The great Gingerbread Dog & Cat House competition has come to Wagtail,
along with another murder to solve for Holly and her supersmart Jack
Russell terrier Trixie in the New York Times bestselling Paws & Claws
series by Krista Davis!
Visitors are arriving in droves to spend Thanksgiving in the mountains
of pet-friendly Wagtail, Virginia. Many of them are bringing dog and cat
gingerbread houses to enter in the contest that will be held in the new
convention center. Wagtail resident Orly Biffle bequeathed the land to
the town in his will, provided that they not cut down the grand old oak
tree on the property. Orly's children are mighty miffed that they didn't
inherit the prime piece of property overlooking the lake.
Holly notices that Trixie and Twinkletoes, her calico kitty, are fixated
on the big oak tree. Trixie barks at it as though she thinks it's a
corpse! Just as contestants are spicing up their sweet gingerbread
creations, the majestic tree drops an enormous limb. The mayor declares
that the tree is dangerous and must come down. When a bulldozer churns
up some roots, the tree falls over on its own accord revealing a body
inside the trunk! Initially, everyone suspects this unsavory trick was
Orly's doing. But it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to keep
the truth under wraps. Trixie and Twinkletoes now have to help Holly
sniff out some suspects and leash a conniving killer.
