This Dog for Hire

Summary

Winner of the Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel: In the first book of Carol Lea Benjamin's acclaimed mystery series, Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her loyal pit bull must find a killer and a missing show dog

Divorced dog-trainer-turned-private-eye Rachel Alexander and her canine assistant Dash - short for Dashiell - are hired by a man named Dennis Keaton to investigate the hit-and-run death of his friend and neighbor Clifford Cole, whose body was found on an isolated Christopher Street pier. The police are treating the gay painter's suspicious death as a hate crime, but Dennis insists Cliff hadn't cruised the waterfront in months. Plus, Magritte, Cliff's champion basenji - a competitor in the upcoming Westminster Dog Show - may have been a witness to the crime and is now missing.  

The search for answers takes Rachel and Dash from the SoHo art scene to the most famous dog show in America. Now Rachel is in the sights of a killer hunting her across a treacherous urban landscape. There's no one she can trust - especially not of the two-legged variety.