| Terrier Beka Cooper, an ancestor of Alanna's George, grew up with strong values of right and wrong. Beka's mother had to struggle to keep her children clothed and fed, but she always did her best to care for and look out for them. Therefore, when one of her mother's boyfriends crossed the line in his cruelty to her mother, Beka, just a little girl then, "dogged" him (that is, she hunted him, spied on his activities, and was able to report his wrongdoings to the authorities). This earned Beka and her family better lives and a respected household, in the hopes that Beka would grow up to be one of the skilled Provost's Dogs, seeking justice for her community and helping to make it a better place to live for law-abiding citizens. Beka becomes immersed in her education and duties, wanting nothing more than to succeed and make those who've cared for her proud. Her gift of being able to hear of recent happenings in whirlwinds helps her to gather some of the information she needs to work on important cases. But when plots of true evil begin to make themselves apparent, Beka learns that sometimes it's good to have allies that choose to live a little outside of the law when so many lives are at stake.
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| Bloodhound When Beka and her mentor Goodwin are sent to Port Caynn to investigate the recent surge of counterfeit silver nobles, Beka knows she's in for a change of pace and atmosphere. Not only must she carry on her work in a different city, but she winds up with a different animal companion for the journey. Pounce, the constellation cat, has important business to attend to elsewhere, and Beka has recently found herself the handler of a spirited scent hound, Achoo. On this mission, Beka must use every resource available to her, including the regular spy work, listening to dust spinners, feeding the pigeons to hear messages from the ghosts they carry, and now the teamwork of handler and scent hound. With new allies, new enemies, and a new romance, Beka must take part in one of the most important cases of her time, trying to put an end to a dangerous game that could devastate the kingdom and leave thousands to starve.
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