With a connection to dogs and an interesting stories, I enjoy this series. I love the 'behind' the scenes of dog shows and as I have shown dogs for over 25 years, I know that the books seem to describe them them fairly accurately.

The mystery is one that kept me reading until the very end. There were some nice twists and turns. I love the way the characters and their relationships continue to grow. I feel like they are friends that I must catch up with at the next show I attend.

First book I've read in this series, although I love the author's other series. I enjoyed this one as well. I enjoyed the characters, setting and the mystery kept me guessing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This authors stories involve dogs and mysteries. As she puts her two pups in an obedience competition but when one of the judges turns out to be her high school rival the trainer gets hot under the collar until the women is found strangled. Then she recruits her other dog club members to find the real killer. A fun and enjoyable read with dog for people who enjoy books about dogs and mysteries.

What can go wrong at a dog show? Follow Lilly Ann Hanover and her group of friends and their dogs at the East Tennessee Dog Show. You will see bad behavior from a show judge that has the whole crowd upset when she deliberately tried to sabotage a dog in the ring. Things get worse as the story goes on.

The characters are interesting and skillfully crafted to be individual. The plot was fast moving with lots of surprises. I didn't know who the bad guy was until the reveal. This is a clean story with no graphic language or sexual content.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from Kensington Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#Sit,Stay,Stay #NetGalley

This is the 5th installment in the Dog Club Mystery. Lily loves her two dogs Aggie and Rex (named after two of her favorite mystery novelists Agatha Christie and Rex Stout) and she is going to entering Aggie in a dog show or an obedience competition as her friend Dixie has been her trainer. At the competition, one of the judges turns out to be Dixie’s high school rival Naomi. When all of Dixie’s Pack is disqualified because they would not pay up to the corrupt judge the group is steaming. However, when this judge ends up dead then Dixie is a prime suspect and Lily and the Dixie pack jump in to sleuth and the find the real culprit. I enjoyed the mystery and the group of friends and how they solve the murder together. This is an enjoyable series and this is a good addition. Looking forward to the next in the series.

cozy-mystery, dogs, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, lawyers, Chattanooga, amateur-sleuth

Bringing casseroles to the bereaved is NOT just a Southern thing! In Minnesota it's Green Bean Casseroles and in Wisconsin it's Tater Tot Casseroles!
The road up Lookout Mountain, on the other hand... The last time I was on it was during an ICE STORM and it was even scarier than during fair weather!
About the story. The sleuthing is good, the characters are very real and well portrayed, and the dogs are wonderful (but the Plott Hound is much more well behaved than my sister's).
The publisher's blurb is pretty good, so there's no need to repeat it or do the spoiler thing.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Sit, Stay, Slay by V.M. Burns is the fifth book in her Dog Club cozy mystery series. Ms. Burns brings her readers back to Chattanooga, TN where there is always a mystery to solve for Lilly, Dixie and Red. Over this series I've enjoyed the growth and development of these characters and the secondary characters who have now become "friends". I find myself slipping into this world and don't want to leave.

The story is paced smoothly but quickly as Dixie has become a prime suspect in a murder. "Dixie's Pack" are soon on the case with only a limited suspect pool to investigate. There's also a little romance, family relationships, and friendships that can provide both support and humor when needed. I actually guessed "who done it" before the reveal but I didn't know the "why" and the reveal was scary.

A delightful addition to the Dog Club series. An altercation with a difficult judge, Naomi Keller, during a dog show mock trial results in Dixie Jefferson striking and threatening the judge. After judge Naomi is found dead the dog show club members band together with Lilly Ecosby to find the killer. Along the way they uncover multiple candidates with overlapping motives. Meanwhile personal changes occur for Lilly, her friends and her family. A fast-paced story with friendship, changes and new ventures in the future.

Looking forward to book 6.

NOTE: I received a free advanced reader's copy (ARC) of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

'Sit, Stay, Slay' was not my favorite in this series. While the murder mystery was suspenseful and kept me guessing, I had issue with some of the characterizations. It is very easy to inject one dimensional characters into the plot with obvious political views, but it was disappointing. A cross dressing, womanizer just didn't work, especially when juxtaposed to 'activist' characters. The romance and relationship aspects of the series are wonderful, and I look forward to more. I also expect more from V.M. Burns.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A blast as always. Every character is realistic and wish I could have a real life group of interesting characters like this in my corner. Not to mention Red🙈. Involved whodunnit leading to a logical conclusion. Looking forward to the next in this series with a wedding or 2 and a baby...or 2?
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

I truly enjoyed this book. It wasn't quite a non-stop read but it was close! Despite that it is book 5 in the series and I haven't read the others, I did not feel lost. I wasn't a fan of the numerous recaps from previous books in the series but they were short so it didn't impact me too much. I love all the animals and the characters were entertaining. A great cozy!

