Rachel Alexander & Dash

Winner of the Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel: In the first book of Carol Lea Benjamin's acclaimed mystery series, Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her loyal pit bull must find a killer and a missing show dog  Divorced dog trainer–turned–private-eye Rachel Alexander and her canine assistant Dash-short for Dashiell-are hired by a man named Dennis Keaton to investigate the hit-and-run death of his friend and neighbor Clifford Cole, whose body was found on an isolated Christopher Street pier. The police are treating the gay painter's suspicious death as a hate crime, but Dennis insists Cliff hadn't cruised the waterfront in months. Plus, Magritte, Cliff's champion basenji-a competitor in the upcoming Westminster Dog Show-may have been a witness to the crime and is now missing. The search for answers takes Rachel and Dash from the SoHo art scene to the most famous dog show in America. Now Rachel is in the sights of a killer hunting her across a treacherous urban landscape. There's no one she can trust-especially not of the two-legged variety. This Dog for Hire is the 1st book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The path to enlightenment is fraught with danger when Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash, investigate the death of a tai chi practitioner  Did she jump or was she pushed? Devastated by the loss of their only child, David and Marsha Jacobs hire Rachel to find out why Lisa leaped to her death from the fifth-floor window of her martial arts studio. The tai chi instructor, who was studying to be a Zen Buddhist priest, seemed to have it all: beauty, brains, a vocation she adored, a sexy lover-and her beautiful, sad-eyed Akita, who may have been the only witness to her death and is still grieving the loss of his mistress. Refusing to believe that Lisa would abandon her beloved pet-and with only a suspicious suicide note to go on-Rachel and her canine assistant, Dash, hit the streets of downtown New York, retracing the dead woman's steps to figure out whether she was yin to a killer's yang. The Dog Who Knew Too Muchis the 2nd book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Someone is killing off the great dog trainers of the world-and it's up to PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash, to collar the murderer Rachel has just been hired as undercover security at a dog-training symposium at a posh Manhattan hotel. How can the Greenwich Village PI and her pit bull, Dashiell, turn down the hefty fee, plus free room and biscuits at the Ritz? All Rachel has to do is keep the peace among the competitive diva dog trainers who have come with their prize pooches from all corners of the globe. She and Dash have barely infiltrated the festivities when they find out that one of the trainers, the self-proclaimed guru of a controversial obedience technique, has been electrocuted in his bathtub. The cops are calling it an accident. Until another trainer dies . . . and then another. With suspects including a dog psychic and a behaviorist to the stars, Rachel discovers that it's the humans who need to be housebroken as she and Dash bring a serial killer to heel. A Hell of a Dogis the 3rd book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A PI goes undercover with her pit bull partner as a dog therapist in a crime novel from a Shamus Award–winning author "canine fans will relish" (Publishers Weekly).   When Lady, the beloved therapy dog of the Harbor View residential home goes missing, private investigator Rachel Alexander and her dog Dash slip in easily as the new service dog and trainer, though figuring out who murdered Harbor View's owner is not so simple. Dash brings order and calm to Harbor View's residents, but Rachel is deeply disturbed when her client and chief source of clues is badly injured in an "accident." Suddenly the stakes are even higher-for Rachel, Dash, and the ensemble of eccentric residents they have come to care for . . .   "A snappy pace and . . . a tough mystery." -Booklist   "Indispensable for readers who love man's best friend right back. Human-watchers will find the psychology sound." -Kirkus Reviews   Praise for the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries   "One of the best private eye series around." -Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Fool Me Once   "Her high quality of prose and convincing way with dialogue may surprise and delight new readers." -Chicago Sun-Times   "Rachel Alexander is someone who holds your interest and makes you keep turning the pages." -Nevada Barr, New York Times–bestselling author of Flashback   "A serious approach to the canine crime-writing niche. . . . [Dash] is nevertheless a dependably entertaining companion among murder and mayhem." -Rocky Mountain News   "Benjamin's work [is] first rate." -The Plain Dealer

In Shamus Award–winning author Carol Lea Benjamin's riveting mystery, dog trainer–turned-PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash, take a walk on the wild side-with a little help from a courageous dachshund-to solve a series of murders  Rachel and Dash have a new client. Well, three new clients. A trio of transvestite working girls want Rachel to investigate the death of one of their own. Rosalinda's throat was slashed on Halloween right after the Greenwich Village parade. Finding her killer isn't exactly the NYPD's top priority-and LaDonna, Chi Chi, and Jasmine are terrified that they'll be next. With her cash retainer in hand-and very few leads-Rachel starts digging. What is the connection between Rosalinda and a dead butcher? Soon, with the help of Chi Chi's mini-dachshund, Clint, Rachel is breaking into a plant in the Meatpacking District. But her future is suddenly on the line when she sets herself up as bait to catch the killer. As Rachel follows a twisting trail with only Dash for protection, she discovers that her foray into "the life" could end with her own untimely death. The Long Good Boyis the 6th book in the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Officer Timothy O'Fallon's death may have been ruled an accident, but private investigator Rachel Alexander can't let the details of his case go. Allegedly, the cop was cleaning his service revolver when it misfired-but why did he name Alexander as the executor of his will? O'Fallon was a stranger to her, a member of the 9/11 survivors group she went to with her pit bull Dashiell. Though he attended all the meetings, he never spoke a word. Outside of the single sentence O'Fallon uttered to her one night after he'd taken Dash for a walk around the block-returning the dog with his fur soaked in tears-Rachel knows nothing about him.  Now she's calling the siblings he didn't trust enough to settle his affairs to tell them the news of his sudden passing. And the more she searches through the details of his lonely life, prowling the corners of the Greenwich Village neighborhood they once shared, the more of a mystery he becomes. Was his death a suicide? Or something more sinister? As Rachel sets about her work, she soon discovers the secrets in O'Fallon's past that led to his tragic end...

