Death and a Dog (A Lacey Doyle Cozy Mystery #2) by Fiona Grace

Death and a Dog (A Lacey Doyle Cozy Mystery #2) Reviews

• 
  Kary H.

  Since I had so enjoyed the first in the series, I had high hopes for the sequel. Unfortunately, I feel that this missed the mark. Lacey isn’t who she was in the first book. The promise of learning more about her father is oddly and conveniently dropped from the plot, despite being the cliffhanger in the first book. Supporting characters, Tom and Gina, were portrayed so differently in this book. The repeat of Lacey being a suspect was a bit much to accept as plausible. And for the townspeople to again turn against her also seemed repetitive. I’m not sure I’ll even try the next in the series. Disappointing.
• 
  Jane Shibilski

  Interesting follow-up to an enjoyable first in the series. However, this time out I felt like the author totally abandoned her original characters and threw in some strange action and characterizations. In other words, main characters Tom and Gina all of a sudden were acting completely contrary to their established characters from the first book. Plus, the main character, Lacey, became whiny and totally self-absorbed. The dog portion of the book was well done and tugged at your heartstrings. So, on to the third book in the series which may be a deal breaker.
• 
  Jennifer Brown

  Very quick listen. It felt like a continuation to the first so that was nice. I was actually happy when the culprit was revealed. I didn't like that character!
• 
  Lise

  The discovery of an antique naval relic in a charity shop sets events in motion leading to murder.
  
  It's been a while since I checked in with Lacey Doyle, but I didn't have any problems catching up with her and being wrapped up in her shenanigans. Unlike many reviewers, I found the story enjoyable and was able to look past the errors it contained. I do agree that the main character had a moment that was absolutely idiotic and I put that down to Lacey being Lacey. To my mind, this was a pleasant piece of escapism - fully entrenched in the cosy mystery world. And, I adore the dog, Chester.
• 
  Books Yada Yada

  Book 2 in The Seaside Harbor series, I enjoyed this book much more than first. Lacey Doyle a NYC transplant in the sleepy Wiltfordshire seaside town, and once again stumbles across dead body. This time it's an obnoxious American tourist who won a valuable sextant in an auction hosted by Lacey at her antique shop. Lacey finds herself in whole heap of trouble as she becomes one of the prime suspects.
  
  In book two, Lacey is more comfortable in her new settings has found romance, new friends and is in the process of buying a lovely seaside cottage. Things are good until Texas tourists Buck and Daisy sweep through the town causing chaos and trouble everywhere they go.
  
  Without spoiling, this book offers a fast-paced cozy English murder mystery that offers a pretty good twist and I learned a lot about sextants! lol
  The only trouble I have with this series is the whole idea of Lacey's character being American. It just doesn't work very well and I don't see why it makes any difference to story. It may be because I've been listening to the audiobooks. The narrators try, but the accents don't work and it's distracting. I'd be perfectly happy reading about strictly British characters:)
• 
  QNPoohBear

  Kindle freebie at time of download
  
  Lacey is getting ready for her first solo auction. She's excited for the upcoming naval-themed auction where the main draw is an antique sextant she found in a charity shop. Lacey feels guilty about paying the shop's cheap asking price so she plans to donate the procedes from the auction to charity. However, things don't go according to plan when several people ask to buy the sextant before the auction. A brash American couple, Buck and Daisy, are making enemies around town with their rude, demanding ways and asking for something for nothing. Their latest would-be conquest is Lacey's sextant but she holds firm. Now she's stuck with them at the auction. There's a mysterious Spanish man interested in the sextant. Meanwhile, Lacey is trying to recover from being labeled a murderer. Her love life is looking up but David remains a pest and Lacey is still not over the trauma of her divorce. Can she make things work with Tom? Then, out on a moonlight walk on the beach with Chester, Lacey discoves Buck's dead body lying in the sand and guess who the police think killed him? Lacey is determined to clear her name once and for all.
  
  I liked the mystery OK but it's kind of lame. I figured out whodunit pretty early on and it was kind of sad. The women in the story get short shift and are not portrayed as very confident and independent. Also, some of the phrasing seems American rather than British and when I studied abroad in London, they could ALWAYS tell the difference between accents and would never, ever confuse an Australian accent for American. Gina is older and maybe she's supposed to be hard of hearing? New York Cheesecake is not the same thing as Gina's family recipe for cheesecake and the Martha Stewart's recipe wouldn't work in the UK unless someone helps poor Lacey convert it to metric. There were some typos like glazer for glazier and the mistake of labeling 1910 as First World War.
  
