The Alphabet Books "W"

 The "W" Books

The "W" books were all about mysteries, written by two of my favorite authors, Johnny Worthen and Nina Wright.

Book 1: Thicker Than Water by Johnny Worthen. A Tony Flaner mystery.

If you have not read any of Johnny Worthen's books and you love a quirky, fun whodunit, this series is a great one to check out.

Tony Flaner, the sarcastic sleuth, has given up being a good detective and taken up pet sitting a pampered, untrained dog for a high-strung family. Naturally, the dog is kidnapped right under Tony's nose. Tony tries to care, but he really doesn't. He has other things to worry about, like the sudden death of his neglected aunt Vicky in Moab. 

Tony travels from Salt Lake to Moab to figure out who killed his aunt and why. Along the way, he deals with the local police, tourists, small town politics, an ex-girlfriend's recently released, psychotic former husband, Nordic Indians, tabloid slanderers, elves, goblins, wine connoisseurs, hated rivals, and his first love. It's a roller coaster ride even Tony couldn't have predicted. 

He handles it in his own madcap, warped way and, in the process, also solves the dog-napping. Now...what about the love interest?

Johnny is an amazing writer. If you are looking for a fun series, I strongly suggest the Tony Flaner mysteries. 

I could not put the book down. I give it five stars. *****

Book 2: Whiskey and Water by Nina Wright

I will confess, I was attracted to the Whiskey series because it features an Afghan Hound on the cover. I've read one of the previous Whiskey books and thought, ' Why not read another? '  

It's summer in Michigan, and all Whiskey Mattimoe wants to do is enjoy some peace and quiet and maybe meet a new love interest. But the heat brings some new and familiar faces to her quirky town. There's MacArthur, the hunky Scotsman chauffeur for her country star friend, who wants to work for her real estate company, and self-help author Fenton Flagg, who has returned to town with his support dog, a golden retriever, plus her ex-husband Jeb Halloran, whose latest CD--a collection of lullabies for pets--has hit the market.

But steamy romance is waylaid when Abra, her felonious Afghan hound, discovers a murder scene on the shores of Lake Michigan. Abra flees the scene with Fenton's handsome golden retriever. At least someone is getting some action. The dead body is revealed to be Whiskey's high-risk tenant. But who killed her and why? Plus, what is she supposed to do with the three men? Which one will she choose? And where the heck did her dog disappear too?

Its never a dull moment with Whiskey on the case.

This was another book I could not put down. I finished it in record time. I will read more of her books. :) Quirky characters, a fun whodunit, and an Afghan Hound. I give it five stars. *****