Title:	Gallant Guard-dach: Cozy Mysteries with a Dash of Dachshund (Mavis and Hornwhistle Cozy Mysteries)
	Author:	Alice Kanaka
	Published:	March 26, 2025,
	No. of Pages:	217
	Cover Price:	$13.99 Paperback,

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Any cozy lover looking for a new light series, may want to check out Gallant Guard-dach: Cozy Mysteries with a Dash of Dachshund (Mavis and Hornwhistle Cozy Mysteries), by Alice Kinaki. In this cozy, bestselling author Lizzy Hornwhistle has moved to Harperstown, South Dakota where her best friend, Holly, who has a veterinarian practice, lives. She has two pet houseguests, and her new next-door neighbor cuts down one of her trees which falls on his house. She is on a committee for a fundraiser, which is a maze, and during the event, a murdered woman is found. Holly is blamed or the murder, and her vet clinic is burned down. Lizzy feels she must investigate and her dachshund, Mavis, is right there to save her and help.

While the story is cute, it seems a bit disjointed, and isn’t that easy to follow, especially at the end where all the ends aren’t tied up. Kanaka does do a good job, however, of developing her characters, and Lizzy and Mavis are very likeable. The sub-characters are also quite well developed. There are lots of characters, and some are integral to the story. There wasn’t really a good motive that I could see for the murdered woman, and the author should have made her reasons for being in the town more understandable.

All told, this is a cute series, but the author should spend more time on tying up loose ends and emphasize the interactions between characters. Readers will definitely love Mavis, especially those of us who own dachshunds.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.