I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
"Dead Weight"
by
Patti Larsen
cozy mystery, detective mystery, urban fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by Patti Larsen Books/Mayhem and Murder Ink on March 7, 2024 and has 35 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Merry Little Mystic Murder, Drawn to Death
A prequel, 0.5 in the Whitewitch Island cozy paranormal mystery series set in New York, revolving around Georgia Drake, an inquisitor (think investigator). It’s a few days after New Year’s Eve, and the focus is on Benjamin, a mastiff puppy.
My Take
Ohh, it’s the tale of how Benjamin came into Georgia’s life. And how he stays in it, lol.
She so did NOT want a puppy. And I can so see how she couldn’t resist this one. He’s so cute — and he speaks! Although, I am really impressed that this ~month-old puppy is so pulled together AND has already managed to fail the program.
The judgment the handlers laid out on him may have been true, but it does show how such language can affect someone’s psyche. Yep, this applies to kids too!
It is mean of Elias to make these promises to a baby, which Georgia knows from her conversations with the puppy — Larsen uses first person protagonist point-of-view from Georgia’s perspective, so we hear all about her trying to talk herself out of keeping the puppy.
Of course, the puppy does make Georgia proud, so to speak, with his manners and willingness to speak up when it matters. He has quite the discerning nose.
I guess it’s appropriate to say there’s a lot of offloading (of blame) in this — the action does take place at the docks, lol.
For such a short story, it is a complete one, and that choice at the end? Too sweet. I cried.
The Story
Inquisitor Georgia Drake gets called out on a case of murder on the dockyards and takes this inconvenience with her. After all, she can’t leave a puppy on its own in the office!
The puppy will make many promises of good behavior on the his part, but there’s only so much he can resist.
The Characters
Forty and unmarried with no children, Georgia Drake is an inquisitor with Artemis. Conscio and Caprice are a mated pair of ravens whom Georgia rescued a few years back. Arimanthia Drake, Georgia’s grandmother, is Sentinel of Guild Hades, which has overview of the Hound program. Georgia’s older brother is a “star” with the World Paranormal and Supernatural Forum with a talented wife and three brilliant kids. Mom is on the North American Council and Dad is chief defender with Guild Nemesis.
The snarky Elias Barrow has been Georgia’s hunter partner for the past ten years. A mastiff puppy has been excommunicated (kicked out of) the Hades Hound program.
Martin Underwave is captain of the Calliope. Coral Underwave is his wife, and her family owns the ship and nine others. Coral’s grandfather was Gorgon Calliope. Arian Miltos, part siren, is Martin’s chief mate. Boatswain Fergus O’Hannah is a banshee.
Guild Artemis is . . .
. . . a law enforcement organization with inquisitors and hunters who partner up to track magical crimes. Lead Lorne Ortos is Georgia’s boss, with a stone giant heritage.
The Sentient Species Act wasn’t passed until fifty years ago.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a stark quality to it, albeit a colorful background with a full moon in the upper right and its gradient sky of dark teal to light to greener with a hoist hauling up lumber (or the masts of a ship?). A pair of ravens, black and white, are flying on the left above a nightlit city skyline. Taking up most of the right side is Georgia with her long, wavy dark hair, wearing a grayish beige suit jacket and a black top, her face tilted up to look at something in the sky. On the lower left is a black mastiff puppy, looking straight at us. All the text is in white with a black outline, starting at the very top with the author’s name and an info blurb beneath it. At the bottom is the title with series info beneath.
The title is what this puppy is, “Dead Weight”.
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