annieb123
Written on Oct 15, 2019
The Spotted Dog is the 7th Corinna Chapman cozy mystery by Kerry Greenwood. Released 10th Sept 2019 by Poisoned Pen Press, it's 288 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. (Other editions available in hardcover, audio, and mass market paperback).
This was my first entry into this series and it was delightful. The plot works perfectly well as a standalone and introduction to the ensemble cast of wonderfully loopy/eccentric characters. Main protagonist Corinna is an artisanal baker who is also a hedonist, deeply ethical, artistic, loyal, passionate, and kind. Her extended synergistic non-biological family, who live in an eccentric (putting it mildly) community/landmark building called, appropriately 'Insula' help or hinder her in the solving of mysteries which come her way.
This is a cozy series; there are even recipes for baked goods at the back of the book. This is, however, not a book for pearl clutchers. I found it absolutely delightful, but fair warning, the language is rough (used in context, not gratuitously), there is a witch wandering around dispensing misty wisdom and amulets, there is sexual content (again, in context and beautifully written), there are also lovingly depicted non-traditional relationships: a married gay couple, a filial reformed junkie with a passion for baking and reading, a classics professor who might be pushing 100 years old having a physical and emotional relationship with a lady who also lives in the building, some tantalizing glimpses of a mistress leather/bondage/discipline practitioner, as well as Corinna herself, a self described fury/Venus, fully capable of dispensing rough justice on those who would harm her or hers. They make a wonderfully weird mix and Ms. Greenwood is a capable enough writer to pull it off (and make it look easy).
I really liked this book. I went immediately after finishing it and legally acquired the rest of the books in the series (Yes, Virginia, I bought them).
I have not tried any of the recipes in the book, unless you count the couple of Gins&Tonic during the reading. (Corinna's also a fan of G&Ts).
Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.