Bone of Contention

The Dog Park Detectives #2

by Blake Mara

Louise and the Pack are back in another pawfully intriguing mystery . . . 

When Yaz and her dog Hercules find a dead man on a bench along the canal with chicken bones lying around him, she immediately calls Louise – and the police.
 
The case is a chicken bone has been forcibly rammed down the victim’s throat, and the last person to see him was their friend – and Pack-mate – Claire. When the police take Claire into custody, the Pack mobilise, determined to find the real killer.
 
The trail leads them to the new Cluckin’ Good Chicken shop, who not only have a gang that loiter outside, smoking weed and harassing passers-by, but have also managed to create issues with the locals. As the Pack's investigation into the chicken shop progresses, establishing links with organised crime that might possibly connect to the local council, Louise and her friends find themselves in mortal danger.
 
Can the Pack sniff out the killer and get to the bones of the mystery? 
 
Praise for The Dog Park Detectives:
 
‘More good dogs than I've ever seen in a single book! Oh, and a grisly, puzzling murder to solve, with lots of twists and red herrings. But really, I'm here for the pooches, and you should be too’ Antony Johnston
 
'Howling good fun, with a plot twisty enough to get any dogged armchair detective barking up the wrong tree. I loved it – just don't tell my cats!' Fiona Leitch

‘Adored The Dog Park Detectives! Brilliantly written, with quirky characters, dogs and a dash of murder, I ripped through this in two sittings. Perfect cosy crime’ Lisa Hall
 
‘A pacy and entertaining murder mystery that’s a must-read for all dog-loving crime fans. Go the Dog Park Detectives!’ A. K. Turner

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Animals, Detective, Murder Mystery, Audiobook

480 pages, Paperback

Expected publication March 30, 2027

Reviews

[Celinnie · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

4,5⭐️

Literally one of my favourite books from this past year! I cannot wait for the third part!

[Ka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, I don't know if the author got some really good feedback on the previous book, or what, but I have to admit this surprised me! In a good way! After I finished the last one, I really didn't feel much enthusiasm for this one, but while it is not great literature or anything, it is WAY better than the first book. Most of my biggest issues with that book were improved upon, if not resolved, but given that I love dogs and spend a LOT of time at the dog park, I REALLY wanted to like these books, and I'm glad to report that this second book is FAR more acceptable than the first one.

My main issue with this book (well, the audiobook) is the same as the first: I REALLY HATE the audiobook reader for the main character, Louise. Even though the book is set in London's East End, Louise is American and has an American accent, and so does the lady who reads her chapters of the book. This would be fine, except that the reader (Patricia Rodriguez?) seems to have no ability to do other voices or accents, and she makes ZERO EFFORT to try (except, randomly, for the Russian lady... and even though her Russian accent sucks, I at least appreciated the effort and the fact that it differentiated the character from the others). This ends up sounding really strange, because the words everyone else uses make it very clear that they have accents. It's incredibly irritating, and so is the fact that the other 3 narrators who read various chapters (no idea why anyone thought multiple voice actors were necessary when all those chapters are in 3rd person) all have British accents and are also capable of at least TRYING to do other types of accents and voices. When it comes to a fiction book that has a lot of dialogue from multiple characters, there is a component of "voice acting" which I think is required of a professional narrator, and while I have nothing against this American lady in general, she was a very poor choice for these books. Like, to the point where I wondered if she is even a professional (she is, surprisingly) or just a friend of the author or something.

As for my other issues with the first book, most of them improved somewhat... while the characters don't have a GREAT excuse to investigate in this book, it still feels more natural than in the last one. Our main character Louise is a bit less painfully stupid and annoying (well... kinda) and when she does something completely idiotic, such as run into a burning building, even SHE acknowledges that it's extremely stupid. There is a lot more focus on other characters, which is nice as everyone else is more likable and interesting. The mystery plot, while it doesn't REALLY make a lot of sense, is still way better than in the previous book, and most of the events which happen actually feel somewhat relevant. The story had a much better pace and far fewer boring interludes and random uninteresting asides. In general, this was just a much better book, and I actually look forward to the next one.

SUMMARY AND THOUGHTS ON THE PLOT, FOR MY MEMORY WHEN I READ THE NEXT BOOK:
There is a brief scene near the beginning of the novel where the police discuss how someone put antifreeze in a public dog water bowl (in some other neighborhood), which killed a random human somehow; I think this scene mainly was intended to tell the reader that whoever was poisoning dogs in the previous book may still be out there. They thought that the douchebag veterinarian guy was the poisoner as well as the murderer, but I don't know that it was ever proven, so this seems likely to me.

