Unleashed

An excellent lead-off to a likely series, with an interesting veterinarian tending a wide assortment of livestock and pets as she solves the apparent suicide of a friend. In fact, the deceased woman had just brought her dog to the vet, and he's waiting to go home...not knowing that he'll never see his owner again.
A young man who has been impaired with a head injury has been working at the vet clinic for some time, and gets on well with the animals. He is very distressed by the woman's death and mistakenly thinks he's the cause. He's placed under arrest for her murder, despite being unable to understand fully what's happened.
Eugene, the young man, can't possibly be the killer, but someone else was. Can Dr. Kate Turner solve the murder before Eugene is imprisoned or institutionalized by mistake?

Unleashed: A Kate Turner, DVM Mystery By Eileen Brady Poisoned Pen Press August 2015

Review by Cynthia Chow

For the past seven months, veterinarian Kate Burton has been practicing in Oak Falls, New York. Kate needed an escape from Long Island following an unhealthy relationship with her boss, not to mention the opportunity to pay off her massive student loans. Despite a slight culture shock, Kate has happily adjusted to living in the tiny town with a close circle of friends.

Perhaps this explains why Kate is so shocked when she hears the news that Claire Birnham, a skilled artist, just committed suicide and left her feisty Cairn terrier Toto in the Oak Falls Veterinary Hospital. At first, Kate doesn't outright disbelieve that Claire asphyxiated herself in her garage, but an unnerving dream has Kate wondering if her subconscious isn't telling her something. Oak Falls police officer Luke Gianetti doesn't help when he warns her off investigating, and this fractures their tenuous and undefined relationship. Kate's grandfather, a retired arson investigator whose career has left him with COPD, similarly advises against becoming involved; he doesn't hesitate to serve as a supportive consultant.

Oak Falls has a very small population, and as a result Kate discovers that everyone seems to have an opinion on Claire and her death. A promising artist who worked in two galleries, Claire was also rumored to have abusive ex-boyfriends, an alcoholic mother, and an inclination towards bad boys. Using the Oak Falls Ladies Bridge Club, the local diner, and her talkative human clients, Kate discovers that filtering through the abundance of information about Claire will be the key to deciphering the complex life of a woman devoted to art and dogs.

In this second Kate Turner mystery, Eileen Brady succeeds in blending veterinarian practices with an investigation that delves deeply into the art world. Scenes of Kate visiting her clients are as delightful as they are educational, and not surprisingly the humans are the ones who are in need of retraining. Kate has no illusions about herself as a detective (she admits that solved her previous murder by stumbling onto the culprit), but she finds that when pets are involved people are more than willing to share information. Raised by her grandfather after the deaths of her brother and mother, Kate maintains a long distance relationship by Skype that doesn't seem too promising. Nevertheless, Kate's sense of humor always shines through and she is continually delighted and surprised by her clever nonhuman clients. Author Brady throws in numerous plot twists that will keep readers engaged until an unpredictable conclusion. It looks as though Kate will soon be forced into making some critical decisions in her life, and the next installment can't come soon enough. A wedding ceremony also appears to be in the immediate future, but the identity of the bridal party...you will just have to wait and see.

This was a different type of cozy from the ones I usually read. The author is a veterinarian & so is her main character, Kate Turner. This is the first book in this series

The book begins with the murder, made to look like a suicide but those knowing the victim, Claire, aren't exactly buying this as a suicide. They know she loved her dog too much & don't believe she's commit suicide

Kate Turner is a veterinarian & she's filling in for a small New York town called Oak Falls. The regular vet is taking a world cruise, so Kate is filling in. One of the first pet patients she meets is a pot belly pig! He has a tummy rash. Kate thinks it's just the fact the owner used fabric softener because he sleeps in bed with her at night so Kate told her to just wash clothing & bedding without the fabric softener. Kate goes on multiple house calls throughout the book which is comical. This is why I really enjoyed it because so many funny run-ins on these pet calls

Kate has a friend Luke, who is a police officer in this town & he doesn't know if Claire was murdered or committed suicide either but he'd like Kate to stay out of the investigation because eventually, Kate becomes somewhat a target for the murderer

Who would the murderer be though in this small town & why did they make it look like a suicide?? These questions & more can be answered by reading the book!

