Stud Rites — Susan Conant

MURDER IN THE FIRST PEDIGREE

Everyone thought that dog show judge James Hunnewell was dead--after all, the aging and ailing man had been out of the dog show circuit for years. But he turns up, alive and ready to judge, at the Alaskan Malamute National Specialty Show. So does Dog's Life columnist Holly Winter, who wouldn't miss the chance to enter her own malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi. From the moment she arrives, it's apparent that petty jealousies, rampant gossip, and back-stabbing politics are part of the dog show game. And when
Hunnewell is bludgeoned to death, Holly soon learns that everyone was dying to be rid of him. His judging would have been a fiasco. Was he killed to save the show? Could there be a connection between Hunnewell's murder and the violent death of a woman who once owned the legendary stud dog known as Northpole's Comet? Just how ferocious is the competition for Best of Breed? It's up to Holly to find out who murdered the judge--before the dog fancy breeds a new generation of deadly deeds.