Murder by Death

I like these, but I don't get the point of them.  The stories are very well-written and not gritty, but not cozy either.  Liberal use of colourful language and more violent crimes than can be found between the pages of most of the genre's covers.  But then there's the dog's POV and it's just...cute.  It doesn't contribute to the story or plot at all, it's just there for... I don't know what it's there for...cuteness?

I deducted 1/2 star from my rating in part because of the mental doggie cam, but also because the third POV was from a teenage boy living in a foster home after a childhood of abuse from his parents and a stint in juvie.  He's really got a chance with the foster parents...until it all goes to hell.  It was really well written; my small deduction is purely based on my personal taste: I don't like reading about someone whose odds are so stacked against success being given hope and then having it taken away.

Mostly, the book was great.  It's less a mystery than an almost-procedural; the reader is almost always aware of who the bad guys are, but not necessarily the circumstances or how everything fits together.  It's a nice change of pace.  But I still don't get the appeal of the dog chapters.