When Nikki Knight returns to her childhood stomping grounds in Frog Hollow Georgia, she realizes life has become nuttier than the pecan muffins at her late grandmother’s haunted B&B. But the only ghost in the Moonlight Mansion is the previous lady of the house, still roaming the halls in her afterlife.

Not ten steps into town, Nikki finds herself with a furry new companion. An abandoned royal dachshund who just might carry the secret to his past owner’s untimely demise. But when Nikki is seen snooping around at one too many crime scenes, the local officer becomes suspicious and begins popping up where she least expects him.

Now, she needs to find out what happened ASAP and protect Prince Dasher Dangerdog Bean from falling into the wrong—and deadly—hands.

Can Nikki and her royal dachshund solve the case? Or will they end up roaming the Moonlight Mansion with her grandmother?

Titles in The Accidental Ghost Detective series include — Scents and a Suspect —♠— Trails and a Traitor —♠—

Title:  Scents and a Suspect
Series:  The Accidental Ghost Detective #1
Author:  Emmie Lyn
Genre:  Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Released:  August 1, 2022
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Scents and a Suspect begins The Accidental Ghost Detective series with a funny, charming, and dangerous tale of ghosts, talking dogs, and murder most foul.  Just my kind of Paranormal Cozy Mystery.  This is the first time I recall reading this author’s work, and I’ll definitely be following this series and checking out her backlists.

Nikki is returning to Frog Hollow, Georgia to run her recently deceased grandmother’s Bed and Breakfast.  On her way into town, she finds an abandoned dachshund at the gas station… and her journey into the unusual begins when it seems like the dog is actually talking to her.

When there is a mystery involved I won’t go into many details about a story – but I can say that I had an absolute blast with Scents and a Suspect from start to finish.  The characters leap off of the page in various degrees of evil, heartwarming, devious, funny, or just plain stupid.  Dash, our demanding, royal pain in the behind dachshund is adorable, wise, and oh so confident that he is always right and that a treat not given upon demand is a good reason to go into a temper tantrum.  He’s also very good at giving clues and directions for humans to follow.

There are twists in the story that I didn’t see coming.  And I changed my suspects as the story continued – not saying if I was right or not but what a journey to get to the actual bad guy.

I had fun here.  The story is solid, the clues not always obvious, the characters believable (for the most part), and the action is intense where needed.  I loved Nikki and Dash, along with their friends as they solved this crime, and I’ll be watching for the next title this fall.  If you love Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, animals, and shenanigans… then Scents and a Suspect is perfect for you.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or author’s team via Booksprout. The opinions expressed in this review are my own – good, bad, or indifferent. I was not financially compensated for this review and no expectation of a positive review was promised.*

Available for the Kindle as this series is currently in KU