2 stars

This book is a huge disappointment. I am such a huge fan of V.M. Burns but this book is just a big miss. The story lagged and was just very basic. I hope this is just a misstep in a line of otherwise good books.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a honest review from Netgalley and the publisher.

This is a great next installment in this series. I have read this series from the beginning so the characters are familiar to me. I am not sure if I started with this one if it would be as easy to relate to them.There is of course the obligatory nasty person who gets offed and the multiple suspects including Lily's friend Dixie. This gets the entire dog class involved in solving the mystery. I like how the characters continue to interact with each other and to develop their relationships as the series moves along. It makes the story easy and fun to read. One little observation: many of the southerisms were spot on except for Dixie saying "you all". Anyone that southern would say "ya'll".

The Dog Club Mysteries are one of my favorite pet cozy series because I love all the dog characters in the story. I also enjoy the feisty friends, Lilly Ann Echosby and her bestie, Dixie Jefferson, as they dive headfirst into drama and murder; danger and rescue; with heart and good purpose in mind.

As the fifth story begins, the members of ‘Dixie’s Pack’ obedience class are appalled when a bitter judge, Naomi Keller disqualifies each and every one of them because she wants her palms greased. Naomi appears to have enemies and one of them strikes her down at the competition. There’s quite a few prime suspects to gnaw on as reason after reason racks up against Naomi’s character as to why someone would want her dead! Lilly, Dixie, their families, Red (Lilly’s Tennessee Bureau of Investigation boyfriend), and all the Dixie Pack members rally together to locate and trap the murderer.

A spicy, action-packed plot with several surprising twists make “Sit, Stay, Slay” a must-read! I’m eager to see what the future holds for the main characters (both humans and pets) in this fun series!

I honestly reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Lyrical Publishing. All opinions are my own.

I will come clean right at the get go. This is my first book by V.M. Burns. It is the 5th book in the Dog Club Mystery series. I generally am a stickler for reading a series in order. but I took a chance as Poodles are involved. I really felt nothing was lost in reading enjoyment in reading the fifth book..It felt like it could have been a standalone. although I liked it enough to go back and read the first four in the series.

I loved many things about this book. I liked the characters, the information on Dog Shows, the location of Tennessee, the mystery itself and Aggie and Rex the main characters poodles. I also liked that I could tell that the author is a dog lover, dog owner. This is not always the case in books where canines are involved.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book. Sit Stay Slay will be released on 12/8/2020.

I haven't had the pleasure of reading the other books in the series but this does work well as a stand alone book too.I will be looking into more dog club mystery books in the future!

I found the book a bit slow from the start as there was a large range of character introduction with a lot of information to process, I am unsure how this would far for others who have read the previous four books of the story as it is a reintroduction to characters. This however does provide the option for it to be a stand alone book which meant that I did not feel as though I was missing any necessary information to follow the plot as the crime that occurs just happens in the book.

However the further you get into the book the more interesting it becomes. It is not just focused on the murder but also the lives of Lily, her friends and their dogs. The story progresses with new bits from the murder being introduced every so often. It is nice how often it mentions the dogs although I do feel as though some thing such as the dogs being let out each morning did not need to be mentioned in the way that it was.

The story keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is with the suspects changing and new motives being brought to light, I was kept guessing as to who the murderer was throughout the whole book which made me more intrigued to get to the end. It is not an obvious "It must be them because..."

I finished the book in less than one day and find it a nice short read.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3557680099?book_show_action=false

Lilly Echosby is finally participating in a dog show. While it might be a trial run and doesn’t count, she and the participants of Dixie’s dog training are all participating. The judge for her group turns out to be Dixie’s childhood friend turned nemesis and she is not taking kindly to Dixie or her students. When the judge is found murdered, Dixie is the main suspect and Lilly and the gang need to save their teacher before she’s sent to permanent detention in the big house.

I really enjoy V.M. Burns’ books and read both of her series, with this one being just slightly more favored and that is because I can relate to this character on a more personal level. With a variety of characters, both human and canine, and a solid whodunit with plenty of red herrings, I am never disappointed. No need to read the other books first, each serves fine as a standalone.

Lilly and friends are back in this entertaining series by V.M. Burns.
This story is fast paced with an intriguing mystery that will keep you anxiously turning the pages.
When Lilly’s friend Dixie is suspected of murder, it’s all hands on deck to prove her innocence.
I liked that this book also included Lilly’s children, it was fun to see them all work together.
I’m excited to see what happens next with Lilly and Red, and with the new venture Lilly and Dixie want to start.
Highly recommend this author and this series.
#SitStaySlay #NetGalley