"Murder Strikes a Pose"

Tracy Weber is a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, where she currently lives with her husband, Marc, and German shepherd, Tasha. She loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. When she’s not writing, she spends her time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and the Dog Writer’s Association of America.

Weber applied the Page 69 Test to Murder Strikes a Pose, the first book in the Downward Dog Mysteries Series, and reported the following:

Page 69 is the first page of Chapter 8, so I only had a half-page of writing to work with. Yoga instructor Kate Davidson has just left a Seattle police station after speaking with John O’Connell—her deceased father’s ex-partner—about her friend George’s murder the night before. Kate is reluctantly fostering the murder victim’s German shepherd, Bella, until she can find a new home for her. Kate doesn’t know it yet, but Bella is suffering from a rare digestive disease.

The paragraphs on page 69 aren’t typical of the book, as there is no dialogue, and the reader doesn’t get to see interactions between any of the characters. But it does give a feel for the voice of the narrator and provides a glimpse into Kate’s mind.

I drove away from the precinct with more questions than answers, but for now, I was forced to wait and hope that John uncovered some useful information. In the meantime, I needed to clear my head. My mind felt sluggish from lack of sleep and the residue of last night’s trauma. Bella’s digestive system, on the other hand, wasn’t sluggish in the slightest. She needed to do some clearing of an entirely different nature.

Discovery Park would meet both of our needs perfectly. Full of wooded trails, open beaches, and scenic picnic areas, the park seemed like the perfect place to gather my thoughts and let Bella do her business. The sun peeked through the clouds and provided a welcome contrast to the chilly morning breeze. A damp, earthy smell permeated the air, left over from the prior week’s rain. The universe seemed to be offering me hope—reminding me that after every dismal storm, the sun eventually reappeared. I turned toward the warmth, closed my eyes, took a deep breath—and gagged.

In the name of all that was holy, what was that smell?

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Read--Coffee with a Canine: Tracy Weber and Tasha.

--Marshal Zeringue