I enjoy Susan Conant's books because I like reading about dogs and how to train and take care of them. This book had all of that, the main dog element being training owners how to teach a dog to be housebroken. It also had an interesting subtheme exploring the Boston-area psychotherapy environment. However, as a murder mystery, I thought it was a bit weak this time. Conant always writes about the world from a dog lovers viewpoint, but she maybe went a little overboard this time. And she had an odd writing technique of having the main character creatively imagine what was happening to some of other characters without the main character actually being an eyewitness. Maybe that was supposed to be a therapeutic technique and she was just continuing the psychotherapy subtheme? I still enjoyed the book, and I suspect Melissa will too, but unless you are a real dog lover, you might not like this book as much as some of her others. My favorite ones from Susan Conant are Animal Appetites and The Barker Street Irregulars, both of which are a murder mystery that combines a literary subtheme with dogginess.
A light-hearted mystery with dogs.Holly quickly becomes enmeshed with a new-agey couple, both of whom are therapists. They own a "designer" dog who is misbehaving (peeing in the house, etc.), at least in part because this flaky couple insists on treating the dog like a "person of fur." Of course, someone dies, and Holly figures out who-done-it. I've enjoyed most of Susan Conant's books. They're light-hearted with a touch of humor (sometimes I find myself ROFLing, but more often chuckling), and she leavens them with advice on coexisting with and training your dog.This one includes swipes at pop therapy and the designer dog fad. It was an entertaining read.
What do You think about Gaits Of Heaven (2006)?
I've learned to appreciate Conant's mysteries for the wonderful descriptions of Holly Winter's dogs, life in Cambridge, and familiar characters, and to accept the somewhat bizarre plot twists that usually occur at the end. Her introspective monologues make the books so enjoyable for me, a therapist myself, and I think it is no coincidence that one of her supporting characters is a therapist. This story makes light of the stereotypical well-intentioned yet hopelessly impractical psychotherapist, and it avoids portraying the profession in an overly negative fashion. I have thoroughly enjoyed the development of Holly and Steve's relationship, which is one of the main reasons I continue to read the series. Conant often uses her books to advance animal welfare issues, and I wish she had spoken out even more against the phenomenon of so-called designer dogs, especially with the availability of thousands of mixed breed dogs in shelters in this country.
—Adrienne
