A review by mareich
In Dog We Trust by Neil S. Plakcy

4.0

This murder mystery is the first in a series and was good enough to make me want to continue with the series. The plot is just intricate enough to make the reader work a bit to try to figure out what's going on (along with the human protagonist Steve and his newly acquired Golden Retriever, Rochester). There are four murders, actually, and initially at least two separate cases. One involves the murder of Steve's neighbor (and owner of Rochester) which has very few clues for Steve's old friend the local police detective. The other case involves a deepening identity theft of Steve's old piano teacher, a widow who has been unable to keep track of the various investments her husband left her. Rochester provides invaluable clues for both cases, which begin to seem to overlap in motives and perpetrators. All in all, Steve learns how to be a dog companion and to adjust to being an ex-con trying to rebuild his life. It's a good story and told well, so I'll be back for more. Besides, I suspect that Rochester is a lot smarter than everyone assumes.