Blog Tour: Guest post from Lauren Carr, Author of Best in Murder

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  BEST IN MURDER (A Mac Faraday Mystery #15) by Lauren Carr
Category:  Adult Fiction (18 +)
Genre:  Mystery
Publisher:  Acorn Book Services
Release date:   Oct 13, 2026
Content Rating:  PG-13 (Lauren Carr's books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!

"Pedigreed dogs, rich owners, cutthroat competition, enormous egos, several murders, a stolen diamond dog collar, a missing Irish Wolfhound show dog, a disgruntled cop, and a criminally inclined biker with a vicious poodle all come together in this tale. As each new element dropped in my lap, I was pulled in further until it was impossible to put the book down. I consumed it." - Marilyn R. Wilson, Book Reviewer and Author

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Book Description:

One Collar. Two Dead. Total Chaos.
When a priceless platinum-and-diamond collar vanishes at the Mid-Atlantic Classic Kennel Club Invitational—Best in Show at the Spencer Inn, it looks like the ultimate high-society theft. But when two women connected to the glittering event are murdered in quick succession, the case explodes into something far more deadly.
Mac Faraday and his troublemaking German Shepherd, Gnarly, dive headfirst into the glamorous, cutthroat world of championship dog shows. Amidst perfectly groomed champions worth small fortunes, ruthless competitors, and million-dollar egos, the trail leads to a missing Irish Wolfhound whose value goes well beyond his blue-blood pedigree.
As tensions rise between Spencer PD and the county sheriff’s office, Mac’s team races to untangle a web of greed, betrayal, and long-buried secrets—all while the elegant resort descends into delightful canine chaos. With show dogs of every shape and size turning the Spencer Inn into their personal playground, Gnarly does what he does best: stir up trouble and sniff out the truth.
Fast-paced, laugh-out-loud funny, and packed with four-legged mischief, Best in Murder proves that in the high-stakes world of Best in Show, the biggest prizes come with the deadliest risks.

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Enjoy this guest post from the author!

Why David Got a Promotion (and Why Spencer Is Not Losing Him)

 by Lauren Carr

Loyal Mac Faraday readers are going to notice something in Best in Murder before they notice the missing wolfhound.

David O’Callaghan, police chief of Spencer, is now acting sheriff of Garrett County.

A couple of beta readers were not thrilled. I understood immediately. They were not objecting to David. They were objecting to the map. If he leaves the little department at the lake, does that mean we are leaving Spencer? Are we packing up the Inn, the manor, Gnarly’s favorite sofa, and moving the whole circus to a bigger office with worse coffee?

I had the same knot in my stomach years ago, watching Jessica Fletcher leave Cabot Cove for New York City. Cabot Cove had already become the murder capital of Maine. You could not walk to the library without stepping over a body. The move made sense. It also felt like someone had sold the hometown.

Spencer, Maryland, has a similar public-relations problem. It is a beautiful resort town on Deep Creek Lake. It is also, if you go by my body count, a statistical outlier. At a certain point even I have to admit that the local police chief cannot keep catching every case without the county noticing—or without the readers noticing that we are recycling the same six streets.

So David got a promotion. Not an exit.

Acting sheriff means the cases can come from farther than the town limits. It means Mac Faraday, who has never needed a badge to stick his nose where it does not belong, can follow a thread out of Spencer without me having to invent a reason for him to drive twenty minutes. It means David can sit in a squeaky chair in a new office and still be David: loyal, overworked, and one phone call away from his half-brother’s German shepherd creating an interdepartmental incident.

It also gives the series room to breathe. A long-running mystery has two enemies. One is boredom. The other is amnesia—the author forgets that new readers exist. Broadening the jurisdiction lets me bring in new faces and new ground without pretending the old ones died off-page.

I will not lie and say the change is only geography. David’s new job comes with politics, a leaky department, and the kind of first week no one puts on a campaign flyer. Best in Murder is not a civics lesson, but it is honest about what happens when you give a decent cop a bigger desk and a messier map.

Spencer is still home. The Inn is still standing, though the dogs are doing their best to renegotiate that. Mac is still Mac. Gnarly is still the mayor, security consultant, and snack thief.

Jessica Fletcher went to New York and kept solving murders. David went to the county and brought Spencer with him. That is not an ending. That is a bigger door.

BONUS! BONUS! BONUS!

Pre-order Best in Murder now and receive the exclusive bonus novelette Who Framed Michelangelo? — a complete Mac Faraday mystery featuring Gnarly and a very special Goldendoodle!

CLICK ON BOOK COVER TO DOWLOAD YOUR FREE COPY OF 
WHO FRAMED MICHELANGELO?

Meet the Author: Lauren Carr is the author of over thirty acclaimed mystery novels, with more than half a million copies sold worldwide. Her fast-paced series—the Mac Faraday Mysteries, Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and more—blend twists, suspense, humor, and unforgettable characters (including clever German shepherds!).   It's Murder, My Son organically hit #1 in Mystery on Amazon, and her books consistently rank in the Top 20 Police Procedurals in the US and international markets.   A popular speaker and publishing consultant, Lauren lives on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV, with her husband and three spoiled rotten German shepherds. connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ X/twitter ~ pinterest ~ goodreads