HERR SCHNOODLE & MCBEE
By P. K. Paranya
Five Star/Thomson Gale
ISBN: 1-59414-412-5
Hardback, 285 pages, $25.95
Genre: Mystery

Private Investigator Alexander McBee's heroes are TV's Magnum, Mannix and Barnaby Jones. McBee fancies himself a loner, but that comes to an end one evening when he rescues a dog from drowning. McBee takes the mutt home to clean him up and a partnership is born. Herr Schnoodle, as McBee names the dog, has a propensity to solve crimes, and within a short time, McBee's business is booming. Before he knows it, this loner is helping the down and out while trying to figure out why Apple Sally, a homeless woman suffering from amnesia, can't remember her past. But once she does, McBee's intent on saving her from the person who wants to kill her.

McBee is an engaging man who shuns germs and is afraid of commitment, and whose perception of himself changes over the course of the book. Herr Schnoodle is absolutely lovable and rounds out this cozy mystery to perfection. The partnership between the two makes this a fun read, with winning characters and a compelling storyline.