Notes

by Kathy Wile

Barbra Sims has just bought a fully furnished house. She doesn't realize that what lies within an old desk drawer will send her on a new career path.

The former owner, Jerry Simmons, was a private investigator. He died of a heart attack and left behind some highly intriguing case notes. Barbra notices a photo in one of his files of a man with the fearful gaze of someone being hunted. His face, plus the few mysterious notes in his file, grip Barbra’s curiosity. She begins to consider continuing what Jerry started.

A big, friendly dog shows up on Barbra’s porch. Her neighbor, Sam, informs her that the dog’s name is Sydney, and he was Jerry’s investigative sidekick. The dog quickly wins Barbra over and moves back into the house. It turns out that Sydney has his own story to tell, and he gets several chapters of his own to do just that.

An encounter with Jerry’s former assistant, Alissa Sterling, sets the idea of continuing Jerry’s work in motion. They team up to solve the man’s case, as well as one far more important to Alissa. She believes that Jerry’s death was no ordinary heart it was murder.

A piece of furniture in the house soon serves as evidence, which they must surrender to the police. Though warned by the cops to end their investigation, they can’t avoid pursuing their prime suspect when his name surfaces in a seemingly unrelated case.

Sydney repeatedly tries to lead the two women toward Jerry’s killer. After a couple of frantic canine attempts, the women begin to listen to what he is trying so desperately to tell them. Alissa’s desire for justice, combined with Sydney’s keen sense of evil, leads them all down a dangerous path toward the truth about Jerry’s death.

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2025

About the author

Kathy Wile lives in Mississippi with her husband, three dogs, and one cat. She began writing at age 35. Though she has always loved the written word, Kathy merely minored in English. She received her degree in art with an emphasis in graphic design from The University of Mississippi in 2001, and she put it to use first as a graphic designer for The Oxford Eagle newspaper. Her hobbies include painting landscapes, writing songs, and exploring nature, particularly bodies of water. Sardis Lake, The Tennessee River, Pickwick Lake, and the Gulf of Mexico are some of her favorite spots, as is reflected in her writing.

Reviews

[Bonnie munn asido]

Perfect dog love!

This book is a good mystery and a good dog story. The warmth and empathy for humans and dogs is wonderful. Sydney is a fully a complete dog character. The evil man is very devious. Finding him takes special skills and the plot thickens. The towns people are fun and quirky. This is a good book that illicit many happy and sad emotions! Good read.

[Jack Hance]

This book read like a YA novel, and that isn’t a criticism. The characters were good, though not complex, and Sydney the dog, a true main character, is fun, especially for dog lovers. The plot was engaging, but simple, no deep crisis, and tge threats were TV-PG, hard to take too seriously. The twist at the end (Spoiler Alert!) killing off the protagonist, was a shocker, but it was also non-violent. I will try out Sydney book 2 if only to see how they proceed with a new cast. I enjoyed this sweet, short novel.

[Cindy]

Interesting

It was an interesting story about a deceased PI, his dog Sydney, his assistant Alissa, and Barbra who buys his house. Barbra and Alissa become friends and work together as PI, solving some mysteries with Sydney's help. They also identify the killer of the PI. There is an unexpected turn at the end of the book. With the exception of that, I would say this is more a young adult book, so I probably won't read more in the series.

[Marseydoats]

The story of a murder told from the victim's dog's POV. I loved Sydney (the dog) and I loved the book, until the ending. I still gave it a "5" because it was very well written. If you want "happy" just skip the last two chapters.