Book 80, 2026

[chez_jae]

Murder Always Barks Twice by Jennifer Hawkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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Finished my current book before lunch today. It was Murder Always Barks Twice by Jennifer Hawkins. It’s the second in her “Chatty Corgi” series of cozy mysteries, featuring baker/accountant Emma Reed and her talking corgi, Oliver.

Emma’s baking has taken off, and she couldn’t be prouder. When she and some friends are asked to step in at the last minute to cater the annual Daphne du Maurier festival at a local estate, all of them are anxious and ecstatic. It will be a huge feather in their caps, but they’re working with a tight time frame. Emma puts the finishing touches on a proposal for the festival committee, but when she and her friend Pearl go to deliver it, they find Marcie, the festival organizer, dead in her driveway. At first, everyone suspects an accident or suicide, but it soon becomes apparent that Marcie was murdered. Emma plans to let the police handle it, until Marcie’s niece asks her to poke around and see what she can discover. As a result, Emma finds herself embroiled in family squabbles, missing money, and a clandestine relationship. It’s a good thing she has Oliver who can help sniff out clues and a killer.

This mystery was baffling. Several people had a motive to harm Marcie, and it was difficult to pin any one of them down. Characterizations were very good, including Oliver. I like how he relays information to Emma from a canine perspective. The plot was fast-paced, although we did see Emma at work and spending some time with a potential romantic interest.

Favorite lines:
♦ “I’m a bit of a—what do they call it?--fangirl.”
♦ “So what are you going to do next?” // “Go home and hide under the bed for a bit and wonder what got into me?”
♦ “People talk to you when you give them cake.”
♦ “No Marpleing after nine p.m.”

A case where a book deserves 4.5 stars. It was enjoyable, and because our intrepid heroine didn’t wind up in mortal peril at the end, I’ll bump it up to 5


- The mc finds the body