Ruffly Speaking

Book excerpt: Holly Winter’s a Dog’s Life columnist on the wrong side of thirty, a canine-loving detective sniffing out crime on the streets of Cambridge. Holly is a dog’s best friend—and a murderer’s worst enemy . . . They might be less famous than guide dogs for the blind, but hearing dogs are no less invaluable to their owners. Holly Winter discovers this well-kept secret when she interviews Stephanie Benson, a hearing-impaired priest, and her canine companion, Ruffly. A hardworking, reliable mixed-breed, Ruffly lends an ear with ringing telephones, doorbells, smoke alarms, and the other everyday sounds on which Stephanie’s livelihood—and life—depend. Ruffly and the rector have just moved into the house of Holly’s recently deceased friend, Morris Lamb, whose life-loving and dog-adoring ways left no clue to his sudden and untimely death. Then Ruffly begins tuning in to something more than mere mortals can hear. And when Holly follows the dog’s lead, she picks up the unmistakable sound . . . of murder. “[Susan] Conant’s readers—with ears up and alert eye—eagerly await her next.”—Kirkus Reviews