Carlene O'Neil

Penny Lively, winery owner, is busy not just with wine but trying to protect her cousin Annie. Annie is a vet and when Penny stops of at the vet clinic with her cousin and then founds her bending over the dead body of her partner with the murder weapon in hand, Penny knows she has to find someway of convincing others that Annie is not guilty even if that means figuring out who the real murderer is.

I love the cast of characters and how they relate with each other. I love the protectiveness of Penny but sometimes it is a bit much.

Plot was great and clues well disguised.… (mere)

Winery owner and amateur sleuth Penny Lively is knee deep in another murder. There is trouble at the veterinarian’s office where Cousin Annie is being accused of murder. She is found standing over the body of her business partner and holding the murder weapon. It is not what it looks like so Penny is on the case to find the real murderer and clear Annie’s good name.

The book has a lot of great suspects to choose from; the grieving widow, the fired vet tech, an old friend that’s in love with the grieving widow, a flirty business rep, and a bookkeeper with memory problems. Just when you think you know who the murderer could be, another murder takes place. The characters are quirky and enjoyable, the pace of the book is good, and the plot/mystery has enough twists and turns.

This is the third book in the series but can be read as a stand-alone without much confusion.… (mere)

Hair of the Dog by Carlene O’Neil is the third installment in A Cypress Cove Mystery series. Penny Lively lives in Cypress Cove, California where she owns Joyeux Winery. Penny walks into the veterinarian clinic that her cousin, Annie Moore co-owns with Brian Grasser. She overhears Brian accusing vet tech, Nicole of stealing medication. Nicole is dismissed, and they hope they have seen the last of her. The next day, Annie and Penny arrive at the clinic at the same time as Nicole who is picking up her last check. Annie proceeds into the clinic ahead of Nicole and Penny. The pair find Annie holding a knife over Brian with blood pooling on the floor. There was no forced entry, the murder weapon belonged to Annie, and she had a $1 million-dollar motive (plus she was standing over Brian with the knife in her hand). A distraught Annie asks Penny to investigate and find the murderer. Penny knows Annie did not harm Brian and agrees to nose around. There are a couple of suspects who could have committed the crime (Nicole, Claire, Dot) and the people leasing space from Annie and Brian for their rabies vaccine research have been acting secretive. When a second person connected to Annie turns up dead, Penny knows she must work quickly before the killer strikes again.

Hair of the Dog can be read as a standalone. Penny’s background is provided for readers. The book is nicely written, but I found it to be a slow starter. It is just the right length for a cozy mystery (300 pages). The mystery has several components and the author provided good misdirection. There were just the right number of suspects and each had a good motive. Chief Lucas continually tells Penny to stay out of the investigation, but Penny is dogged (she is very nosy) in her pursuit of the killer (she cannot help herself). I did notice that he did not mind the information she provided him. It was interesting to find out more information about how a winery operates. The author provides beautiful descriptions of the vines, the buildings and the town. Penny is romantically interested in Connor, the manager of her winery. There was some flirting between them, but we will have to wait and see how their relationship develops. There are good characters in Hair of the Dog and the author has developed them as the series progresses. There are plenty of cozy moments with food, wine, chatting with friends, and the events that take place at Joyeux Winery. I am giving Hair of the Dog 3.5 out of 5 stars.… (mere)