Maximum Security

A Dog Park Mystery

By: C. A. Newsome

Narrated by: Jane Boyer

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

It's not like she's going to do anything dangerous...

When Detective Peter Dourson arrests that nice stranger for the brutal murder of a dog park regular, he begs his girlfriend, artist Lia Anderson, to stay out of it. But her best patron takes the woman under her wing, and Renee insists her new friend needs help. Lia isn't going to do much, just ask a few questions. Surely that won't lead to trouble.

Besides, she's got an escape-artist foster dog to deal with. Then there's Peter's desire for a commitment she's not ready to make.

Of course, Lia's dog park friends refuse to be left out in this romp of a mystery laced with humor, dogs, and love.

©2013 Carol Ann Newsome (P)2014 Carol Ann Newsome

Another fun dog park mystery

Lia Anderson is back, and her current foster dog, Max, is a canine Houdini, a genius at finding gaps in the dog park fence. And one fine day in October, Max returns from her solo exploration of the adjoining woods carrying a human femur.

And it's not very old.

Max is easily able to lead Lia and Jim back to the body, or rather, the bones, almost entirely stripped of its flesh. And once the bones are identified as George Munze (spelling is a guess; I listened to the audiobook), Lia is looking for his missing dog, Daisy, while her boyfriend, Cincinnati homicide detective Peter Dourson, is looking for a killer.

But of course Lia befriends the perfectly nice woman, Kate Anstad, who was George's high school sweetheart, recently returned to his life, who is an obvious suspect. Her best patron, Renee, takes Kate in when the police ask her not to leave town. A mix of compassion and suspicion leads the dog park friends to organize deliveries of meals to the Munze household--where George's wife, Monica. is also an obvious suspect; whose daughter Stacy his cracked a secret about George's private life; who also has a teenage neighbor with an obvious crush on Monica hanging around and doing outside chores.

And of course, Daisy's disappearance isn't unrelated to George's death.

Meanwhile, Lia and Peter are wrestling with their relationship and their own insecurities. Peter is conservative and conventional by nature; Lia's past makes her wary of a too-traditional relationship, and fearful of giving up her space and independence.

This is a very nicely done mystery, with good character development. Newsome continues to greow and develop as a writer. Plus, of course, dogs. Dogs are always a win!

Recommended.

First time Audible user

Would you consider the audio edition of Maximum Security to be better than the print version?

Not necessarily..... depends on the circumstances. I love to read. But it is also convenient to "multi-task"... listen to the story while doing something else.

What other book might you compare Maximum Security to and why?

I love a good mystery, so can't really pick one to compare. As far as audio books, we have listened to Daniel Silva books while traveling. The "reader" of his books is really, really good.

Have you listened to any of Jane Boyer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No have not heard Jane Boyer before. She does a good job with Maximum Security but I would not say she is as good as the Daniel Silva book reader.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Tracking down "Daisy" and the children's comments, and the living arrangements.

Any additional comments?

I love the Dog Park, Lia Anderson series, with the continuing characters. The plots are always well thought out, and I always think I figured out "who dunnit" and I'm always wrong. Love the surprises!!

Easy listening and a bit fun!

I am enjoying this series through Audible. real easy to listen to. The performer is good and voice fluctuations are great.

can't stand the main character

What disappointed you about Maximum Security?

After reading the first book for free I bought the next two, adding the audible version for $1.99. I started to get irritated by Lia's ridiculous attitude and stupidity after three chapters in book 2. By book three I couldn't finish the story as I became totally disgusted by this character's personality. I plan to return the audible version and delete the books from my Kindle cloud.

What could C. A. Newsome have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Change the narrow tunnel vision of Lia.

Which scene was your favorite?

Loved the dogs.

What character would you cut from Maximum Security?

Lia.

Any additional comments?

Perhaps in trying to make Liz independent the author went too far into the absurd zone.