While keeping the feel of a cozy mystery, Linda Pirtle has infused plenty of thriller elements into her book.

Lately, Magnolia Bluff, a quiet little community in the Texas Hill Country near the Burnet Reservoir, has seen too many gruesome murders. In Linda Pirtle’s The Dewey Decimal Dilemma, Caroline, the town’s librarian, found the body of her friend Terresa Brown in the alley which separated their Victorian homes. Terresa was only the first to be targeted.

Six months have passed since Caroline McCluskey’s friend, neighbor, and fellow Standard Poodle owner, Esther, disappeared while visiting the Magnolia Bluff Public Library. Left behind were her new crimson hat and her dog named Adam. Neither the local police nor the FBI have been able to find her. Caroline temporarily adopts Adam. She plans on reuniting him with his owner.

In Pirtle’s The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma, Caroline, sleuth extraordinaire, has grown weary of waiting for the authorities to solve the disappearance of her friend Esther. She organizes a group of friends and creates a mystery club called The Round Table. Caroline, along with Magnolia Nadine, LouEllen Mueller, and Daphne Leigh, are determined to find their missing friend.

Looking for clues, the women become cat burglars when they break and enter Esther’s house. Their search is interrupted when they hear voices of two men who have also entered the house. The words diamond stock certificates and the words she still won’t talk even though we stole her dog for her tells the members of the Round Table that Esther is still alive.

However, where is she being held and by whom? Why would anyone think that Esther, a retired school teacher, could own stock certificates in a diamond mine? Daphne, owner of the Head Case Salon, gathers an important clue. Alas, someone finds out about it, and Daphne becomes another victim. Will the Round Table members be able to rescue Esther from her captors before they, too, become the next victims?

Review by CW Hawes:

Esther Williams is missing. Has been for months. Now her dog is stolen right in front of Caroline McCluskey, Esther’s friend and neighbor.

Caroline decides she has to do something. The police aren’t getting anywhere, and somebody needs to find Esther.

So begins The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma by Linda Pirtle. The 10th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

So what does Caroline, our friendly librarian, do to find her friend? She calls together the Friends of the Round Table: her buddies Magnolia Nadine and Daphne.

The trio start gathering clues and paying attention to gossip. And then things start happening. Heads get whacked. Bullets are flying. And bodies are falling.

Will the Friends of the Round Table be able to solve the problem of their missing friend? Or will they end up as numbers in the body count?

The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma is an uncozy, cozy mystery. It’s not all tea and crumpets, or coffee and doughnuts in this installment of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

While keeping the feel of a cozy mystery, Linda Pirtle has infused plenty of thriller elements into her book. The result is an intriguing and exciting hybrid of thrills and spills, along with warmth and love, and plenty of sleuthing.

Recommended reading pleasure.

Please click HERE to find The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma on Amazon.