Unleashed: A Kate Turner, D.V.M. Mystery

In Brady’s amusing, well-plotted second Kate Turner mystery (after 2014’s Muzzled), the Oak Falls, N.Y., veterinarian gets investigates the death of Claire Birnham, whose Cairn terrier was treated at the local veterinary hospital. Claire appears to have committed suicide, but it begins to look like a case of foul play after various pet owners reveal details about the woman’s life. When Kate’s brain-damaged assistant, Eugene Spragg, is arrested for Claire’s murder, Kate sifts through a number of suspects, including Claire’s alcoholic mother, Beverly; Beverly’s abusive boyfriend, Buzz; Gilda Tremont, the owner of the art gallery where Birnham worked; up-and-coming artist Andrei Roshenkov; and Claire’s rocker ex-boyfriend, A.J. Janssen. Meanwhile, Turner treats a pot-bellied pig and a smelly cocker spaniel, besides getting chased by a flock of geese. Readers will eagerly look forward to Kate’s further adventures. (Aug.)