Lisa Ks Book Reviews blog is proud to bring to you

THE COZY TIMES

Special Edition

This is a weekly online publication focused on connecting cozy mystery readers to favorite cozy characters by way of their town's newspapers. 

Today The Cozy Times is featuring the 

The Dog Mountain Chronicle

Dog Mountain sounds like the place for me!

You'll notice this edition of the Chronicle is 

from a future edition. 

How, you ask? I thought it better not to ask.  

Check it out!

Dog Found Injured, Owner Missing

By Winifred Wolf

Staff Reporter

Local elementary school teacher Melinda Monahan is missing, and police are concerned for her safety after finding her six-year-old bulldog injured on Lassie Lane yesterday afternoon.

“It’s an alarming development,” said Dog Mountain Police Department Lieutenant Samuel Sakai. “We’re doing everything in our power to find Mindy Monahan right now. But we need the community’s help.”

Monahan, 30, has been a second grade teacher at Tabor Elementary School for nearly six years and according to staff, was well-liked by her pupils.

“Every one of her students adored her as much as she adored them,” said Lacey Winston, a student teacher assigned to Monahan’s classroom at the school. “It’s not at all like Mindy to skip out on work.” 

At the time of her disappearance, Monahan was working in her free-time to stop pet owners from misusing Tabor Elementary School’s expansive field. According to Monahan, local dog owners have repeatedly failed to pick up after their dogs in the school yard, and students often end up paying the price for it.

“My students have slipped and fallen on dog droppings in the school field during recess multiple times,” Monahan said in an interview shortly before her disappearance. “The dog owners who are doing this are completely irresponsible and are breaking city code by not picking up after their pets. This issue must be taken seriously by the authorities, and the offending pet owners need to be fined.”

Monahan was set to bring the problem before the district school board the night of her disappearance, but she never made it to the meeting.

A day later, Monahan’s 6-year-old bulldog, Humphrey Bogart, was found wandering on Lassie Lane near the school, injured. The shattered remnants of Monahan’s phone were discovered a few feet away from where the pudgy pooch was found, say police.

“Bogey the Bulldog will make a full recovery,” said Dr. David Barrett, a local veterinarian who treated Humphrey Bogart’s wounds. “It’s his owner we’re all worried about.”

Police are continuing to investigate the beloved school teacher’s disappearance, and are unable to release any more details at this time.

A search party is being organized by the teachers and staff at Tabor Elementary. For more information on how to help, please contact Lacey Winston at (541)678-9887.

-Reporter, wwolf@dogmountainchronicle.com

*****

Got a dog-related news tip? 

Contact Winifred Wolf at (541)383-0354

*****

Coupon!

*****

Dog Mountain Named Dog Town USA 

for Third Year in a Row

By Winifred Wolf

Staff Reporter

It’s official: Dog Mountain, Oregon is plain crazy for canines.

“It’s a big honor to be selected yet again for the title of Dog Town USA,” said Agatha Barrett, mayor of Dog Mountain. “We love our four-legged friends here in Dog Mountain, and it’s wonderful to be recognized nationally.”

Dog Mountain was awarded the title by the national publication, Dog Madness Magazine. Since first receiving the distinction in 2013, the town has seen its tourism increase by 25 percent.

Some locals, however, are not too keen on the national recognition.

“This town used to be populated by down-to-earth folks who wanted nothing more than to live in peace and support their families,” said Geraldine Kline, the owner of Astonishing Antiques. “Now, Dog Mountain is being overrun by dog-loving, plaid-wearing hipsters from Portland who treat their dogs like children. I find it revolting.”

Astonishing Antiques has been in business since 1987, and is one of the few stores in downtown Dog Mountain that does not allow canines through its doors. Kline does, however, allow cats in her store.

Other local business owners aren’t as sour on the national title of Dog Town USA as Kline.

“I think it’s great,” said Louise Wolf, owner of The Barkery, a popular bakery that allows pooches and their owners to lounge on its extensive patio seating area. “This town needed something like this. Now, the whole country knows that Dog Mountain is paradise – both for people, and for dogs.”

-Reporter, wwolf@dogmountainchronicle.com

*****

See tomorrow’s edition for school board candidate profiles and information about the annual 

Howl-O-Ween Humane Society Fundraiser.

~~~~~~~~~~

That's this week's edition of 

The Cozy Times.

A big thanks to staff reporter Winifred Wolf for somehow knowing what an October edition of her paper will contain (Again, I don't ask, just report).

  

I hope you enjoyed!

******************

To learn more about fun, furry Dog Mountain and 

it's residents, read the 

Dog Town USA  Cozy Mystery series by author 

Meg Muldoon.

Book One

Welcome to Dog Mountain, Oregon a.k.a. Dog Town, USA.
Population: 30,342 people, 25,212 dogs and counting.
Mutts of all sizes, shapes, and creeds welcome. Wipe your paws at the front door. 

After spending six years covering crime for a big newspaper in Portland, ace reporter Winifred Wolf returns to her hometown of Dog Mountain and takes a job covering canine-related stories for the local paper. But soon the dog parades, humane society fundraisers and Dog-a-thons take a toll, and it’s not long before the normally dogged reporter finds herself…well, dog tired of her boring new beat. 

That is, until a dead body shows up in a local dog park one day in June, and Winifred’s sister, the owner of prominent pastry shop The Barkery, is accused of committing the ghastly deed. 

Winfred suddenly finds herself in a race against the clock to uncover the real murderer. Her only hope in saving her sister is convincing a police lieutenant who she’s been at odds with to break the rules and delve deeper into the mystery. 

Can Winifred find the real criminal in time for the town’s annual Fourth of July Pooch Parade? Or will the summer go to the dogs? 

Romance smolders, mystery flourishes, and dogs of every sort abound in the first installment of this brand new cozy mystery series from Amazon bestselling author Meg Muldoon.

Book Two

Ace Reporter Winifred "Freddie" Wolf is in the dog house. 

After turning down the crime beat at her small town Oregon newspaper because of a conflict of interest, Freddie’s editor at The Dog Mountain Chronicle demotes her back down to the dog beat. Which means covering more boring pooch parades, pet profiles, and canine puff pieces than any serious reporter could handle without losing her doggone mind. 

But when Freddie’s friend Mindy Monahan goes missing just hours before the local school teacher was due to expose a ring of law-breaking dog owners, the journalist decides she won’t heel and stay within the lines of her beat. 

With the help of her police lieutenant boyfriend and her puppy, Mugs, Freddie launches her own investigation into Mindy’s mysterious disappearance. But little does Freddie know that by trying to sniff out the mystery, she’s walking right into a deadly trap. 

Because it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. And Freddie Wolf is about to learn that lesson the hard way… 

Bulldogs & Bullets 

is the second book in the Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery series, and will be available on 

Amazon 

May 24, 2016!

About the author

Meg Muldoon is the author of 12 cozy mysteries. A former small town news reporter, Meg has always had a special place in her heart for lost dogs, homeless cats, and feisty old locals. She enjoys bourbon bread pudding, red cowboy boots, and craft glue guns. She loves writing cozy mysteries filled with humor and heart. 

Meg lives in central Oregon with a cattle dog named Huckleberry. 
For more information about Meg's upcoming books, visit www.megmuldoon.blogspot.com. And be sure to stop by Meg's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/megmuldoonauthor for contests, giveaways, and more cozy fun!

Is there a cozy town you'd like to see featured in 

The Cozy Times? 

Please let me know in the comments section.

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