Moving on... Yaz, a member of the Pack (Louise's dog park buddy group), discovers a dead body by the canal. The guy was strangled and then had a chicken bone shoved down his throat. This seems to be related to a new fried chicken shop that just opened in the space where the vet clinic used to be (which is in the 1st floor suite of a tall building which a number of the characters live in). Apparently, everyone hates the chicken shop for routing their exhaust into the building's ventilation for some reason and smelling up the place, for attracting street gangs, for being owned by a guy who also owns perfume shops that everyone thinks are money laundering fronts, and for always having a bunch of toughs hanging around in front of it littering everywhere (and presumably serving as guards for the place).

Ultimately we find out that the dead guy, a nice young Asian guy, was a complainy type who had somehow gotten ahold of some very damning documents, which apparently showed that the chicken place was also a front for some kind of crime. He was planning to do something with this evidence (such as use it to convince the bad guys to leave the neighborhood, or give it to the cops, or to the newspapers, etc). A lady named Carin (Caren?) who owns a hair salon across the street finds out about it, and for some bizarre reason, hatches a completely insane scheme to get ahold of the evidence and then use it either to blackmail the bad guys, OR to get in on their money-laundering scheme, or something. She murders the guy and steals a rucksack containing the evidence.

She also beats up (and leaves for dead) a local property developer lady named Annabel who is friends with Louise. Louise luckily happens to stumble upon Annabel's body as she's bleeding out (obviously, her sausage dog pulls her over there) and calls for an ambulance. Apparently, this happened because Annabel was low-key looking for some way to evict the chicken shop, due to all the complaints from the local residents.

The shop also has its own problems... in what seems to be rival chicken-shop-gang violence, one of the "guards" in front of it is stabbed to death and 2 others are hospitalized, and later in the story, a couple of thugs throw some molotov cocktails into the (empty) kitchen and start a fire. Louise (of course) happened to see the guys running by with masks on looking really suspicious, followed them, and saw them lob the firebombs in. She runs in to try to use a fire extinguisher to slow the flames because her friend Claire lives in the building (with her dog). Also because she is dumb.

For very stupid plot reasons, the killer lady sees Louise go into the burning building and tries to close the fire door of the kitchen (to trap Louise inside), but Louise manages to get to the door and reach around it to grab at the person trying to close it... she SOMEHOW grabs the super-important rucksack of evidence, which this complete moron was apparently just carrying with her?? There's an altercation and Louise hits her head but manages to hang onto the bag, and then other people show up to save Louise, and the killer is forced to flee.

Louise and her friends Claire (the journalist), Meg (the nice kickboxing girl who is dating the cat guy from the last book), and Fiona (a lady who knows about finance or something) look through the evidence in the bag and try to figure out what it is with no context. They eventually identify it as some kind of financial record and assume it's evidence of shenanigans at the chicken shop.

Louise goes out, and when she returns, she finds Carin the killer in her apartment (with a mask on) trying to burgle the place, presumably for the rucksack. Unfortunately for her, Louise actually did something smart and hid it, so Carin is out of luck. Louise and her elderly next door neighbor dude manage to tackle Carin and tie her up. Louise calls the cops and hands over both the burglar and the rucksack of evidence to Detective Andy (who's still hung up on Irina for some reason... and vice versa).

Unaware that Carin is the killer, the police release her on bail (as she has no prior record) and the next morning, she attacks a lady named Ella who is walking her dog with Irina, clearly thinking that Ella must be Louise. This seems insane because Ella has a giant black lab and Louise famously has a dachshund, but whatever. Carin pushes Ella into the canal, then realizes her mistake and goes charging down the sidewalk (Louise is known to walk her dog there every morning). Louise hears her coming (preceded by Irina's dog Hamish) and trips her, then captures and ties her up AGAIN. By now they have all figured out that she's probably the killer, and the police arrest her again, this time for murder. She admits everything but claims she worked alone, even though Andy and his partner Williams suspect that she had a male accomplice.

Louise goes to a dog party at the local bar where they all celebrate Halloween and also catching the murderer. Her hot neighbor Jake shows up and supports her (oh, and also, earlier in the book she gets trashed on wine and tries to kiss him, and he rebuffs her, which she takes as a sign that he just wants to be friends). She introduces him to their new friend Kate (also a dog mom), but it seems they already know one another! Even though Jake is still as mysterious as ever and Louise still knows absolutely nothing about him. Kate also worked with Claire earlier in the book to do some journalism, and she mentions that before she retired, she did some kind of investigative work. Claire also finds expletives scratched on her car, which is a crime Carin did not own up to, so clearly that is a mystery for the next book.

