Tracy Weber

Tracy Weber is the author of the award-winning Downward Dog Mysteries series featuring yoga teacher Kate and her feisty German shepherd, Bella. Weber loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. The second book in her series, A Killer Retreat, was released January, 2015 by Midnight Ink.

Weber and her husband live in Seattle with their challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha. When she’s not writing, the author spends her time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house.

Recently I asked Weber about what she was reading. Her reply:

I’ve been burying myself in cozy mysteries lately, both because I love cozies and because I’m trying to improve my writing technique. What better way to learn than by reading my fellow (and I must say, awesome) writers?

Right now I’m particularly excited, because my first book, Murder Strikes a Pose, has been nominated for the Agatha award for Best First Novel. So, of course, I have to read the competition. Of the other four books nominated, I’m currently reading two: Tagged for Death by Sherry Harris and Finding Sky by Susan O’Brien.

These two novels are great representations of the genre. Although crime takes center stage (in one, a disappearance; the other, a murder) we also learn about the protagonists’ lives, professions, interests, and flaws. Tagged for Death involves a garage sale aficionado/divorcee who is trying to prove her ex-husband innocent of murdering his mistress. Finding Sky highlights the struggles of a single parent widow (who is also a PI-in-training) as she tries to locate a missing teen. To complicate matters, the teen is carrying a child for her best friend.

Both novels are very well written (which you would expect for Agatha nominees), but beyond that, the characters feel real, and the books blur the genre lines just enough to be interesting. I can’t wait to start the other two nominees, Well Read Then Dead by Terrie Farley Moran and Circle of Influence by Annette Dashofy.

Visit Tracy Weber's website, blog, and Facebook page.

Coffee with a Canine: Tracy Weber and Tasha.

The Page 69 Test: Murder Strikes a Pose.

The Page 69 Test: A Killer Retreat.

--Marshal Zeringue