A Collar out of Place by Cindy Kirk - 3 Stars!

A collar out of place was about a town's memorial to dogs. A family put a collar with an amethyst stone on the memorial, only to have it stolen. A stray dog helps the main character find the culprit and the collar is returned.

This was an interesting start to a new cozy mystery series. The main character was very likable, and the little mystery was easily solved. Whenever I read these prequels, I always want more. I want to know more about the characters, the mystery, and the setting. A mystery in my mind is very hard to condense itself within the pages of a prequel. I also was a little turned off about having a stray dog wandering the neighborhood. To me, a stray dog needs to be rescued. I've been to places where there were packs of dogs living on the streets begging to anybody that they saw. It seemed very sad because they were always unkempt and I hated seeing their sorrowful faces. I hope that things change for the poor animal in the next installment to this new cozy mystery series. Thanks to the author for this advanced reader's copy.