Her dad’s death for example - along the way some things are mentioned offhand, yet Jazz does not take any action to figure things out. Looks like her romance with Nick will also be a slow burn.

Overall, it’s enjoyable and I look forward to future installments.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

For those of you who anticipate a lot of canine contact in this first book in a series, I need to let you down gently. There isn't. Oh, there is some, and it's choice, but author Kylie Logan is more intent on setting her stage in The Scent of Murder than she is in letting us enjoy the working dogs. By book's end, you can see that future books will be giving readers a more immersive experience, and I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Jazz had a past love affair with the lead detective on the case that I found to be more a hindrance than a help. I liked the way it was dealt with at the end; I just hope it was with finality. Something else that Jazz will have to deal with in the future is her abrasive approach to questioning people. She seems to know the perfect way to antagonize people, and that's not just counter-productive, it's downright dangerous.

All in all, I think this is a good start to the series, and I'm looking forward to more. Let the dogs out!

Jazz Ramsey lives in Cleveland, works in the administration of an all girls high school, and in her spare time volunteers a cadaver dog handler. While putting Luther, a young dog she’s training, through his paces in an old abandoned building, he signals a ‘find’, and Jazz is shocked to find the body of a young woman, dressed goth-style, tattoos and piercings included. Even more upsetting, Jazz knows her; Florie graduated a few ago from the high school where Jazz works. To top it off, the detective on the murder case is her ex-boyfriend, Nick. Jazz starts nosing around asking Florie’s friends, parents, teachers about her and discovers some sad truths, while trying to narrow down who was responsible for her death.

An excellent whodunnit novel, with lots of suspense and intrigue, and good character development. A good read, a strongly recommend this book.

The Scent of Murder by Kylie Logan is book one in her Jazz Ramsey series. The author is known for her cozy mysteries, and this is her first foray into the hardier mystery world.

Jasmine “Jazz” Ramsey is an administrative assistant at a private girls’ school. She also trains cadaver dogs. Jazz is training Luther, a German Shepherd belonging to a friend, when Luther unexpectedly finds the body of a young woman who once attended the school where Jazz works. Jazz inserts herself into the investigation being led by her ex-boyfriend, Detective Nick Kolesov.

I found it a bit strange that Jazz started an investigation when she didn’t have any background in police or investigative work. She interviews witnesses and forms her own theories of the crime while having semi contentious interactions with her ex. I guessed some of the plot but didn’t pick up on the killer until the end. The Scent of Murder is a quick, easy, enjoyable read. I give it 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it to lovers of mystery with a little romance.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

There were two reasons I gave this only three stars. It's probably just me but when the cover has a dog on it, the cover info says Jazz trains cadaver dogs, I expected more of the dog and cadaver training along with the mystery. Then I was a bit put off by the weak reasons Jazz had for snooping around in the murder case. Yes, she and the dog she was training discovered the young woman's body, she did have past knowledge of the victim but to me it wasn't strong enough to go off and do her own questioning of various people involved. In the real world the police would not have permitted it.
Having said that, I did like the mystery and the dog theme, as much as there was, and I will read the second book when it comes out. My hope is that there is more about Jazz, the dogs she trains and her relationship with them. This series has great potential and, after reading all seven of her series, I know how well she crafts a mystery. She has five series as Kylie Logan and two as Casey Daniels. As I said, I just wanted more dog in the mystery.
My thanks to the publisher, Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really tried to like this book. The premise was very interesting – Jazz, a cadaver dog handler and her trainee dog Luther find a body that turns out to be someone Jazz knows from her job at a local school. From an experienced author of cozy mysteries, this had great promise as the start of a new series with a harder edge. However, the book did not only not live up to my expectations, it had some serious flaws that prevent me from recommending it.

The story rambled and there were a lot of details that weren’t necessary to move the plot along, making it hard to tell what was intended to be important and what was not and distracting from the action. I was never sure why Jazz was investigating in the first place. There is no background to indicate she is qualified or experienced, but maybe that will be explained in future books. The book has a hard tone. I don’t know if the author felt this was necessary for the transition from cozy mysteries, but it did not work. Instead of a gritty murder mystery, The Scent of Murder is an overall mean-spirited, unpleasant book that is at times hard to read.

Jazz is unlikeable, without understand, empathy or sympathy and bitter about her failed love affair with Brody. She is hypocritical, criticizing Brody for traits she admired in her father. She calls Florie a crazy vampire chick and a weirdo, and refers to a small child as the homeliest kid on earth. She is seriously frightened by someone wearing black leather and studs, although his behavior is not unsettling. She thinks a commitment to finding the truth and giving perps their due is mule-headed, as if it’s a bad thing. And at one point she thinks to herself: Sure, she was a lousy liar. That didn’t mean she couldn’t give it a try. In fact, most of the characters come across as mean and narrow minded, quick to gossip about Florie rather than show any sorrow that she was brutally murdered. The book feels as if it should be in another time or place, not in today’s world where people are encouraged to be more accepting of those that are different.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of The Scent of Murder in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this mystery and wasn't sure until the end who really murdered the girl. Jazz is working with a friend's cadaver dog. It is supposed to be a simple exercise to test him but he finds a dead body in an old building. Jazz realizes she knows the girl and can't leave it alone until she finds the killer. She finds out some terrible things the girl had been doing, but Jazz knows the way she used to be and can't stop investigating. Will the killer come after Jazz too?

