Delilah Doolittle and the Motley Mutts — Patricia Guiver

Sunny Southern California seems an unlikely place for a British widow to call home. But pet detective Delilah Doolittle is probably i he least eccentric--if not the most civilized--of Surf City's resident population. With an astute Doberman pinscher named Watson sniffing out clues, Delilah spends her time tracking down errant pets. And experience has taught her that the trail of a missing animal often leads to the worst of human nature .. .

The people of Surf City are fighting like cats and dogs over the proposed commercial development of a wetlands habitat. When people start dying, however, Delilah quickly rules out the community's four-legged population. She suspects greedy land developers and overzealous eco-warriors. But Watson out-sleuths her detective master when she digs up new clues--to an old mystery .. .