Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club, The (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Some bonking and bumping off but, well, who cares if something happens to a charmless character in a dull part of an (apparently) boring town?For her Parisian idyll, one character ends up in a swanky Parisian eatery to gorge herself on...a Diet Coke and pizza. Not much 'oo la la' there but kind of appropriate for a KFC kind of a book.Wish the author would get a mentor who could take him through a Frederick Forsyth novel to teach him about pacing and interesting detail. I don't usually review books on here past the number of stars that I give them, but for this book I felt I needed to write something. Short version: I would have liked to give the book 4 stars, because I find The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club definitely worth the read, I enjoyed the way the story leads you in different directions, toys with your idea of what a great detective you are, and has you constantly on your toes as to what's going to happen next. The ending is quite the surprise and I had a whole number of "WHAAAAAT?!" moments as I read. Lots of unexpected (some expected) twists and turns. The ending still leaves a number of things wide open and questions unanswered, however, that's not much of a problem, because you can make the rest up on your own or wait for a sequel. Or write one yourself. But! Yes, there's a but. And there are spoilers coming now, so let me start a new paragraph. SPOILERS COMING The book begins with this eerie scene of the assassin preparing for murder. You don't know who he is, you don't know who's going to get killed, you don't know why. And then the author just completely changes direction. 180 degrees! In itself, that is not a bad thing, it builds suspense, but it takes more than half the book for it to become apparent that that was on purpose. Until then, it seems like somebody just accidentally pasted in those first few pages. It's still an entertaining read, don't get me wrong, it's not entirely unpleasant. It's just somewhat confusing because the author takes so incredibly long to tie it all together. The one thing I actually didn't like about the book was the addition of Nazi connections into two of the character's histories. Not that there's something wrong with that in general, just that in the case of this book it had absolutely no contribution whatsoever to the plot. If Heidi had just been Austrian and Mr Kurtze had just been her long-lost uncle, Elliott could still have stolen the stories, she could still have found out and planned a vengeance, all that drama could still have happened. The only point where it actually plays an active role is when the housekeeper explains her reasons for staying with Heidi instead of working for Elliott. But that is one sentence. Aside from that, it could all have been avoided and it just left me wondering... Why did the author need to make Heidi a Nazi who salutes flags in the privacy of a hidden bedroom (and was all that misspelled on purpose)? Why did the author feel the need to insinuate that one of the worst people in history was a kind person underneath it all? And how exactly was that supposed to work, anyway? Because, historically, there's just no way any of that could have worked out. But mainly it's the big WHY. It has me uneasy, you know, about the author as a person. And for the perfectionists in us: what the hell is up with the time difference between Paris and Savannah?! Ok, that's it for me. Just felt the need to share this. Because, really, that was completely unnecessary - and disturbing, if I'm honest. The story would have worked perfectly, if not better, without adding that angle. And it would have left me without that icky feeling in the pit of my stomach...
What do You think about Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club, The (2013)?
This book is a light easy read and different from the usual pattern in the genre of whodunit.
—Ezra
I really liked this book. Very funny and would make a good movie. Easy and fast read.
—William
A black comedy about contract killing in quiet suburbia.Very funny.
—Will