Lastly, there is a short scene where Carin's erstwhile young employee Benny is leaving the police station after being interrogated... he honestly states that he had no idea what she had been up to, nor that she was the murderer... but he still seems to be keeping some kind of secret. He clearly knows SOMETHING more about her shady activities, and more importantly, he believes he knows who the "accomplice" probably is... a guy named Danny.

However, for some reason, Benny also believes that if he even says the guy's name, HE (Benny) will be arrested for some reason, so he says nothing to the cops. In addition, it seems that Danny is super dangerous and scary. I'll bet you that he's also a dog-poisoner. Dun dun dunnnnn! Guess we'll find out more next time.

It's hard to believe it but I'm actually looking forward to the next book in this series, so I can find out what happens! This is a HUGE turnaround from the first book, where I mainly wanted to slap everyone. Hope the author keeps up the improvement!

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! Cannot wait for a part 3.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

While its a fun book, the size of the cast makes it a rather confusing read. Who ARE these people? I also have an issue with how Russian-born Irina is portrayed, frankly.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FIRST

[Abbie Sands · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lighthearted read following on from the first of the series. It was nice to have familiar characters (including the dogs) and get an update on their lives. I didn’t think it was quite as good as the first book, and I still have a few questions left unanswered. So I am hoping there will be a new book coming soon?

[Rachel Ault · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve only given this book one star more than the last book because the only thing I thought was really improved about it was the fact that there were more chapters dedicated to the detectives and getting actual forensic evidence provided to the reader. The murder was more interesting in this book than the first one because they really laid out the details. Other than that, the same issues reared their head with this book as the last book. My biggest question: why even bother having “romantic attachments” that don’t go anywhere? For two books now, the main character has gone back and forth with a neighbor who’s just moved in, and the book makes it out to seem like a bigger deal than it is in the end. The same goes for Irina and Andy. Beyond that, I still take issue with random details being added that detract from the real purpose of reading the book; for instance, there was a chapter where Louise, the main character, runs into someone from another dog group chat and explains how she doesn’t go to their park much anymore and should get together with them more often…but doesn’t. What’s the purpose behind wasting precious words that have to be read on information that has no relevance to the investigation? It’s too much world building and not enough narrative drive. All I can say is, I enjoy dogs and I enjoy mysteries so it had that going for it.

[Sarah_books_life · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in the The Dog Park Detective series. Louise and friends are back and after they discover a dead man on a bench on the canal, they work together to figure out who the killer is. I love that the story is set in Tower Hamlets as it’s where I’m from too. There are twists and turns during their investigation which keep you guessing. I would say the only thing missing is a long haired chihuahua called Luna (my dog lol) An absolutely brilliant read!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a little more exhausting with the constant drama that did warrant some eye rolls, but all in all still a fun read that doesn’t need much thinking/attention.

[Kelly Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed but felt there was good build but an abrupt end. Can see it has been left to continue in another instalment but consider the ending of this one left too much unfinished.

[klubnichka · Rating 4 out of 5]

so cozy!!! and for some reason i felt like i was able to picture the setting so clearly despite this book not even being that descriptive. the end was a bit confusing and ended super abruptly but i still enjoyed it nonetheless.

i do have to mention though, irina's character felt a bit too bitchy and mean and stereotyping the only russian character as the lowkey alcoholic is not fun TT all this character did was drink wine and act ignorant and rude towards all of their friends.

another thing i felt slightly confused about was the ambiguous age of the characters. im not sure it was ever mentioned in the book how old these characters are? is louise in her 30s? how old is jake and why is he getting flirty with a woman in her late 40s? wasn't kate in her late 40s or am i hallucinating? it's just a bit odd to not mention any ages in the book at all. not saying someone in their mid/late 30s is old but it does raise a few questions in my head why this character is acting a certain way when they are a fully grown adult. some actions are kind of giving character in their 20s vibe.

also a loot of characters to memorize and almost all of them are way too similar to each other :( i did love the dogs though!! i think they made this book so much more interesting for me and are the main reason for my 4-star rating. although i would prefer to give this book 3.5 stars instead but goodreads doesn't allow that.

[Veronika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got this book by coincidence in a second-hand bookshop, so I didn’t even know it was the second book in the series. And it was a failure for my taste, even though I love a good detective novel. I picked it up because I liked the idea of having dogs as characters in the book and of bringing together people who are connected by their dogs in the same area.

But God, why do we need sooo many characters?! I had to keep going back to the first page, trying to remember who was who. I can guess that the authors want to develop these characters in the next books, but there were really too many of them, and the majority didn’t contribute anything to this story.

