Karma's a Killer

November 23, 2015
The murder of Raven, an out-of-control animal rights activist who tries to disrupt an animal shelter fund-raiser in Seattle’s Green Lake Park, propels Weber’s diverting third Downward Dog mystery (after 2015’s Killer Retreat). Yoga teacher Kate Davidson was helping out at the fund-raiser as a favor to her veterinarian boyfriend, Michael. To complicate matters, the suspected killer turns out to be none other than Dharma, Kate’s mother, whom she hasn’t seen in 30 years. Meanwhile, Kate is at odds with Michael over her secretiveness and his messiness. Plus, the rest of the activists have
different agendas, and her best friend is pregnant—with twins. That’s a lot to pack into a cozy whose main focus is on yoga poses and dog antics. Readers won’t be surprised that a little pop psychology goes a long way toward resolving everyone’s troubles. Thus Kate realizes that her parents “were simply two deeply flawed individuals who had made terrible mistakes.” Agent: Priya Doraswamy, Lotus Lane Literary Agency.

October 15, 2015
A yoga instructor with issues is embroiled in another murder. Kate Davidson's neatness-impaired boyfriend, Michael, a pet-store owner who shares a small house with Kate and her German shepherd, Bella, is supporting a big fundraiser for DogMa, a no-kill animal shelter. At the fundraiser, Kate fights to control her ever present anger problems when she's attacked by a Chihuahua and is shocked to overhear a conversation between members of HEAT, an animal welfare group that plans to create a disturbance. HEAT member Raven, who has a secret agenda, is determined to ruin the affair; her older companion, Dharma, argues against attacking a group that helps animals. When Raven is found dead, Dharma is arrested and Kate's world is turned upside-down when Dharma reveals that she's the mother Kate hasn't seen since she was a small child. Despite her ambivalent feelings, Kate gets her friend Dale, the goat-farming defense attorney who represented her when she was arrested for murder (A Killer Retreat, 2015), to help Dharma. Kate and her heavily pregnant best friend, Rene, get into the act themselves when Dale admits that the case against Dharma will be difficult to refute. They dig up enough dirt to indicate that several other people may have wanted Raven dead. But getting the proof they need lands them in a world of trouble. Kate's third explores the roots of her psychological problems while providing a better mystery than her first two outings.

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