The Scent of Murder

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Still reeling from the deaths of her fireman father and the dog she has been training, Jazz Ramsey grudgingly agrees to temporarily train another dog. In The Scent of Murder by Kylie Logan, we are introduced to a new series published by Minotaur Books.

While her friend Greg is away, Jazz agrees to continue to train his dog Luther as a cadaver dog. She stages a practice run in an old abandoned building and her mind wanders while Luther searches. They haven't even made it to the third floor spot where she has hidden a human tooth, when Luther barks three times - the signal that he has found something.

To her shock and horror, Luther has found the body of a young woman - a young woman Jazz knows. First on the scene is Detective Nick Kolesov, someone else Jazz is familiar with. The woman is dressed in all black with a very goth appearance including white face makeup, piercings and tattoos. She has apparently been strangled.


Florentine Allen had been a scholarship student at the prestigious St. Catherine's Preparatory Academy where Jazz works as an assistant to the school's director. A recent graduate, Florie had been a good student and was a creative photographer. Why she was dressed in goth clothes and what she was doing in the abandoned building was a puzzle.

Despite Nick's warnings to stay out of the investigation, Jazz is obsessed with finding out more about Florie since her high school graduation. Her search leads her to North Coast School of Photography where she learns Florie was struggling with her grades and her finances. And maybe wasn't the most ethical person around.

First there is an affair with a married professor and then suspicions of blackmail waft around Florie. What happened to the nice girl Jazz knew from St. Catherine's? As she pokes and prods people for answers, the picture of Florie becomes clearer.

An excellent start to a new series and I look forward to the next in the series.

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.