I adored the first two books in the series and was completely enchanted by this latest addition. I will read anything Jennifer Hawkins writes!

Liza and her husband Sam took over the Roundhead Pub when Sam’s father retired. In the basement, there’s an opening to an old tunnel, likely used for smuggling back in the day. A safety hazard for explorers and kids of all ages, it’s been blocked off for many years.

There’s more betting about what will be found in the tunnel than there was when Al Capone’s safe was opened on live television. No one had guessed it would be an expensive motorcycle and a long dead body.

Emma and her Corgi, Oliver, are among the crowd in the basement when the tunnel is opened. Oliver has a special talent. When he speaks, everyone hears typical barks and whines—except Emma. To her, Oliver speaks perfect English. Of course, there are miscommunications sometimes when Oliver doesn’t explain things well or doesn’t know the right word to use. So far, no one has discovered their secret.

Being a Corgi, Oliver is a curious little guy. While all the people are herded back to the pub and crime scene tape is across the tunnel, Oliver decides it would be helpful to sniff out clues. He was part of an investigation before and wants to be again.

In the basement he meets up with Pippa, the local reporter who uses him as an excuse to be there: “the dog went into the tunnel so I had to go after him.” Anything for a story.
And so starts the unraveling of a forty-year-old mystery of a stolen Black Lightning Limited Edition motorcycle with a sidecar and a missing but not missed man named Sonny.

Who knew Sonny’s bones would continue to cause as much trouble for townspeople as his life choices did forty years ago?

Emma and Oliver are an entertaining pair. With a stellar nose for clues, he has a mind that moves faster than his little legs can carry him. He holds a grudge against a coyote that invades his garden and has no fondness for cats. Emma is a thoughtful woman, an excellent baker, and good friend. When Sonny’s reappearance threatens to derail the lives of people she holds dear, she has to act.

This is the third book in the series. There’s no way around it, you have to love Oliver. After the first few pages, it seems perfectly natural that Oliver speaks English. I look forward to their next adventure and you will, too.

3.5 stars = Good+

Another twisty mystery outing for Emma and Oliver. As always, the chatty corgi is darling.

This series is a little different than a typical cozy mystery. Usually, the main character is mostly beloved by the community. In this series, people are more derisive about Emma's "gossip." While not inaccurate, it can be jarring. In this book in particular, even some of Emma's friends were pretty nasty to her. While the stress of the case can explain some of that away, it made this a little harder to enjoy for me than previous books in the series.

But the mystery is solid, and Oliver is a delight, and that propelled me forward despite some of my other struggles. Newcomers might want to start with the first book - To Fetch a Felon - which is my favorite.

A Cold Nose for Murder is the third Chatty Corgi cozy village mystery by Jennifer Hawkins. Released 5th July 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in mass market paperback, audio, 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 fun, very light, well written murder mystery series with an intelligent middle aged female protagonist named Emma and her saucy opinionated corgi whom she can understand perfectly well and who has opinions and suggestions about *everything* (the dog, not Emma). The author does a super job with the returning characters who are three dimensional, quirky, and mostly appealing. In small-town cozy style, the book is peopled by characters who are by turns nosy, exasperating, fun, or just odd. It's a nice distraction to figure out "whodunit", and the plot moves along at a good clip and doesn't drag or hiccup.

The story is lighthearted and flows well, and in good cozy fashion, the language is clean and the violence occurs off-page. The story is occasionally a tiny bit precious and over the top, but the protagonist has a talking dog (who only she can understand) and I never found myself being yanked out of the story. The author has clearly gone to some pains to learn about motorcycle history and there are small tidbits of trivia scattered throughout since the main plotline is built around an antique Vincent Black Lightning motorcycle.

Although it's the third book in the series, the mystery is self contained and the author is adept enough at providing the necessary character backstory, that it works perfectly well as a standalone. The story, climax, denouement, and resolution are all satisfying and cleverly wrought.

Four stars. Very fun. It would make a good selection for public library acquisition, and the series would be a nice candidate for binge reading poolside or possibly mystery book club discussion.

