Fixed

March 3, 2014
Despite an opening section featuring a discussion between a gray tabby, Penny, and a "fawn-coated Shar-Pei," Georgie, about goings-on at a Seattle, Wash., animal shelter called LifeHouse, Kornetsky could easily have omitted the animal chorus in this well-crafted sequel to 2012's Collared. The focus is on the human leads Ginny Mallard, owner of a private concierge company that has branched out into "researchtigations," essentially unlicensed PI work, and her bartender assistant with a Harvard degree, Theodore Tonica. They are drawn into the shelter matter when a volunteer there, Nora Rees, comes to them with concerns that someone is embezzling money and jeopardizing the shelter's future. As Georgie was adopted from LifeHouse, Mallard has a personal, as well as a professional, stake in the case. This is a typical comfort-reading cozy, with few surprises. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, DMLA.

October 15, 2013
Ad hoc investigators get emotionally tied to a case when their pets are involved. Ginny Mallard, owner and operator of Mallard Services, a concierge company, has been hanging around Mary's Bar & Grill so much that it's like a second office to her. It's not just the comfortable atmosphere that's an attraction, it's also the fact that her sometime co-worker Teddy Tonica tends bar there. Ginny involves Tonica in her work when it leans toward the investigative end, since his understanding of people nicely complements her computer expertise. When Ginny meets Nora, a new client who seeks the utmost discretion, she's not sure what to expect. It turns out that Nora is a volunteer with LifeHouse, the local animal shelter where Ginny adopted Georgie, her Shar-Pei mix. Given that connection, Ginny can't turn down the case, in spite of the fact that Nora can barely afford to pay. Tonica tries to talk sense into Ginny, but since bar cat Penny has chosen him as her person, he finds himself taking the case. Now, the two, along with their animal companions, are stuck in an investigation of the mismanagement of agency funds that eventually turns into something more. If only their animal friends could clue them in to the truth. Kornetsky continues to flesh out the core relationships, but both Ginny and Tonica are hard to get close to. More personal information could help this series (Collared, 2012, etc.) reach its target audience.

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