Linda O. Johnston, Sit, Stay, Slay

Sit, Stay, Slay

Linda O. Johnston

Berkley, Jan 2005, $5.99, 304 pp.

ISBN 0425200000

Kendra Ballantyne was a first-rate litigator until she was accused of giving a strategy memo to opposing counsel's client. When the client got the memo, she went berserk and killed the CEO of the corporation she was suing. Although Kendra insisted she never sent that memo, she was forced to resign from the firm, her law license was suspended for three months and she filed for bankruptcy.

Darryl Nestler, her friend of Doggy Indulgence Day Resort where Kendra used to bring her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, convinces her to dog sit for sexy Jeff Hubbard's Akita. She accepts because she is renting out her mansion and doesn't want to see others living there. Gradually, Darryl gives her more assignments taking care of the pets of the rich and famous; she is reasonably content until she walks into a client's home and finds him dead, the murder weapon next to him. The lead detective believes Kendra is a viable suspect and that conviction is strengthened when she walks in on another murdered client. Jeff, a private detective and security expert, wants to help her but she's determined to find out who is out to get her although she may get killed in the process.

SIT, STRAY, SLAY is a very funny and exciting mystery. Although Linda O. Johnston has written many novels, this is her best tale worthy of an award nomination because it entertains, yet shows the audience what happens when an innocent person's life spins out of control and how that person copes with the changes forced upon her. The romance in this novel adds spice to a very clever crime thriller.

Harriet Klausner