This was a hard story to follow some parts dragged . I lost interest and could not finish the book. Characters were fun and I may try the next in the series

Caught and Collared is the fourth book in a small town cozy series by Jackie Layton. Released 15th Feb 2022, it's 224 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a very light murder cozy with a female protagonist who finds herself in the middle of murder despite her best intentions. She just wants to plan her wedding, and instead she keeps tripping over murder victims. This time it's the body of a local true-crime podcaster and influencer who teased a bombshell revelation on an unsolved cold case. It's full of southern slang and clean language with a sweet romance subplot.

There are four books in the series to date, making it a potential candidate for a series binge read for cozy readers who enjoy clean mysteries with an extra helping of dogs and Southern settings.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A good cozy read. This is book 4 in the Lowcountry dog walker series. It can be read as a stand alone . And I Grace and Marc are talking wedding plans and the town is having its first ever beach scavenger hunt. And I Grace and friend Juliet find a dog running in the street and take it back to its home. They find his owner floating dead in the pool. Lots of suspects want to kill this podcaster who solves cold cases. Light and fun.

It was another entertaining and compelling instalment in this series: it kept me hooked and guessing.
Well developed plot and solid mystery.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Wedding planning should not include murder solving; however, Andi Grace is really good at multi-tasking. Which makes sense since she runs a flourishing pet care business and is looking to expand her offerings to include grooming. Much like the dogs she walks, she seems to have a sixth sense about people and is always looking to lend a helping hand. So much more than just Southern hospitality, it’s a part of her, much like her name, a certain amount of Grace when dealing with others, be they man or beast, dog or drama queen, from the gruff to the clueless and all those in-between. Was it the obnoxious attitude or something from a cold case that brought about the podcasters dip in the pool. This installment definitely had me on the edge of my seat turning pages faster and faster as both Andi Grace and I followed the clues, stopping just long enough to look for a dress that could make her say YES. The perfect story to read while snacking on Oatmeal Raisin Pecan cookies and a Coke.

As I didn’t read the previous books in the series I was a little bit lost at times. However, I found the book to be quite enjoyable and it had we intrigued. This cozy mystery had me guessing right up till the end. I would recommend it to cozy mystery fans.
Thank you to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-and-collared-jackie-layton/1140871860?ean=9781954717718

Another fantastic installment in the series. I was hooked on the story till the end. Excellent character portrayal and a mystery that keeps one guessing till the end.
Highly recommended!

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Beyond The Page Publishing, in return for an honest review. While the fourth book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. Andi Grace owns a dog walking business in the low country beach town of Heyward Beach. In previous books, she inherited a large property and a house that’s allowing her to expand her business, Stay and Play, to include pet grooming services. She’s fortunate that her grown brother and sister, whom she raised after their parent’s death, both live in town and are in relationships with good people. Andi Grace is engaged to Marc, a local lawyer who fully supports her endeavors.
When Andi Grace and her best friend, Juliet, find a small dog shivering and disheveled in the street, they check the collar to find its owner. Unfortunately, they find a dead body in the swimming pool and an unconscious body in the house. The identity of the victim opens up all kinds of possibilities for who might want him dead. Andi Grace and her friends, although actively discouraged by the local police, find themselves in the thick of the gossip and the’ who done it’s. This was a lovely cozy and I look forward to the next in this series.

Andi Grace Scott is a dog walker living in the beach town of Heyward Beach.. Life is good with her pet business which includes Stay and Play, dog walking and the beginnings of her dog grooming business. She is engaged to Marc, a local lawyer. When she and her best friend, Juliet come across a lost pup and, getting the address from its collar, they set out to reunite it with its owner. Things go very wrong when they arrive at the beach front home and discover the home owner face down in his pool and his estranged wife is found passed out upstairs. The list of suspects includes girlfriends, his wife and various other people. Did one of his podcasts give somebody a motive? In spite of the local police telling her to stay out of their investigation, Andi Grace, Marc and Juliet set out to catch the killer.
This is a fun light read with a good mystery to solve and wonderful characters to spend time with. The dynamics between family and friends are strong and I found it like getting a letter from home.
My thanks to the publisher Beyond the Page and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Caught and Collared

A Low Country Dog Walker Mystery

By: Jackie Layton

Beyond The Page Publishing

Mystery and Thriller

Publish Date 15 February 2022

#CaughtandCollared#NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I want to first thank both NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the fourth book in a cozy mystery series. I gave it 4 stars. I would suggest that you start from book one because there were things mentioned that you need to know. The author did a pretty good job of clearing up somethings mentioned to make it easy to follow. I think it will still clear up more if you start at the beginning.

