The Nosy Detectives by Louisa Bennet

Title: The Nosy Detectives

Author: Louisa Bennet

Genre: Crime

Publisher: Clan Destine Press

Published: 1^st July 2023

Format: Paperback

Pages: 300

Price: $32.95

Synopsis: The Nosy Detectives Agency is like no other. For a start, one of the detectives is a dog called Monty, a rescued Golden Retriever with a heart of gold and a super-smart nose. Rose Sidebottom, an ex-copper, has an uncanny ability to know when a suspect is lying. And Ollie Fernsby is a teenage super-geek and inventor of the rat-cam.

They make a great team. There is just one problem – no clients. Then one day, Phyllis O’Neal, a grumpy grandmother from the village of Nether Wallop, offers them an unsolved cold case they can’t refuse – who really lit the fire that killed Tony and Marie Toyne? The surviving son and only witness, Finn, hasn’t spoken since that terrible night. Monty sets out to locate a forgotten second witness, a dog called Panda, who might recognise the arsonist if she had a good sniff. The tricky case gets harder when Rose is distracted by a handsome fire-scene investigator. Can Monty get Rose back on track? Is Tiffany the giant cat friend or foe? And why is the whole village lying about the night of the fire? Can the Nosy Detectives solve the pawfect murder? The Nosy Detectives is the third in the Monty Dog Detective series, following on from the bestselling Monty and Me and The Bone Ranger.

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*This book was sent to me for review by Sisters in Crime*

Monty and Rose are back, and they’ve started their PI agency, the Nosy Detectives. Now all they need is a case. Rose is a former cop, and Monty is a rescue Golden Retriever who has a nose for crime. And they’re joined by Ollie – tech teen supreme, who has invented the rat-cam for Betty, a friend of Monty’s. They’re waiting for a case when Phyllis O’Neal from Nether Wallop – she wants their help with an unsolved a case. Her grandson hasn’t spoken since the fire – and people think he is guilty of lighting the fire that killed his parents – Tony and Marie Toyne. But Monty has heard through the dogs that there is a second witness called Panda – can she sniff out the arsonist?

As with any good crime novel, the protagonists are distracted by people whom, as a reader, I wasn’t quite sure about when I met them, and there are always clashes between humans and animals alike as Rose tries to gain people’s trust. And as some chapters are told through Rose’s perspective, whilst others are told through Monty’s perspective, we get to experience the case through both their eyes. I liked this because Monty and Rose – and the other dogs and animals like Panda and Summer bring a unique perspective to the case, and we also get to see how human and dog respond to people, to clues, and to the world around them – the different things they see as well as the way Rose and Monty understand each other as they work to find out what happened to Tony and Marie.

Now that we are into the third book, the series and characters are established well, and the plot moves along at a good pace. Whilst Monty and Rose are discovering different clues and finding different information, it is all woven together effectively because as I have found with the other books in this series, eventually, what the two know will come together, and there will be a sense of clarity. In this story, the villain is harder to pick, as everyone seems to think they know who is guilty and one of Roses former colleagues, Pearl, come across as unwilling to listen or see other possibilities – and this is where I felt Varma was someone I could trust more. He was willing to hear Rose out and help her- so he is a character I like very much.

Monty and Rose are dogged and determined to find out the truth – they know that there is more than what people know, and they want to make sure the right person is arrested – but to start, everyone is a suspect. All crime novels do this – lay out everyone who could be guilty and then narrow it down, and I loved the way that Louisa did this with Monty and Rose. Monty’s chapters are lighter, but they are focused on the crime, ensuring that the plot moves along. I also love the way Monty explains weemails and the frantic barks used to get messages across to other dogs as quickly as possible. I think getting into the mind of an animal like this – in the real world, is so creative and Monty is definitely one of my favourite fictional crime fighters.

Even though the crime premise is often dark, the crimes investigated have often happened before the book opens, so there is a gentler feel to this, coupled with tension throughout that ebbs and flows, depending on what the characters are responding to and what the motives of the people involved in the story and case are. Louisa ensures that each aspect of the plot is cleverly used so that the final scenes work out dramatically, and lead into what could come in the next novel. This worked well for me as a reader, as did the whole novel which celebrated the connection between human and animal and used a dog’s instincts as the basis for a good story that combines a dark world with the lighter moments. This is a series where I found I wasn’t on edge in terms of stress, but on the edge of my seat because I wanted to see if Monty solved the case! I loved this book and am looking forward to the next book.