He Got the DOG Right!
Yippy Skippy!
Suspect, by Robert
Crais (Putnam, 312 pages, 2013, $28)
Grading Suspect
I would have given this novel an A+ if only Robert Crais
hadn’t mentioned the term, alpha, quite so often (‘alpha’ being outdated and
now disproven). Instead, Suspect
merits only an A. But what an A!
What did Crais get
right?
The body language of a dog. The fact that you can’t
reinforce fear. Why you should talk to your dog and often – your dog will not
understand your words but will understand your tone. How a dog can see your
heart in your eyes - and dogs are drawn to our hearts (from page 235).
And more.
The bottom of page 58 was music (paraphrased) to this
reward-based trainer’s ears: The best dog training is based on the reward
system. You should not punish your dog for doing wrong but reward your dog for
doing right. When your dog does something you want, you reinforce the behavior
with a reward – pet’m, tell’m he’s a good dog, let’m play with a toy. The
standard reward for a K-9 working dog is a hard plastic ball with a hole
drilled through it where you can smear a little peanut butter.
What’s it all about?
The long road back.
Two injured beings – one, a wounded military working dog whose handler was
killed in Afghanistan, and the other, a wounded policeman whose partner was
killed on duty in Los Angeles – each being was present during the respective
incident and sustained not only physical injuries but also emotional injuries.
The question now is: Can these two beings heal each other?
The long road back -
to what? Normalcy?
A fearful man, a fearful dog. A man who seeks retribution and
forgiveness and must help a dog heal in order to do so. A who-dun-it with a
smattering of romance, considerable escalating danger and can’t-put-it-down
suspense. In other words, a darn good book.
For whom?
I recommend Suspect
for dog trainers to recommend to clients with a fearful or reactive dog and for
anyone interested in the canine-human bond or who wants to learn how to train a
dog to associate unexpected sounds (e.g.) with a positive experience - like bologna!
And, of course, anyone who likes a good suspenseful story.
Yes, I noticed some inconsistencies in the book (I’m a dog
trainer and a veteran, after all) but, regardless, the reader will gloss over
them as I did (it is a novel, after all) and nothing detracts significantly from
the brilliance of the writing and of the plot and of the suspense and of the
dog-ness. You have heard of poetic
license, haven’t you?
Although 2013 is not even half over, I suspect Suspect will be in my Top Ten for 2013.
Thanks, Chan, for recommending it.
Caveat: I must
admit that I cannot yet read the prologue. I was deployed to Afghanistan where
the prologue takes place. I’m sorry. I tried to read it – twice.