The Scent of Murder
(Jazz Ramsey #1)
by Kylie Logan

Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: May 7th 2019 by Minotaur Books (first published May 2019)




Goodreads synopsis:
First in a new series from national bestselling author Kylie Logan, The Scent of Murder is a riveting mystery following Jazz Ramsey as she trains cadaver dogs.

The way Jazz Ramsey figures it, life is pretty good. She’s thirty-five years old and owns her own home in one of Cleveland’s most diverse, artsy, and interesting neighborhoods. She has a job she likes as an administrative assistant at an all-girls school, and a volunteer interest she’s passionate about—Jazz is a cadaver dog handler.

Jazz is working with Luther, a cadaver dog in training. Luther is still learning cadaver work, so Jazz is putting him through his paces at an abandoned building that will soon be turned into pricey condos. When Luther signals a find, Jazz is stunned to see the body of a young woman who is dressed in black and wearing the kind of make-up and jewelry that Jazz used to see on the Goth kids back in high school.

She’s even more shocked when she realizes that beneath the tattoos and the piercings and all that pale make up is a familiar face.

The lead detective on the case is an old lover, and the murdered woman is an old student. Jazz finds herself sucked into the case, obsessed with learning the truth.

***

4 Stars

This is the first book in a new series for Minotaur Books.

I think the title and cover image of this book are a little deceptive. There is a dog being trained to help the police in and out of the storyline. It is a cadaver dog. Searches for victims based on scents. And the title using “scent” makes us believe subconsciously that the dog finding something will be key to solving the mystery. But that isn’t the case at all.

Did the dog find the dead body of the victim? Yes. Did the dog figure into how the murder was solved? No.

The setting was rather interesting. A gal who works at the school she went to, an all-girl’s school. She knows who the victim is even though the girl was found dressed like a goth with black everything and eyes rimmed with kohl. There is a whole background with the Horror scene and people who love those types of movies littered throughout this book upping the creep factor a bit.

Since Jazz found the body she is compelled to discover who killed her. And doing this digging is not making her the most popular girl on the block. I assume she started this death investigation since she knew Florie. But in most mysteries like this people are compelled to find the killer because the cops don’t seem to be doing their job.

The cop in this story just happens to be Jazz’s old boyfriend who is still interested in dating her. He doesn’t seem to have a problem digging for clues and finds most of the same ones Jazz does. There is a key insight at the end that Jazz does provide just before the killer tries to do away with her.

Interesting story and a little inconsistent. But it was good. I enjoyed the storyline and I read fast to figure out who did it. I have to admit that I did figure out who the killer was but I don’t think there were any red herrings leading us to that conclusion. Just a good guess on my part.

Check this cozy out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Jazz Ramsey is working on training Luther, a cadaver dog, in a construction site in her native Cleveland. She has already planted something for him to find, but Luther indicates a find in a completely different room. Sure enough, he’s found a body. Even worse, it is the body of a former student at the all-girls school where Jazz works. Jazz’s former boyfriend Nick has been assigned the case, and Jazz knows it is in good hands. But she still can’t help but wonder what it was that lead the girl to her death. As she begins poking around, she begins to uncover secrets. Can she find out what got the young woman killed?

I’ve enjoyed several other books by Kylie Logan in the past, so I am not surprised I enjoyed this one. But I am surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. This is a little more serious than some of her other books, but that is no reason not to pick up the book. The characters are compelling; even those we don’t spend much time with come across as real. Jazz herself is fully formed and a wonderful main character. The plot is strong with a steady helping of twists and clues to guide us to the logical conclusion. The writing makes Cleveland come alive without distracting from the characters or the plot in any way. This is a solid debut that already has me anxious for more.

I have enjoyed several other books by Kylie Logan and was excited to see a new series by the author. I lie her style of writing, and I love the premise of the book with Jazz Ramsey being a trainer of cadaver dogs. It’s interesting that her main job is as an administrative assistant, but her true passion is working as a dog handler. It’s also intriguing that Jazz has unexpected ties to the victim and the detective.

Jazz is likable and persistent in getting to the truth of the murder. The book is well-written, and I think the series has potential, but I was disappointed that the dog handling took a back seat to other aspects of the story. Jazz’s role as a cadaver dog trainer is what caught my eye when reading the description of the book, so it was a let-down that more details weren’t included. Hopefully if the series continues, there will be more of an emphasis on Jazz working with Luther and not only the other parts of the investigation. Adding more of those details would really make this series stand out.

I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Minotaur Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Jazz Ramsey trains cadaver dogs part time when she is not working at St Catherine's School for Girls. She takes her friend's dog out for some training. Luther knows what he is doing and doesn't find the sample Jazz put out but does find a body. It is one of the graduates from St. Catherine's. Jazz's ex-boyfriend, Nick is the lead detective on the case. Jazz wants to find out what happened to this girl who had so much potential to wind up dead. It is a good story and the author lays the ground work well for the future stories about Jazz.