The second point is the story itself. The explanation of why the murderer even got involved in the crime was just too weak for me to understand or follow.

The idea of Louise solving a crime and being appreciated by everyone is great. But she would have never guessed who the murderer was if the author hadn’t put the murderer in her own flat. Other than that, there were no details that might have led us to figure out who the bad guy in this story was.

Generally, the details that would help the reader follow the investigation and try to solve the mystery themselves, which is usually such a big part of the detective-reading experience, were simply missing.

[Books By Your Bedside · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first book of this series in a day because it was so much fun and I wondered if she could keep it up with this one. I did worry it was a little long. I prefer books 300-350 pages and this was almost 500 pages, so much longer than I like. But so was the first one and the page count didn't really matter.

We've got the same characters as the first book which gives us some familiarity, but then she introduces new ones to keep it fresh. There are a lot of characters to keep track of which can get confusing, but she's picked a handful of main characters to focus on which helps.

Is it a little repetitive after the first one? Potentially. But I don't really care. I think because I read book 1 and 2 one after the other, the similarities were more obvious than if you'd had a pause between them.

There are twists and turns, some more hidden than others. You can really picture the scene, all the dogs running round the park. It's really vivid.

I think I preferred the first book a tiny bit because it was so new but this was very enjoyable indeed.

Gifted by the publisher for an honest review.

[Sharon Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you’re walking the dog in the morning the last thing you want to find on the path is a bunch of chicken bones. Actually, that’s the second to last. The last would be a dead body. Bone of Contention, Book 2 in the Dog Park Detectives Series has a delightful ensemble cast each with their own dog. Both humans and pets have unforgettable personalities and a common goal of keeping their neighborhood, if not exactly safe, at least corpse free. The series takes place in London’s East End creating a small town feel among the dog owners, but allowing them to tackle big city mysteries. A must read for dog lovers and cozy mystery fans!

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

a book about loving dogs, with a little bit of murder and mystery sprinkled in.
If we're being completely honest, i do wish the characters were all a little less stereotypical. and whats up with changing the tense in which chapters are written in??
but all in all, if you liked the first one, this one is pretty enjoyable too and I'd probably read another one. Cause i do love all the dog characters (they have done nothing wrong).

[Jess King · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a cosy slow paced mystery book!

Loved the focus on the dogs and how they were a main part of the story.

Also had some great mixed media with text messages which helped break up the book a bit

There were a lot of characters and dogs to keep track of but the start of the book has a list of them all you can refer back to if needed!

Quite slow to get started, the main "action" wasn't until around 300 pages

A good book but probably not one I'd rush to re read or recommend

[Sarah Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read in the Dog Park Detectives series featuring the dog-loving residents of Tower Hamlets and their very colourful dogs. As with the first book, plenty of focus is given to the characterisation of the dogs who all have great personalities. A really enjoyable cosy mystery.

[Book Obsessed Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the first book in this series, this one was such a fun read! I loved reading more about the members of The Pack and all their amazing dogs 😍. Liked seeing more of the real detectives side POV and loved how badass Louise was! Can't wait to dive into the third book 😁!!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating - 3.5.

Huge thanks to the publisher for the finished copy.

[Tess Jerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Fran Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was wonderful, I love this series

[DJ Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Annette O'grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a great read lots of twist and turns it was not until close to the end that i realised who the culprit was

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! Liked the story and the characters, already kinda saw the ending coming so that was a bit underwhelming.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the latest adventure of dog park detectives. This one involves discovery of a body and a dodgy chicken takeaway. Looking forward to the next book.

[Kelias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyed again, better than the first

[Roseanna Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a slog again, I love the local references but I can't get over the dogs being so key to everything.

[Jonna]

3,75 tähteä

[Takealookinsideabook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was initially worried when I started this that I wouldn't remember much from book 1 as its been a year since I read it!

However, once I started it felt like reuniting with friends you've not seen in ages and I loved it so much!

It doesn't take long before the action starts and we're thrown into another curious crime that had me scratching my head countless times!

I loved being reuinted with these characters and their canine companions. This is a very addictive series that I struggle to put down and this book had me feeling all sorts of emotions.

I really hope there's another adventure soon and definitely think there needs to be a Husky added into the Pack too... just saying 😉 🐾

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dog Park Detectives are back with another crime to solve. The gang can't help themselves to involve themselves when a body is found on a bench by the canal with chicken bones around him and one in his throat! Could this be connected to the new chicken takeaway? Who performed the deed? Why? How is everything connected? The Pack are asking the right questions and this leads them on a hunt to find the culprit, even though, they are warned off by the police. The story is full of twists and turns with a few red herrings thrown in and the ending came as a total surprise to me.