I can’t help but compare this author to Laurien Berenson, whose masterful mysteries about dog show enthusiast and amateur sleuth Melanie Travis are favorites of mine in the cozy mystery category. This author doesn’t even come close, alas.As the book opens, dog trainer and amateur sleuth Holly Winter has been given the assignment to cover the opening of a new camp designed to give dog handlers and their dogs an opportunity to both relax and learn new skills during the week. The owner of the camp is a friend of Holly’s editor, and Holly has been assigned to cover the opening for the magazine where she freelances.Things at the Waggin’ Tail camp seem to be going relatively well enough. It’s a nice little camp in a picturesque part of Maine, and while there are wrinkles and minor problems with the facilities, they can be chalked up to first-year issues.But minutes after Holly and her Alaskan Malamute, Rowdy, have settled into their new cabin, Holly finds a sympathy note expressing sorrow for the loss of her dog. She is shaken by the note, as anyone might be, but attributes its presence to a mistake—a note sent thoughtfully by someone to the wrong cabin.But other campers start getting sympathy notes as well, and one camper finds a stack of brochures from a funeral home that advertises coffins for human babies that are just right for pets, too.Sounds like an auspicious beginning, right? Indeed, it is; the problem is the book moves rather painfully and slowly after that through a long series of experiences where you are introduced to other campers. One of them is a hateful shrew of a woman whose negativity and bitterness poison the entire camp. You’re nearly three quarters of the way through the book when the murder Holly must solve eventually happens—and that’s way, way too far down. The publisher could have successfully edited 30 percent of this book out at least and actually helped it.Furthermore, this author’s ability to weave dog show facts among the plot is far less successful than Laurien Berenson. Berenson makes it seem so effortless, seamless, and easy—weaving facts about breeding and showing dogs amongst the details of her plot. With this author, it’s almost as if you’re forced to sit through a series of commercials before getting back to the plot; only in this case, the parenthetical information deals with dog shows, judges, obedience trials, and more. It’s more jargon than you get from Laurien Berenson, and quite frankly, I found it much harder to relate to Holly Winter and care about whether she succeeded than I did Berenson’s Melanie Travis. The exception to that is a rather suspenseful experience where Holly is nearly drowned by a late-night assailant who lures her into the lake.Worse yet, the major villain in this book, the woman who is ultimately murdered, is so over the top it feels as if you’ve tuned into Disney’s sequel to 101 Dalmatians. Yes, kids, Cruela DeVille is back in the form of bitter, cantankerous Eva Spitteler, whose negativity is so blatant that by the time she’s murdered, you wonder whether you could have gotten into the book somehow to do it yourself. The villain babe’s characterization is so ridiculously flat and uncomplicated and yes, exaggerated that you actually find yourself hoping she’s the one who dies, and soon. Alas, you’re stuck with her for some three quarters of the book. Unfortunately, her profanity detracts from the book as well, and only after she dies does the profanity lessen while the book's interest index grows. The bottom line is, I’m not going to remember this plot 10 minutes after I’ve put the final bit of punctuation on this review. The other book by this author, Gaits of Heaven, is actually a better one.
This was actually the first of the series, that I read, and I found it highly amusing, and very intriguing- with lots of dog world -related tidbits that were recognizable and added to the entertainment.I was pleased when a friend informed me of Conant's dog/detective series. Growing up with a grandmother who devoured every "The Cat Who..." story, which never interested me, I have long wanted dog-themed books of same.The author does not disappoint. The books are witty, informational, and quick-reads, without being too predictable.
What do You think about Black Ribbon (1995)?
There were a lot of references to AKC rules and regulations that might be overkill for some, but I found it interesting that there are differences in rules for the different types of judges. The murder came a bit late and the final "solution" want as satisfying as in other books but I read these books because of the relationship between Holly and her malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi. Being a multiple dog parent, I can empathize with her love and fears for her fur kid. in that respect this book was fulfilling.
—Carol
