THE START OF A BEAUTIFUL PARTNERSHIP—A DETECTIVE DUO WITH HEART AND FUR
Steve’s ripe for a new relationship—divorced, over forty, and still dusting himself off from a lamentable sojourn in prison, an unusual experience for a professor, to say the least. (He really must do something about his hacking habit!) Rochester’s a handsome, homeless, loveable golden retriever whom Steve had always found … golden retriever whom Steve had always found too big, too enthusiastic, and too shaggy.
But tragedy struck their neighborhood when someone murdered Caroline, Steve’s nice next-door neighbor, while she walked her best friend, Rochester. Steve’s the unlucky guy who finds her body and he just knows, despite their differences, that he has to take in the broken-hearted pooch.
Once they’re both properly rehomed, these two form a detective partnership that’ll make you sit up and beg for more. Eat your hearts out, Spade & Archer—pretty soon they’ve got a warm and fuzzy thing going. Big furry forthrightness—not to mention heart—meets tech-savvy craftiness as they work their case.
In Plakcy’s capable hands, watching these two fall in love (which of course is the most irresistible treat on offer here) is like watching a time-lapse film of a flower blooming— it doesn’t happen too fast, and it’s never cloying. Instead it’s slow and satisfying, magical to the point of jaw-dropping even while absolutely expected. You just know you could watch it over and over again.
Neither of the new partners knows about his own hidden talent, let alone the other guy’s. Rochester has no idea he has the potential to be the greatest doggy detective since Rex the Wonder Dog was a pup. But he’s got a job to do and he has to find a way to train Steve in the fine art of investigation. Unbeknownst to Steve, his life just changed radically—because a big furry mentor has just trotted into it.
Both want justice for Caroline, and Rochester’s way of expressing it is simply to sniff out one clue after another in the hope his two-legged colleague can piece them together. Steve’s way—when all’s said and done— is still to bend the law a little, with the help of Caroline’s contraband laptop. And also to follow Rochester’s trail of treats.
Fans of animal cozies—and all cozies!–will find pure gold here especially aficionados of mutt heroes from the aforementioned Rex through the immortal pooches created by Spencer Quinn, David Rosenfelt, Garth Stein, and Laurien Berenson. Lovers of canine classic films like TURNER AND HOOCH, BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA, and the immortal BENJI will also want to sit and stay awhile. Luckily, there’s a whole litter of cases out there.
Neil S. Plakcy is the author of the award-winning Mahu mystery series, and coeditor of Paws and Reflect: A Special Bond Between Man and Dog.
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Tired of the “cosy” mysteries with chef, restaurant and cookbook author themes? This is a dog mystery with a male protagonist. It makes a nice change of pace.
A good mystery is one which gives you the clues so you can solve it early. Or not. This is a good mystery with likable characters including the dog. It’s not especially challenging but it’s very enjoyable. It’s a perfect book for the beach or lake.
An intriguing cast of characters, an original and unique plot, and a charismatic Golden Retriever named Rochester. This delightful and touching story has man and dog coming together bringing love, trust, and loyalty into both of their lives. Well written,
entertaining, and Highly Recommended.
Love the dog. Love the mystery. Love the moral dilemmas. Did I mention that I love the dog?
Loved Rochester and his sleuthing skill. A fast read or listen, interesting plot and plenty of humor mixed with snarcasm. It has a cozy mystery feel to it. It will be interesting to read what mysteries Steve and Rochester solve in future books.
I really liked this book. It’s a feel good book because of the dog and because the main character turns his life around.
Read the whole series, and enjoyed it from beginning to end. Was extremely sorry to have reached the end.
Well written.
Loved this. And I read all in this series. I was hoping for more!
I found that the main character seemed like a real person, he was a good friend to
many people and he really cared about everyone, and he really liked helping
everyone. Even though he had made mistakes in his past, it did not stop him
from helping them.
Loved it…the characters, the plot, the descriptions, and of course, the wonderful dog! Will read more of this author.
I will be looking for more books by this author. The characters were realistic, as was the dialog. The Golden was a delightful personality.
Finally a realistic mystery with a dog that isn’t simpering or made for children. I enjoyed the character building and the gradual trust and love the hero developed for his forced adopted dog. He made mistakes solving the murder which one would expect in real life so a plausible, enjoyable read
I enjoyed this book. Easy to read, some humor.
It left me wondering if Steve (the protagonist) would be caught hacking. Liked the characters: found myself rooting for Steve and Rick to find happiness again with new women. I am a teacher so the descriptions of the campus life seemed real-world to me.
Good I could not but it down I am reading the other books in series
I liked the dog – story line pretty slow
Love dog books but only issue was the constant repetition of the husband/wife separation/divorce. Was annoying and totally unnecessary!
I’m still reading this book, simply because I have deadlines to meet. Otherwise, I would have read it in one night. It’s enjoyable and includes humor, which I love, not to mention a dog (I adore dogs). Once I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down. Unlike a lot of books these days, this one is not full of glaring errors. I politely disagree about golden retrievers drooling all the time; none of the golden retrievers I’ve known have drooled. I would also point out that the use of the term “pocketbook” takes me back about half a century, but aside from these really minor points, this is a great read, and I’ll keep an eye out for the author’s next book.
Steve is a college professor who thought he had a good reason to start computer hacking. this landed him in jail but he is now on parole. He moves to the small town of Stewart’s Crossing where his deceased father left him a place to live. He meets his neighbor, Caroline and her Golden Retriever, Rochester. On a nightly walk he finds Caroline who has been murdered. Rochester needs a home and Steve thinks he will just watch him until a home is found. Together they find Caroline’s killer in most unusual ways.
I love dogs and one of my dogs was a golden retriever that I had for 15-1/2 years and this story has a man and dog get together under tragic circumstances and solve what happened along the way of how they got together.