In Dog We Trust,
by Neil Plakcy (CreateSpace, 2010, 322 pages, $10.99)
I read a lot of books. I have to. I’m a book reviewer and every
once in a while I find myself reading a self-published book. Most of them are
not worth the paper they are printed on, primarily because they have not been
edited (and this has a few typos).
However, if the book is one in a series, chances are better
that it is a good book because the author has more experience and because his
or her writing has received some comments. (This is the first in a series of
six, so far.)
I also pay attention to who the author is – if an English
professor, I can generally assume it is well written. (The author has an MFA.)
If it has a reader’s guide, great!
And if it has received (or if the author has won) a
legitimate award like the DWAA (Dog Writer’s Association of America) or a
Pulitzer or Newbery, it is sure to be good.
In Dog We Trust is
self-published but written by an MFA (Master of Fine Arts)(who has also written
numerous other series) and is the first in a series of six books.
I loved it!
If you like the Chet
and Bernie series by Spencer
Quinn or the Andy
Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt with a golden retriever, you will love In Dog We Trust! Rochester the golden
finds clues but doesn’t talk like Chet does, so if you favor real dogs, In Dog We Trust is for you.
It’s a fast read and has a protagonist you can really
identify with: a middle-aged divorced freelancer adjunct college English
instructor, even if he is an ex-con (you may not identify with that, though,
but Neil Plakcy puts you in his shoes and they fitl so well you might think Plakcy
is an ex-con himself! [He isn’t.])
Steve Levitan becomes a dog person when he temporarily takes
in his newly-murdered next-door neighbor’s dog and, in this book, the dog
really is part of the story. Not only does Rochester find clues to two crimes
and tie them together but the author realistically details the daily life of a
dog up to and including poop-walks at 11 pm.
The mystery begins smack dab in the beginning, perhaps a bit
early for some folk, and gradually mounts with plenty of clues so that you may
figure it all out. If so, your enjoyment in this story will not be diminished
because the characters are so real and likable. In Dog would be an excellent beach read or plane read. I have a
trip to a conference coming up: jus right for the second in the series.
But, . . .
I read the electronic version on my Mac and the left- and
right-justification nearly murdered me, as well as having to continually change
the size of the print (font) which took entirely too long. After I finished it, and too quickly, I received
the pdf version - much easier to read. Since this is only the second e-book I
have read, the lack of page numbers and a table of contents also drove me
crazy.
However, . . .
In Dog We Trust
was good enough to read in one day!
A Truly Fun Crime
Mystery, Two in One!
I am so looking forward to the rest of the six in the
series! (They have more interesting covers!)
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