Book Review: Scent of Murder

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Scent of Murder     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Cynthia G. Alwyn
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Serial Killer   Dogs
Dunne, Jul 2001, $23.95, 304 pp.

In Seattle, Brenna Scott and her German Shepherd "Brie" are part of a team searching for missing four year old Zoe Hendricks. Brie, an expert scent discriminator, follows an olfactory path that leads her and Brenna to the abductor. However, the kidnapper tosses the child into the nearby rushing water. Brie jumps in after her, followed by Brenna. They rescue Zoe, but Brie dies. The kidnapper escapes, but later evidence points to the gambling problems of Zoe’s father as the cause.

As Brenna mourns the loss of one of her "girls", an abduction in her home base of Sacramento occurs. With her other canine "Feather"’ and other members of the Culpepper Investigations search and rescue team, they find the child, but he is dead. Brenna somehow senses the kidnapper is the Seattle abductor who somehow followed them south. What she soon will learn is Gideon is playing a deadly game with her.

SCENT OF MURDER uses an interesting serial killer/kidnapping story line to focus on the partnership of human – canine search and rescue teams. That aspect is a two edged sword. By doing this, debut author Cynthia G. Alwyn provides an insightful fresh look into the mystery. At the same time, the depth of the teaming slows down the who-done-it. Still, with three-dimensional characters including the dogs and a strong main plot, many readers will fully relish this novel and want more stories starring Brenna, Feathers, and the other team members.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner