The Last Song Dogs (Trade Ellis Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining throughout--Truely Enjoyable!
Review: Trade Ellis has her hands full and I loved it. This mystery mixes the problems of a detective who is trying to solve some terrible murders with the problems of geting through her daily routine with a nice mix of adventure and humor. I could really envision the life of this character. She not only works as a private detective but she runs a ranch and maintains a decent relationship with her family. She is part Apache and has hispanic ranch hands which gives the reader a little glimpse of this part of Arizonas' diverse culture. She is actually an orphan but keeps a strong relationship with her Indian Grandmother and family. Her clash with her Uncle (he's not too excited about her hunting a murderer) reveals the close family bond and helps build her character. Arizona culture jumps from the pages--the horse rides to help her think and figure things out, the ranch help that's more like family and her great dogs made me feel like an old friend of Trades'. The mystery takes her back into the relationships she had in High School--some good, some not so good, while she tries to figure out who is murdering the Song Dogs, who were the girls in the pep squad when she was in school. The murders take Trade on a hunt to figure out why, after so many years out of high school, would someone murder these ladies who have all gone their seperate ways. I enjoyed the mystery because Trade is smart and bright--not the typical overly predictable PI. Overall the book was very entertaining and fun to read.

Rating:
Summary: First of the Trade Ellis series--can't wait to read the next
Review: What a great read! The descriptions of the land, the way of life and the characters were so vivid--I truly felt like I was there. A very intriguing plot with an extremely exciting and surprising ending, loved the main character and all the subtle humor sprinkled throughout. Found myself wishing I hadn't read it yet so I could re-experience reading it for the first time.