ARC Review: A Trail of Lies by Kylie Logan

A Trail of Lies
Author: Kylie Logan
Series: Jazz Ramsey Mystery (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books (May 11, 2021)

Description: A Trail of Lies is the third in the Jazz Ramsey mystery series from national bestselling author Kylie Logan.

Jazz Ramsey is just getting used to the idea that her on-again-off-again beau, Nick, might actually be a permanent fixture, when she gets an alarming call in the middle of the night from his mother, Kim: there’s a dead man in her backyard. Kim has a long history of drinking and a vivid imagination, so when Jazz’s human remains detection dog, Wally, finds no evidence of a body, Jazz thinks she can breathe easy.

But when the body of a middle-aged man, Dan Mansfield, is discovered in a nearby park, and a photo of Nick and his mom is found in his pocket, Jazz has to admit that something isn’t adding up. Kim claims not to know who Dan is, but the cops find out soon enough: he’s a recently paroled convict who served thirty years for murder. And when Jazz traces his crime back to a bar fight with an antiques dealer, she ends up with more questions than answers.

Meanwhile, no one wants her poking around―not Nick’s mom, nor the Motorcycle-riding ex-con she connects to Dan, nor Nick himself, who seems worried about Jazz’s safety, but also about what she might find. But Jazz has never been one to take no for an answer, and she won’t give up now―even if it means risking her own life.

My Thoughts: Jazz Ramsey is looking in on her boyfriend Nick's mother Kim while Nick is on a task force when she gets a panicked call in the middle of the night from Kim saying that she killed a man and his body is in her backyard.

Kim is skeptical. After all, Kim is an alcoholic who sometimes sees things. However, she heads over and checks things out and is unsurprised to find that there is no body in Kim's backyard. After calming her down a bit she goes home but returns the next day with her cadaver-dog-in-training Wally to let him give the yard a onceover. There's still no body!

When the body of Dan Mansfield is found in a nearby park, Kim is sure he's the one who was in her backyard. This time Jazz borrows a trained cadaver dog to make one final check and hopefully reassure Kim. But the dog does alert. There was a body in the backyard. 

Now Jazz has to discover if it is the same body that was found in the park and, if so, what was he doing in Kim's backyard. Kim assures Jazz that he doesn't know the man but Jazz has seen an old photo of him in a stack of photos and Kim's table and Dan was carrying a old photo of Kim and Nick in his pocket. 

Jazz finds herself in a perilous situation when trying to find out what happened long before when Kim knew Dan before he went to prison for murder. She wants to know why he looked Kim up when he was finally paroled. Someone is looking for something and it has to have its roots deep in the past.

I liked Jazz's persistence and desire to find answers. I also liked the information on dog training. There were a few really interesting dogs in the story including Jazz's new dog Wally. Fans of semi-cozy mysteries will enjoy Jazz's third adventure. 

Favorite Quote:

But then, George was closing in on eighty pounds. He had a tendency to slobber, and if he liked someone, really liked someone, George leaned into that someone--hard. In an effort to demonstrate his undying devotion, he'd been known to known down more than one person.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.