With that being said, this book is about a dog walker who helps solves murders. She is easy to talk to and people just relax around her. She owns a dog walking business and is expanding it into grooming and hopefully a kennel soon.

Andi Grace is the owner and seems to find dead bodies more than she should. She finds the body of a pod caster in his back yard face down in his swimming pool. How did he get there and was it an accident or murder?

This book takes you on her adventures and how she is able to figure it what happens.

I really enjoyed this book, and I will go back and read the first book because I know more details in her life and how she got where she is. I love the friends and family interaction. She has a great group of friends and a very loving family. I love how she really enjoys working the dogs in her care and how she protects them.

Cute cozy. I have not read the others in this series so when I came into the beginning of the story I felt a little lost. However, I love dogs and the storyline kept me engaged. I liked the friendship dynamic and the scavenger hunt woven into this whodunit.

Caught and Collared is the fourth instalment in the Low County Dog Walker Mystery series set in Heyward Beach and features dog walker, Andi Grace Scott. Andi is engaged to Marc and they are discussing weddings. It's her town’s first-ever beach scavenger hunt soon and the next morning Andi's out with Juliet, her best friend, and her German shepherd, Sunny when she spots a scruffy looking shih tzu across the road. The dog, Copper is tagged, so they return him to his owner, Ms Olivia Caswell but get a shock when they discover a man floating face down in the swimming pool at the large beachfront property.

Strong family and personal relationships, this was an engaging cozy. I'm interested to read the first three instalments and continuing with it going forward.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I love how the character and their relationships have built in this series. It's definitely a series I'd recommend starting from the beginning. Leroy, for example actually became a pretty important character in this book, but a couple books ago, he was just that guy out there fishing. Same for Jeremiah and Frank, two veterans that I've liked since I met them. And Ike's another veteran and a sweetheart, but you really need to get his backstory before reading this book, if you want full enjoyment. The series is more like a serial story without cliffhangers, if that makes any sense.

Marc and Andi have such an awesome relationship that isn't too mooshy or unbelievable. They've learned mutual trust and I thought it was sweet how they had some plans for gifting that included her siblings. Andi's whole posse of friends and family are so amazing with how they help each other out in the community. And again, it's told in a believable way and not bigger than life and not outrageously flaunting how good they are. It's just normal nice people doing everyday nice things for each other expecting nothing in return except the love and friendship they all enjoy.

This was one crazy mystery that had everyone puzzled until Andi's research led her to something big. It all built up to an exciting showdown where both Marc and Andi along with two very cool veteran characters managed to survive a killer.

If Heyward Beach with its characters and places was real, I'd visit in a heartbeat and rent part of the renovated old kitchen building--or maybe I'd wanna stay on the beach. Now I'm so eager for the next book. I'd gotten and read this book as an ARC but liked it so much, I went ahead and bought the Kindle file. I just want the author to keep writing this series!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

This is the second book I’ve read in this series and it won’t be the last. The characters are well developed and you really become invested in their lives. Andi Grace, her family, fiancé, and friend make this a warm and cozy mystery. I really like the fact that this is a good clean and Christian-focused mystery. However, the conversation between Andi Grace and her fiancé, Marc, is a little too syrupy sweet. But the mystery and Andi Grace’s efforts to solve it makes for an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

This is cozy is a nice escape. I love mysteries set in small towns and have pets or hobbies involved. Andi Grace loves animals and has a business caring for animals. She is engages and has a wonderful circle of friends and family. She and her best friend stumble upon a murder during a scavenger hunt. When one of the locals is afraid she is suspect #1, she asks Andi to find the real killer.

