By day Ginny Mallard is an event planner, aka a professional concierge, in the Seattle, Washington area. The rest of the time she is an unlicensed private investigator working along with her pal Teddy Tonica, owner of a local bar. They are assisted by Ginny’s shar-pei George and Teddy’s bar cat Penny.

Ginny was offered a much-needed lucrative job in Portland, and she and George headed south to meet with her new client. Unfortunately, when she arrived at the correct address expecting to meet the woman who made the appointment, instead she found a body in the parlor, and it wasn’t the woman she was to meet.

The local police warn her not to get involved in their investigation of what turns out to be an identity theft ring, forgery, and murder case.

She considered going back home to Seattle, but her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to remain in Portland for a while to see if she could find out who tried to set her up on the murder charge.

With the help of her bartender friend Teddy and his tabby cat, along with her own puppy, George; and surprise help from an unexpected source related to the police department, Ginny puts her life on the line in order to find out the truth.

Clawed, A Gin & Tonic Mystery is the fourth story in a series written by L.A. Kornetsky, following the first three in order: Collared, Fixed, and Doghouse.

The unique addition of the two four-footed investigators added a fun element to an already cozy mystery. Their insights brought another interesting context to the conversations of the humans who own them. Or do Penny and George own their humans?

The one complaint I have with this book is the sometimes repeated self-talk of the heroine, Ginny. Not only did she talk to herself, but she often repeated what she already said.

Otherwise, the story line was interesting and the characters were well formed. I liked that the author used multiple points of view, allowing the reader to understand the thoughts and decisions of various characters.

If you are interested in picking up any of the four books in this series, they are available at Amazon.com.

A special thank you goes to Pocket Books for providing us with a complimentary copy of this cozy mystery.