"{A} heartfelt . . . complex portrait of a severely damaged child and her emotionally cut-off father" and the PI and her service dog who sign on to save them (Publishers Weekly).   A missing mother. A child made mute by the trauma. A distraught father willing to do anything to help his daughter. It's the kind of case private investigator Rachel Alexandra can't walk away from-even though finding the girl's mother seems hopeless. Sally Spector disappeared five years ago without a trace. But with young Madison now accused of murdering the neurologist who was managing her care, her father is desperate to find the key to unlocking Madison's silence. Drawn to the troubled girl, how can Rachel refuse?   Along with her pit bull Dashiell, Rachel starts putting together what clues she can find. What she uncovers is a case more complex and disturbing than she ever imagined. Suddenly Rachel understands that there are problems in this world some might be willing to die for-or kill for.   "Benjamin captures the mood of New York City effectively. . . . An entertaining series for anyone who loves female sleuths, New York, or pit bulls." -Booklist   Praise for the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries   "One of the best private eye series around." -Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Fool Me Once   "Rachel Alexander is someone who holds your interest and makes you keep turning the pages." -Nevada Barr, New York Times–bestselling author of Flashback   "Benjamin's work {is} first rate." -The Plain Dealer

A "well-plotted" mystery about a PI and her canine partner's search for a murderer among NYC's homeless has "a strong sense of place and social conscience" (Publishers Weekly).    Native New Yorker Rachel Alexander has seen a lot on the streets of Manhattan in her years as a private investigator. But when a client hires her to find a murderer among the city's homeless, Rachel uncovers a whole new layer. Disguised as a bag lady, her discerning pit bull Dash by her side, Rachel descends into the city's underbelly to find a deranged man that witnesses claim pushed prominent businessman Gardner Redstone on to the subway tracks. Instead, Rachel discovers the dark disparity between the city's wealthiest and its poorest-and that sometimes all that glitters is not necessarily gold.    The only thing certain is that someone did murder Redstone. But could that suspect possibly be found within his own well-heeled community? Donning a new cover, Rachel and Dash infiltrate New York city's elite society, determined to shatter some illusions about criminal behavior.   "Benjamin mixes an intriguing puzzle with a dollop of introspection." -Library Journal   Praise for the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries   "One of the best private eye series around." -Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Fool Me Once   "Her high quality of prose and convincing way with dialogue may surprise and delight new readers." -Chicago Sun-Times   "Alexander is someone who holds your interest and makes you keep turning the pages." -Nevada Barr, New York Times–bestselling author of Flashback   "Benjamin's work {is} first rate." -The Plain Dealer

A Greenwich Village PI and her pit bull hunt down killers in these three smart, witty mysteries from a Shamus Award winner. In This Dog for Hire, the debut of New York private detective Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash-short for Dashiell-a hit-and-run leaves a local painter dead and his show dog, a basenji, temporarily missing. After cracking that case, Rachel and Dash return in The Dog Who Knew Too Much to investigate a t'ai chi teacher's fatal leap from a window. Rachel suspects there's more involved, as the woman would never have left her beloved Akita behind. Rounding out the collection is A Hell of a Dog, in which Rachel, a former dog trainer herself, must find out who's killing off trainers at a professional gathering at a posh New York City hotel. With comparisons to the mysteries of Laurien Berenson and Susan Conant, these novels are an involving, atmospheric read for fans of strong female PIs, especially those with furry sidekicks.

With "vivid prose, breakneck plotting," this mystery about a PI and canine partner tracking a murderous dog cloning operation is "a crackling good story" (Publishers Weekly).   Sophie Gordon has forged a strong bond with her service dog, Blanche, who helps Sophie live a full life, despite her epilepsy. So when a veterinarian's office offers to clone Blanche so that Sophie will never be without a canine companion who can sense a seizure coming and act as a medical alert, Sophie doesn't hesitate. But when the puppy she receives has none of the remarkable qualities of her beloved support dog, Sophie returns to the vet for answers, only to find the office has disappeared without a trace.   Enter private investigator Rachel Alexander and her trusty canine partner, Dashiell. But just as Rachel and Dash begin investigating the fraudulent cloning operation, Sophie is found dead, apparently of a seizure. With his keen nose for trouble, Dash knows better, sending Rachel on the dangerous trail of a killer. . . .   "One of the series' best. Benjamin's human and canine characters are vivid; the story's pace is as quick and sure as a sled drawn by Samoyeds; and the mystery itself is edgy and difficult to solve." -Booklist   Praise for the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries   "One of the best private eye series around." -Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Fool Me Once   "Rachel Alexander is someone who holds your interest and makes you keep turning the pages." -Nevada Barr, New York Times–bestselling author of Flashback   "Benjamin's work [is] first rate." -The Plain Dealer