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

A Cold Nose for Murder by Jennifer Hawkins takes us back to Trevena, Cornwall where the owners of the Roundhead Pub are opening an old tunnel under their pub. It has been closed for forty years and they are going to renovate the area for an event space. When they break through the brick wall, they find a Black Lightning Motorcycle with a skeleton stuffed in the sidecar. The rare motorcycle belongs to Charles and David who thought the machine was stolen. The skeleton belongs to a former resident who disappeared at the same time as the motorcycle. It was believed that the victim had taken off for greener pastures. Th Emma and her trusty corgi, Oliver set out to discover the truth. A Cold Nose for Murder by Jennifer Hawkins is the third A Chatty Corgi Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. I wanted to give this series one more chance. I have trouble with the author’s writing style. It is not engaging or easy to read. I found myself struggling to get through each chapter (and there are so many). The author is a detail-oriented writer. The overly detailed descriptions bog down the story. We are introduced to quite a few characters in the beginning. It can be hard to keep them all straight along with their shops or jobs. I love Oliver, Emma’s corgi. Emma and Oliver can talk to each other. Oliver’s dialogue is delightful (I can just picture him sniffing for clues and eager to share what he learned with Emma) and I enjoyed the chapters from his point of view. He is a cutie. Oliver has a nose for clues. Emma is a mixed bag for me. The mystery was interesting. It goes throughout the book from beginning to end. I like the incorporation of the tunnel (who doesn’t love an old smuggling tunnel). There are clues to help readers solve the crime (long before the reveal). Emma talks to people and gathers gossip in her tea shop. Oliver searches out clues using his sniffer and listening to conversations. I did not like how some of Emma’s friends treated her in this book. They got nasty (how do you forgive that type of behavior). I can understand being under stress, but that is not an excuse to be rude (cruel, dismissive). There are many cozy moments in the story as people chat, shop, and eat. There is a lot of food consumed in the story along with numerous cups of tea. The cozy chapters outweigh those related to the mystery. I could not get into A Cold Nose Murder. The writing style is a turn off for me. A Code Nose of Murder is not my cup of tea, but it appeals to others (the beauty of books). I suggest you read a sample to judge for yourself. A Cold Nose for Murder is a cute Cornish cozy with a curious Corgi, countless cups of tea, a classic motorcycle with skeleton in the sidecar, delectable cakes, a tyrant named Reggie, and a prying tea shop proprietor.

The story evolves around the discovery of a skeleton and a very valuable, ancient motorcycle. A tea shop and friends in the community, along with an annoying character or two round out the story line.

I think this book would most appeal to owners of small dogs who they feel they are communicating with telepathically or just plain understanding what the little one is trying to say.

The book was a little slow paced for me with more explanations than dialog, which didn't appeal to me.

📖my thoughts:📖

I’ve read a fair share of cozy mysteries. They’re one of my favorite genres. They always have the sleuth, a murder, often a small town feel, and even a romance or two. This one however, this one even included a talking dog, a corgi, named Oliver, as well as a talking cat, Cream Tangerine! I loved this book that much more because of those two little additions! This was the first time I’ve read anything by Jennifer Hawkins, and I really enjoyed the book. The book flowed really well, and was a fairly quick and easy read. Side note, this is the third book in this series. I didn’t read the first two and because of that I didn’t have the advantage of having previously gotten to know some of the background of the characters, but it didn’t have a huge impact. Thank you Netgalley, Jennifer Hawkins and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book. I think this was a cute and entertaining cozy mystery that I would have to recommend to my fellow readers! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Emma Reed moved to the Cornish village of Trevena, she was looking forward to making new friends, opening up a small tea shop, and taking plenty of brisk walks with her talking dog, Oliver. This is the third in the series and doesn't disappoint. Oliver the corgi is one of my favorite characters. A stolen motorcycle, a skeleton found under a pub. Emma, Oliver and her friends get to work on solving the case.
#AColdNoseforMurder #NetGalley

This is the third book in the series and what a treat!
This has an interesting premise and the characters of Emma and her corgi Oliver continue to entertain me.
A whodunit that I could not put down!
I highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading the next in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed advance reader copy of this book.

A celebration is being held in the village of Trevena, Cornwall, to open an old smuggler's tunnel at the Roundhead Pub. Many in the village have made bets about what will be found, but no one is expecting a vintage Black Lightning Motorcycle plus sidecar, and a skeleton. The motorcycle turns out to be one stolen back in the 70's from store owners, David and Charles. Baker Emma Reed and her "noble warrior corgi" Oliver become involved when the body is identified as a former resident who had disappeared years ago. He may have been involved with a smuggling ring that has repercussions today for her friends now that his murder is discovered. Readers have to suspend belief that Oliver can talk to Emma, but he still has a dog's personality, and he is a charmer. This is book 3 in the series and I like that the author is giving the side characters their moments, so we get to know them better. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.