Immortal Game by Allison Saft

A cozy, seasonal romance-mystery in which a grumpy café owner teams up with a sunshiny pet groomer to solve a murder that's shocked the small town of Labrador Falls. First book in the Dog Park Murders miniseries that's a perfect blend of Only Murders in the Building and The Pumpkin Spice Café.

A killer has been unleashed in their small town…

Juliette Macintyre has never met a dog she didn’t love. For one thing, dogs don’t judge, unlike the human residents of Labrador Falls. Most locals look at her with suspicion because her father was once a dirty cop, even though Juliette is upbeat, helpful, and the best pet groomer around. She just needs to prove it…starting with new resident Joel Cunningham, an enigma wrapped in a checked shirt and a scowl.

Joel runs the Brewed Awakening café, where the coffee is as smooth as Joel is surly. He doesn’t serve pumpkin spice, he doesn’t chitchat, and he claims he doesn’t like dogs. Yet when Juliette stumbles upon a dead body in the dog park, strangled with one of her custom leashes, Joel becomes an unexpected ally.

He has no intention of opening up, to either his cute neighbor or the foster pup she foists on him. But he can’t let a biased detective frame Juliette for murder. Whoever killed the widely loathed Maurice Allsop may be desperate enough to strike again. If they can just ignore their chemistry and focus on the clues, Juliette and Joel might be able to solve the case—before somebody else bites the dust…

For fans of...

• Grumpy/Sunshine Romance
• Small-Town Cozy Mystery
• Amateur Sleuths
• Twisty-Turny Whodunits
• Pet Sidekicks