Hounded

A gamekeeper shot dead. A country estate full of secrets. And a line of gundogs that witnessed something the police have overlooked.

When the gamekeeper at Coldharbour Hall is found dead in the woods during a charity gundog day, everyone agrees it was a tragic shooting accident.

The young under-keeper was out shooting pigeons. Guns were going off all morning. These things happen in the countryside.

But Flora Donahue knows the dogs are telling a different story.

Once a respected dog-show judge, Flora now spends her weekends doing the jobs nobody else wants. Today, she's keeping scorecards at a gundog trial on a crumbling English country estate.

And at precisely twenty-three minutes to twelve, she noticed something strange.

Every dog in the line turned towards the sound of a gunshot.

In the wrong direction.

When sixteen-year-old Jax Obando, who discovered the body, comes under suspicion, Flora refuses to let an innocent boy take the blame.

But Coldharbour Hall is closing ranks. The police want the case dismissed as an accident, the estate's gates are shut against outsiders, and someone is determined to keep its secrets buried.

With only the dogs' reactions, a handful of scorecards, and her own sharp instincts to guide her, Flora must discover who fired the fatal shot-and why.

The trouble is, someone at Coldharbour Hall knows exactly what she saw.

Can Flora expose a killer before Jax loses everything?

Hounded is a warm, witty British cozy mystery filled with clever clues, country-house secrets, eccentric characters, and plenty of canine charm.

Perfect for readers who love:

• Traditional British country-house murder mysteries
• Clever, mature female amateur sleuths
• Gundogs, Labradors, spaniels, and countryside settings
• Fair-play whodunits with satisfying twists
• Gentle humour, intriguing suspects, and animal-loving characters

Book Two in the Dog Show Steward Mysteries, Hounded features Flora Donahue in another cleverly plotted investigation and can be enjoyed as a standalone mystery.

A clean, entertaining cozy mystery with no graphic violence or profanity. No dogs are harmed, and every dog gets a happy ending.

The police believe it was an accident. Flora knows the dogs were looking the other way.