Saturday 16 February 2019

Book ~ "The Long Paw of the Law" (2018) Diane Kelly

From Goodreads ~ One night, while on duty with her four-legged crime-fighting companion, Megan gets an urgent call from her boyfriend, Seth, who works for the Fort Worth fire department. A baby girl has turned up at the station with only two clues to her identity: One is a peace-sign symbol stitched into her blanket. The other is a word, written in string: help.

Megan follows every loose thread and, along with Brigit, ends up on a twisted path that leads to the People of Peace compound, the site of a religious sect on the outskirts of the city. Its leader, Father Emmanuel, keeps his followers on a short leash - and his enemies even closer. Could this be the abandoned baby’s original home? And if so, why was she cast out? Now that Megan and Brigit are on the case, the secrets of this reclusive cult are bound to be dug up.

Megan is a police officer in Fort Worth, Texas.  Her partner is Brigit, a German Shepherd.  One night Megan gets a call from Seth, her boyfriend who is a fireman.  A baby was just left at the fire station where he works.  Because of Texas laws, people are allowed to abandon their children at places like this.  As the baby is being taken away to a foster home, Megan notices the word "help" stitched into the baby's blanket.  Assuming this is the mother's cry for help, Megan is determined to find the mother.  This leads her to a cult called People of Peace, run by the controlling Father Emmanuel.  Convinced she is on the right track, Megan does all she can to see if the mother is indeed in the compound and needs her help.

In the meantime, someone is stealing garage remote controls from cars with the intent of going back later to rob houses now that they have access and Megan and Brigit are on the case.

I've read many books by this author and I liked this one.  Though it's the seventh in the Paw Enforcement series, it can work as a stand alone and you don't have to read the others to know what's going on (there is enough background provided).

I liked the writing style ... it was amusing at times.  It is written in first person perspective from Megan's point of view and third person perspective from Brigit's point of view (which is funny) and Father Emmanuel's perspective.

I like Megan.  She's gotten more confident as time goes on.  Brigit's funny and likeable and it's fun to get into her head.  Though she is a trained police dog, she can be naughty when she wants to be (especially if there are treats or squirrels involved).

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