  Lacey is a seriously annoying heroine. She's immature for her age and doesn't know how to comminicate effectively. She rushes off into investigating, is very naive, makes assumptions, drags the police along and messes everything up. She can't even manage to have an adult relationship with Tom, the baker because she can't speak up like a mature person. Also, if she's so worried about finances 1)why is she buying her cottage and 2)why is she donating a huge sum of money to charity? SOME of the money I can see but all of it? The mystery about her father remains. There's also a mystery about her dog Chester's background and why his people died in an accident. Chester is the best character. He's smart, loyal and sometimes obedient. It's not his fault that his human is too stupid to pick up on his clues.
  
  Tom is a great guy. I'd have elevenses with him any day! However, Lacey's hurt feelings are valid but perhaps they could have been avoided if she bothered to talk to him. He's very easy going and since he's also divorced, he would understand her hang-ups. Gina is an awful assistant. She's too scatterbrained to be allowed in the store alone. If any employee accidentially forgot to lock up, Lacey would have been motivated to fire them. She's a good friend, amusing and charming woman but not a good business person. Keep her on hand for the garden and hire someone to work in the shop. Taryn, the boutique owner next door, is also immature. She's a mean girl and hasn't stopped trying to run Lacey out of time. She resorts to childish tactics and taunts. Grow up ladies. Lacey has a new friend, Brooke, a cafe owner. She's from Australia and relocated after a bad divorce. She seems eager and friendly enough to be friends with Lacey and Lacey hopes they'll bond over being newcomers and foreigners. In my experience, they'd welcome Brooke, the Aussie, more than Lacey, the American.
  
  Buckland Stringer and his wife Daisy, from Texas of course, personify the ugly American stereotype. Buck is big, loud, demanding and throws his money around like there's no tomorrow. Daisy is shallow and obsessed with pink. She demands something she couldn't possible know what to do with or need. I think these two scream con artists and why does everyone give into Buck's demands? I can see Lacey because she's so weak and meek, but everyone else? Shame on them if they do get conned.
  
  Lacey's suspect list is long. Brenda, the bartender, loves to gossip and she has a story about Buck putting his hands on her. Brenda's man went ballistic. Did he end up killing Buck? Sounds like he could have. Stanislav, the chef at the inn threatened to kill Buck. Did he follow through? Everyone on the High Street has reason to want Buck gone! Xavier Santino, the mysterious Spanish man, seems like the obvious suspect but Lacey believes he left the country before the murder. She trusts him and likes him because he drops a slight bombshell about her missing dad. Lacey is very naive and trusting. She wants Xavier (Javier typo?) to be innocent so she can learn more about her dad and the link between him and the sextant, if there is one. I don't like this hook and it isn't fair to keep readers guessing. He seems nice but it's very fishy he didn't have a return ticket to Spain and why didn't he keep better track of time to catch his flight if he did?
  
  The police are portrayed as too tough and bumbling at the same time. Karl Turner is really awful. He's too stupid to solve his own cases but tries to come off as a major tough guy. He assumes someone is guilty until proven innocent. If I were him, I would have handled Lacey with more care not wanting to start an international incident.
  
  I don't really want to read more of this series but I'm curious about Lacey's dog and her dad so I might skim others on Hoopla or just #5.
• 
  Lori Famularo

  Quick and easy read
  
  These stories are great reads!!! Love the characters and plot lines, great cozy mysteries, will highly recommend. Fun and quirky
• 
  Judy

  In this second in the Lacy Doyle Cozy Mystery series, Lacey is holding her first auction featuring naval items, including a sextant. As happens in this author's series, another dead body shows up and Lacey is once again a suspect, so she decides to solve the mystery. She's a bit of a bumbler, but eventually solves the murder. Not the best cozy I've ever read, but I'm a sucker for series, more for what happens to the characters, so I'm still reading this series (and others by the same author).
• 
  Tana

  De nuevo ideal como entre lectura, pero más floja que la primera parte de la saga. Los errores ortográficos no ayudan (en la versión ebook). Esperemos que mejore y acelere un poco la progresión de la búsqueda del personaje principal porque si no...
• 
  Lindap

  2.75 / 3 Stars
  
  ***HOOPLA Audio***
  
  MC: Lacey
  
  This story has been reviewed enough times, so won't go into the synopsis.
  