The writing style is easy to read. Lots of characters, but pretty easy to get them straight. I have not read the previous 3 books in this series, but that didn't cause me any issues with figuring out the characters and how everyone relates. The story is fun and kept me turning the page. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good cozy.

Thank you to Beyond The Page Publishing and to Net Galley for the kind ARC for review. My review opinions are my own.
Caught and Collared is the fourth book in the Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series, Andi and her best friend Juliet rescue a dog at an event. When they get to the address on the dog's collar, they find the owner's estranged husband dead in the pool and the owner asleep . Soon they are involved in solving the murder and clues abound as they draw closer to the suspect. I loved the well crafted sleuth that kept me guessing. The relationships and friendships are the hallmark of this series. I enjoy the supporting charcters as they all add substance to the sleuthing and background of the series. A very fun cozy mystery to engage the reader and a wonderful addition to the series.

Dog walker Andi Grace thinks she knows who the top suspects are in the killing a popular podcaster.
The problem is she has a lot of clues but does not know how they all fit together. Then when she thinks someone she loves is in danger the race to put the clues together goes into overdrive.

The strength of the story was the strong family and personal relationships topped with interesting clues that did all fit together nicely in the end. Thanks to Beyond the Page and NetGalley for an ARC. the opinions expressed are my own.

In Jackie Layton's Caught and Collared, the fourth book in the Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series, Andi Grace Scott and her best friend Juliet Reed are participating in a scavenger hunt when they rescue a dog in the street. When they get to the address on the dog's collar, they discover the owner asleep in a bedroom and the owner's estranged husband dead in the pool.

The author has created a cast of characters for this series whose lives are intricately intertwined and provides the reader with a true sense of community where everyone looks out for everyone else. As I read this book, I found myself drawn into the community feel and am hoping to go back and read the backstories in the earlier books. Even though it became apparent fairly early in the book who the killer was, there were enough red herrings and twists to keep my attention and keep reading to discover the true motive and gain more insight into the other suspects that were on the police radar. The interactions between Andi Grace and her clients in her dog walking/boarding/grooming/training business lent an additional layer of interest to this story.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Andi Grace Scott has a dog care empire. It's small, but growing, and she is enjoying enough success between the Stay and Play, and dog walking, to add grooming full time. She's also engaged to a tall handsome attorney, so life is good.

Time for a body to drop, right?! Well, it does, but there are dogs involved!

Writing an exceptional cozy mystery is rare. This book is okay, but it could be better with some coaching and a good story editor. There are two difficulties; 1) Show, not tell, and 2) flow.

The characters spend too much of the book telling us what they're doing and why, when it is either painfully obvious already, or someone else should be talking about it, not the lead character.

Andi Grace Scott, the main character, seems wooden and artificial in her thoughts and actions multiple times, and I couldn't stop some eye-rolls. There were scenes where she would say something like "Yes, I agree that it is important not to tell possible killers we are investigating them. Because they may get suspicious and think we know something we don't. And possibly put us in danger of being followed or worse. They are criminals, after all, and not nice people deep down, even if they act nice." Andi never says this, but she could. Any second now. But she means well. She always means well.

And Andi has what I consider to be an anger disorder. She seems overly sensitive, to the point that she clenches her fists and counts to ten (in French) over the smallest perceived slight. It isn't healthy or normal in my opinion, and I was thrown out of the story each time. (She appears to improve later in the week though.)

With respect, I'm assuming the typos and mistakes will be caught in editing. However, there were some plot points and details I questioned or commented on in the book's x-ray notes (available on GoodReads). They are NOT meant as criticism. I hope they will help the author look at the noted areas from the reader's perspective and reassess them. (Although, I am of course convinced I'm right, I am neither the author nor editor.)

As the book stands now, I give it 2/5 Stars, but would be delighted to re-read it with corrections and change my review!

*Out of consideration to the author, my book notes will not be available until after the book's publishing date. I wish her the best!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free preview of this ebook!

#CaughtandCollared #NetGalley

Andie Grace is on the case when she finds a dead body floating in a pool. I enjoyed the mystery and the dogs a lot. I am looking forward to more in the series.
#CaughtandCollared #NetGalley