An Army of Noses! Dogs and Cats Unite to Solve Murder Mystery! Spunky Leads the Charge!

While the boys frolicked among the trees, Mom and I stuck
to the trail. Our here, Mom lets me run free, but I still stay
close. Today, her pace was brisk, and she seemed energized
by the beautiful weather. "Doesn't spring smell beautiful
girl? Everything's so crisp and fresh. Just look at those
beautiful crocuses. And what about that sky? It's such a
magnificent blue! As soon as the lilacs and honeysuckle
bloom, it will smell just like heaven."
Abruptly her steps slowed. "Oh, Spunky, what has John
gotten himself into? I sure hope he can explain all this,
but between you and me, I'm worried. A lot of cops in this
town aren't known for their liberal viewpoint. In fact,
I've met some who act like they enjoy the power of a badge
and a gun way too much...                                                ~~~

Hi Everybody! It's been awhile since we first visited Book Readers Heaven, so first wanted to say that I'm so happy to be back to tell you about our latest adventure! If you haven't read the earlier book review of our series debut, check it out before you leave Blogger... An Army of Noses certainly kept me busy because Mom was worried about the man who had been arrested for the murder...he was in one of her groups and a friend...So I had to take the lead and help her--I think we had just about every single cat and dog in town on this case. But believe me it was worth it because the real killer got caught, of course...  The "nose" did it again! 

Oh, two of my mates are here with me! Bobby had us all scared during this investigation and had to be taken to the vets twice. Sweetie, his brother, was so concerned that they had to take extra time to ensure things were going well for him. You know how siblings are! We also wanted to let fans know that he is doing well after all the chaos and confusion! 

An Army of Noses:

A Spunky Murder Mystery

By Holly L. Lewitas

You may not be aware that Mom, played by the author, is a psychologist who does her counseling

After her last session, Mom
checked her cell phone and played
back Frank's message, "Hannah,
I got your message. I'll try and see
what I can learn about John's arrest
but I want to be very clear about one
thing--I'm not butting into another
cop's case. Call me when you're
done seeing patients, and I'll let
you know what I've learned."
~~~

electronically! Cool, right? Lots of time we even participate... Imagine, one of us might sit on Mom's lap and start talking or hold our paws up to the person. Almost always we are able to get their minds cleared and feeling a little bit better as they smile and talk to us. It works really well. I'm letting you know about that because her work has to take priority and it puts more on me sometimes, to solve the mystery. It was especially important this time because Mom didn't know the cop that had been assigned to the murder, so wasn't satisfied he would do the job as it needed to be done

Mom and I have a long relationship--much more than the others and we have establish a form of non-verbal communication plus, although she hasn't yet realized it, I can give her mental thoughts if I can get her settled enough--I call it in the zone-- to place ideas in her mind... You see, I knew who the real killer was almost right from the beginning...or, at least, I knew what he smelled like! I had found a bit of the shirt that he had worn!

Before Mom could comment, John raised a
hand. "I know, I know. It was a stupid choice.
I wanted him to like me, so I let myself be
manipulated into something I didn't want to
do. Believe me, I've learned my lesson! But
I learned it too late. I went with him to that
private club for gays...Turns out it's really
the private home of some rich dude...
I was disgusted. This time I did stand up for
myself, and I told Richard I wanted to leave.
...I didn't stick around to see what
happened...
~~~

Later, though, I also smelled the same scent in the office of a professor friend of Mom's so the entire campus and town became the possible locations to find this man. 

Mom had also made arrangements with another friend to have his firm represent John. They had soon been able to get him out on bail. For a short time... Then he was arrested again! To say that Mom was mad would be quite true, of course...

"Hannah, hush a minute. This isn't about being gay or
straight." Frank's tone became slow and firm. "This is about
murder."
"What?"
"Hannah, two hours ago, Richard Keeley, the same guy who
took John to that club, was found murdered in his apartment.
It appears he was strangled to death. The evidenced suggests
that it may have3 occurred during a sexual encounter. John's
fingerprints are all over the place...
~~~

Fancy-Pants stuck his nose up a little
higher. "We prefer the term 'free
spirits...'"

By this time, I have all my feline friends totally involved with what I was thinking, and I knew even with their help it wouldn't be enough. When I mentioned this, Fancy Pants my other friend here with me today, spoke up and told me about a couple of guys who lived in the campus library basement. I immediately asked if they were feral since sometimes these guys and me don't get along..

And before I knew it, I was meeting the Lion King. Let's just say it was a little bit tense when we first met...

Every cat respects boundaries--every cat, that is, except Lion King. He rules, and he walks wherever and whenever he wants. He can go anywhere, anytime, any day. No one messes with the King. He struts his stuff down the street as if he owns it--and none of the regulars ever questions that he does.
When he struts his stuff, the message is clear, "Get out of my way or I'll hurt you." Fancy dropped his voice. "But, I'll let you in on a secret. When I was living on the streets it was common knowledge among the regulars that if you paid the King the respect he was due, then he'd look out for you. He saved my young cojones on more than one occasion. He stays the King because all the cats respect him. If he's your friend, you're safe. He's like you, Spunk!"
~~~

So first I had to establish a relationship with the Lion King so that his army of critters would

help. We wanted to check out all the buildings on the campus, for one thing. But as we learned more and more, I knew we needed even more backup...wonder whether I can get the dogs and cats of the community to work together... And then I was surprised to even get help from a specialist in communication...Ollie! What a great help he was! 

Now of course I had a plan, but everybody keeps telling me to keep it all hush-hush for now, so maybe sometime in the future, if we meet, I'll be able to tell you all the gritty details how it all came together. Even Frank was there to help make the arrest!

Well, both Bobby and Fancy-Pants are making faces at me to get me to shut up...But, shucks, it isn't often I get to shine as a "hero" as I guess I did leading this Army of Noses..." But, it sure would make me proud for you to check out the book that tells you all about what happens! That way, I won't have to embarrass everybody when I tell the world how me and all my friends got together to chase down a murderer...with our noses!

Oh, yeah, one more thing... I'm supposed to let everybody know that this is BRH Recommended! And thanks so much for inviting all of us to Book Readers Heaven!

Have a great week! Spunky...

Holly Lewitas loves a good mystery and she loves animals. So she decided to combine the two and that is how the Spunky Murder Mystery series began. Holly lives with one dog and eighteen cats - all rescues.

Holly is a transplanted Yankee, now living in Alabama - living in the south means all 18 cats do not HAVE to live inside - which makes the dog very happy -and the cats are all quite content with their heated beds. Holly never met a cat yet who didn't like a box or a basket.