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley & Poisoned Pen Press---thank you! In return I've written an honest review

A complex cozy mystery starring a veterinarian Kate Turner. This is the second book in the Kate Turner DVM Mysteries. It can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.
Kate has come to Oak Ridge, a New York town. She is substituting for the regular vet while he is on a world cruise.
One of Kate’s clients is found dead.
Is it murder or suicide??? The police are saying suicide. Kate believes that a murder has occurred. The victim had left her precious dog at the vet with out designating a person to pick him up. Kate discovers the victim was heading to New York to start a new job in a newly procured apartment. So why would she take her own life???? The book is intriguing with characters that are believable, engaging, fun and quirky, The plot was a puzzling with many twists and turns. The town presents a lot suspects to investigate. This will keep you glued to the book from start to finish.
The book includes humor and edge. It takes you into the real daily practice of a vet. Kate treats small animals and large farm animals.
I enjoyed meeting Kate’s grandfather who lives in an assisted living facility. Gramps had been a fire investigator before retirement. Besides being a hoot, Gramps can provide sensible advise to Kate.
I found Mr Katz to be a real trip. You will need to read this book to find out who that is and what part he plays in the story.
Thank you to Edelweiss, Net Gallery and Poisoned Pen Press for this eBook. My opinion is my own.

Rating - 5 of 5

“Unleashed” is the second in a series of mysteries about Dr. Kate Turner by Eileen Brady. Kate is a veterinarian who has moved to Oak Falls to fill in for the established vet, who is off on a prolonged vacation. She has been in her position for a number of months and is settling in quite well.

In this story, Claire, the owner of Toto, a Cairn terrier who is one of Dr. Kate’s patients, has committed suicide… or has she? While almost everyone in town is willing to accept her death, Kate has lots of questions. Further, she is fairly indiscriminate as to who she is asking the questions of. She starts getting caught up more and more in trying to figure out how Claire actually died and if murder might actually be involved.

Dr. Kate has the inside scoop as she travels around town making house-calls on various pets. She gets to meet and greet individuals who knew Claire and who have their suspicions, too. Some of the house-calls are really funny. I can’t say too much as that could take some of the reading fun away from others. I just really appreciated the slight lunacy of some of the pet owners as I have had my pets for many years and can relate to them.

I enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was a fun whodunnit to read and one that I figured out just a little ahead of the reveal. There were plenty of suspicious characters and lots of hints given. There seems to be a potential romantic relationship developing very, very slowly – which is great as it promises a lot of fun within the series. The book does not include any sexual scenes or other things that might make it less than family friendly. It if were possible, I would feel as comfortable giving a copy to my late mother as I would to my daughter.

I had not read the author biography until after I read the book. I was not surprised to see that she is a veterinarian of long standing. The book really provided a good look at the type of issues and treatments that a vet would encounter. Some books seem to skimp on the actual profession of their sleuth but it was obvious during the reading that Ms. Brady knows the day to day life of a veterinarian. I found the discussion of the pets and animals and their issues and treatments almost as interesting as the whodunnit of the mystery. It was also interesting to see that the character makes house-calls – I’ve always had to bring my pets to the office.

As a second in a series, I was able to read the book as a stand-alone story with no issues. While there are a number of references to the previous book, there were no serious spoilers that would keep me from reading and enjoying the book if, as I plan to do so, I would go back and read it. I really like that the author has not given away the previous story in this one. I often read books out of order in a series and sometimes the author gives so much away about the prior books that I have no desire to read the back list.

I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, via Netgalley.