Dog Knows — Neil Plakcy

When semi-reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan learns that a girl who was kind to him in high school is accused of three murders, he and his clue-sniffing golden retriever Rochester are on the case. Could sweet, ambitious Peggy Doyle be guilty of killing three husbands? Or is someone out to make it look that way?

As teens, Steve admired Peggy because of the way she fought back from a difficult childhood to travel to France and aspire to a college degree and a career as a lawyer. When he discovers she's been addicted to drugs, danced at a strip club, and married a biker, he's surprised. How could the girl he knew grow up to be the woman the media are calling “The Black Widow of Birch Valley?”

Can he and Rochester dig up the clues that might acquit Peggy, while avoiding the slippery slope of hacking that could cause him to lose everything he cares for? Trust Rochester to keep Steve on the straight and narrow, and bring the real killer to justice.