  I was hoping the next book would be better, but I just didn't feel it. Relationships are being made, but when the brash American dies who do the blame again? Yup. I see the ratings run the gamut, unfortunately my desire to continue to book #3 just isn't within me.
• 
  Mª João Monteiro

  Continuação de Morte na mansão. Continuamos a não saber do pai da protagonista. Gostei menos deste porque é tudo mais apressado (ainda) e um bocado atamancado. As novas personagens são ainda mais estereotipadas e a protagonista pouco melhora.
• 
  Kelli Beymer

  Loved the first book & enjoyed this one also. I really like the continuation of characters and plot, and hope we find out more about her mysterious father in the other books in the series, which I intend to read also. Was hoping there would be more about him in this book. A bit of a disappointment, but I’m going to keep reading. I really enjoy these books! Quick & easy reads.
• 
  Tammy

  Who killed big loud Buck? Book two of the Lacey Doyle mystery series. A fast paced cozy mystery. Lacey and her dog Chester will have you running in circles. Her relationships with characters from the previous book continue to develop while she introduces a few new people.
• 
  Nolan

  Thirty-nine-year-old Lacy Doyle knew the seaside town in England was the perfect place to start anew after a bruising divorce--a divorce where even her mother still roots for her ex-son-in-law. Lacy is dating the chef across the street from her antique store, and she has friends in the community. She has a new auction to run, and things have settled into a decent life for her.
  
  But all that changes the day the ugly American and his simpering whining wife come into the store. the guy is so obnoxious as to be almost laughably over the top. I'm not suggesting there aren't people like him out there, and I suspect Americans make up a significant part of that population. But the author develops him such that he's almost not real.
  
  He shows up at the auction because his wife has a fancy for an antique sextant that Lacy is auctioning. He outbids a wealthy Spaniard, and the American rushes off with his new antique. The next day, Lacy finds him dead on a secluded spit of land not far from the main section of the community.
  
  There's lots of formulaic repetition here. Once again, Lacy becomes a suspect. (Stifling a yawn here) Once again, the community turns against her. (Full-on open-mouthed yawn without apologies in progress now.)
  
  Lacy seems more shrill and shallow in this book. And the people who seemed to be her friends in the first book behave differently somehow. The associations seem more forced.
  
  I'll try the third book in this series, but if it isn't significantly better, Three will be the charm, as they say, and I'll quit reading. But let's give this one more chance.
• 
  Shelley

  So I'm putting this book down. There are a number of errors and the characters are showing regression rather than growth. The errors include calling the group message with her family the Doyle Girls after spending so much time discussing her return to her !maiden name Bishop and Frank Doyle where he's been Frank Bishop before. Then her family and exes behaviors seemed designed out of a loss of ideas on how to create conflict. It was so distracting I went to read the reviews to see if it's just me. Then I learn she will once again be the suspect in a murder. Sigh. Rushed writing and redoing a done idea are just not enjoyable. I'm terribly disappointed
• 
  Karen Cino

  I enjoyed the second book in the series. I found Lacey to be quite whiny in this book. I'm hoping in the next book that Lacey doesn't wind up being a suspect again. I also hope that she picks up again about finding out more about her father. We have been left hanging twice now about that. I look forward to reading book 3.
• 
  C.A. Coffey

  Well now I’m hooked on Lacey Doyle mysteries!
  
  I love the description of the town, Chester the dog and Lacey’s home and shop. Great descriptive writing that makes me want to move there!
• 
  Connie

  Okay, the dog was great. Do more of that..
• 
  Sara Lawson

  This is the second book I've read by Fiona Grace and I quite enjoyed it. While the first novel has Lacey settling into her new life in England, this one continues the story of her establishing herself in the small seaside town, exploring the neighborhood more fully, and making new friends. And of course, another murder. I liked that I didn't figure out the killer until the end. Fiona does a good job of keeping the suspense going.
  
  I have to say, I was a bit more frustrated with Lacey in this book than I was in the first one, however, I think that also makes her appear more human. She has trust issues with a lot of people, but it makes sense due to what she's been through. Her father and husband both abandoning her. Her ex-husband is super annoying, continually contacting her about money. And I'm torn between feeling strung along by the hints about her father and the fervent wish that she can find him and that there will be a good explanation for his long absence.
  
  The book was a fun, light read and I'm looking forward to seeing what Fiona Grace has in store for her characters and her readers in the future.
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.