Murder and the Missing Dog

Shea’s rote second cozy featuring American expat Ariel Shepard (after 2023’s Murder Visits a French Village) sees the series showing early signs of fatigue. After the sudden death of Ariel’s husband, Dan, she’s spent the last three years restoring the rundown property he gave her in France’s Burgundy region. Her quiet work is again interrupted by homicide when she finds a bloodied corpse on the ground outside of her friend’s secondhand shop in Noyes-sur-Serein. The victim is the poverty-stricken Madame Touissant, who was preparing to sell her possessions for cash; in the wake of her death, her beloved dog has also disappeared. Ariel believes that Touissant’s head wounds are evidence of foul play, despite the lack of any obvious motives or suspects. She resolves to investigate, and occasionally runs afoul of the official inquiry headed by hunky potential love interest Monsieur Legrand. Along the way, Ariel raises questions about a string of local robberies and casts suspicion on her own gardener, all while keeping her home renovation afloat. Shea sticks steadfastly to formula here, failing to deliver many notable twists or memorable characters. It makes for pleasant enough reading, but in the crowded cozy field, this fails to stand out. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Mar.)