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Murder At The

Planetarium

A Sirius The Star Dog Mystery

By Russell Stagg

When Frank’s job ends and his wife, Wendy, leaves him for another woman, he and his Bichon Shih Tzu, Sirius, move to rural Illinois. There he realizes his childhood dream of running a planetarium, but soon his dream turns into a nightmare when a dead man falls out of the star theater projector. An axe is buried in his head, and the prime suspect is Moonbeam, Wendy’s lover. Frank works with the two women and his girlfriend, Michaela, to clear her, dealing with an array of eccentric characters including Frank’s assistant, Liz, whose axe-wielding rant in a crowded McDonald’s earned her a six-month prison stretch. Then there’s Liz’s daughter, Kaylee, who has eight months clean and sober and runs the gift shop. Daniel, the strait-laced accountant, is a part-time drag-queen, while Frank’s Uncle Elias is a billionaire playboy and romance writer. The list of characters also includes a college prof and former Broadway actress, a homicidal college student, a special agent in the Illinois State Police, an assortment of dogs, and one cat.