Fifty-Four Pigs (2022) by Philipp Schott: A Cozy Mystery

🐷 This is the first book in Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery series. The writer, Philipp Schott, is a veterinarian too. He was born in Germany, but grew up in Canada. So, it is in Canada that this cozy mystery is set.

🐷 Our sleuth is Dr. Peter Bannerman, an introverted veterinarian who is obsessed with orders, numbers, and lists. One day he saw a swine barn exploded. It belongs to Tom Pearson, one of his neighbors in New Selfos, a small lakeside town near Manitoba. When the Police investigates, they find fifty five bodies - fifty four of the pigs (as hinted in the title), and one of human's.

🐷 Whose body was that? Who has set the explosion? And why in Tom's swine barn in particular? These are what's puzzling the police (Kevin, Peter Bannerman's brother-in-law), and also Peter. He pities the pigs, of course, but is also intrigued by the mystery. His curiosity is further peaked by a few break-ins at his house and clinic, where nothing valuable were stolen other than meat in the freezer - pork shoulders and ham. That's weird, isn't it?

🐷 When Tom becomes the police's prime suspect, and then disappeared, Peter decides to combine his logic and his dog Pippin's nose to solve the mystery.

🐷 Despite the rather too slow a start through the first half of the book, this proved to be the first of a promising series. Schott takes efforts to lay his foundation; describing the history of New Selfos, and even how Peter first met his wife Laura. Luckily the second half is fully packed with another murder and some thrilling actions, including Peter and Pippin's confrontation with the murderer amidst heavy blizzards near the frozen Lake Winnipeg.

🐷 The conclusion is a bit too farfetched for my liking, but I really enjoyed Peter's sleuthing. His is a unique personality, and I think my decision to continue reading the series is partly solely on that. And on Pippin and his mate, Merry the cat; both were named - as you might have guessed - from Lord of the Rings' characters. Coincidentally, Pippin happens to by my favorite character from LOTR!

🐷 By the way, I loved Laura too (Peter's wife). She's a sensible unassuming woman who has a knitting business. She accepts orders of Harry Potter, LOTR, or Star Wars-themed knitting from her customers. What an exciting business, eh? I can't wait to read the next books, hopefully with living animals as the center of the story, not dead ones as in this book.

🐷 I listened this story from an audiobook, narrated by Miles Meili. His accent is a bit weird for me; he raises his voice at the end of sentences. At first is is a bit annoying, but his articulation is good, which is the more important for an audiobook.

Rating: 4 / 5