Exercise Finished: A Cedar Valley Dog Trainers Mystery

by Melinda Wichmann

292 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 6, 2026

Reviews

[Kristi]

This is an absolutely delightful cozy murder mystery, set in small-town Iowa and featuring dogs - lots and lots of dogs. Wichmann begins by introducing us to members of the Cedar Valley Dog Training Club along with other competition teams that have traveled from outside the area to compete in canine obedience, which Wichmann describes as "a sport where many of the dogs have better social skills than their owners." As the day wears on, tempers flare and vulnerabilities are exposed, until, later that night, one of the handlers meets an untimely end.

*** The most important spoiler -- no dogs are harmed in this book! ***

Wichmann does a lovely job of inserting a fictional Hilton County and the towns of White Oak and Mills Crossing into Eastern Iowa -- if you are familiar with the area, you'll swear you've driven through or perhaps stopped there for lunch and if you are not, this is a supremely accurate portrayal of the part of the world that brought you the Field of Dreams, Grant Wood and Amana home appliances, among other things.

The protagonist, River Kinkaid, is single, self-sufficient and delightfully comfortable in her own skin. While the story teases the possibility of a future romance for River, she has been living a rich life with a demanding career, a beautiful home complete with vintage barn / dog training facility, a wide circle of friends and, of course, her Australian Shepherd, Drifter.

The plot is satisfyingly twisty as River discovers all too many of her friends and neighbors have very plausible motives for murder, and the dogs are just beautifully written by an author who clearly has loved and lived with and made long study of canine behavior and training.

But, to me, the biggest gift from this book is the way Wichmann has managed to describe the esoteric topic of obedience training and competition in a way that explains just how intricate and, yes, *quirky* the hobby is while still ensuring that the reader knows why River and her friends and fellow training club members are so passionately committed to it.

Bonus -- I have to admit that, in addition to enjoying a cracking good mystery story, I also managed to pick up a few training tips along with renewed motivation to work on loose leash walking with my own pup while reading this book.

I can't wait for the next Cedar Valley Dog Trainers Mystery!

[Catherine]

What a fun read. The author, who is indeed a serious dog obedience trainer in Iowa, sets this murder mystery in that milieu. The writing sparkles, the mystery unfolds in a credible and engaging arc, and the canine characters are as vivid as the human ones. If you have ever trained a dog or participated in dog obedience, this book is for you.

[Christie Bane]

Is this great literature? No. But was it a great reading experience for me? YES!!! It’s set in a small town in Iowa with a dog training club that is much like all dog training clubs with the “interesting” people it attracts. Someone gets killed. It’s no one anyone is sad about not seeing anymore. Which of my friends would like this book? Anyone who’s familiar with dog training clubs. This author nailed it. Not great literature? Who cares, reading this made me happy.

[Kayla Thomas]

LOVE. Murder mystery is not usually my genre of choice, but once I started this I couldn’t put it down. As a dog sport competitor in the same part of the country, the quirks and oddities of the hobby were captured perfectly and I found myself wondering if some of the characters were based on mutual acquaintances. The mystery was a touch predictable, but the characters (human and canine) more than made up for it and made this a very entertaining read. Would recommend!!

[Debra]

Dog training mystery

Interesting story. Heavy on dog obedience training. If you are interested in that, this book should appeal to you. Hopefully a second book will come along.

[Becky Voegtlin]

Great obedience trial mystery

I enjoyed the characters and the training insights Accurate view of training, trainers, dog trials and dog clubs! Well written and edited.

[April J.]

Awesome read

If you’ve ever been in the dog world every word rings true. If you haven’t welcome to a great introduction wrapped in afun murder mystery.

[Nancy Peterson]

very enjoyable read

Very enjoyable, great insight into the dog training world and a fun mystery. Would highly recommend the book for a fun read