‘Corinna Chapman is an absolute delight.’ Bookseller + PublisherCorinna Chapman, baker extraordinaire, talented sleuth, stalwart friend and lover, is back!When a distraught Scottish veteran from Afghanistan is knocked unconscious, waking up to find his beloved ex-service dog missing, Corinna and her lover, Daniel, find themselves inextricably drawn into the machinations of a notorious underworld … underworld gang of drug runners.Corinna and Daniel need to pull together all the strings to find the connections between their wandering Scottish veteran, his kidnapped dog, a student dramatic society that’s moved into Corinna’s building, burglaries, and the threatening notes that begin to mysteriously appear in her apartment. Between her forays into danger, there is still time in Corinna’s life for tender encounters while the delicious aromas of newly baked breads, muffins and treats waft out of her bakery, Earthly Delights. Praise for Corinna Chapman: ‘Greenwood is a modern master of the gracious detective story. We happily slip into the well-ordered ebb and flow of life around Earthly Delights and the other inhabitants of the Insula building, but she meticulously blends a hint of unease into the mix… Greenwood knows a proper feast includes the savoury and the sweet. Hers is a unique voice in crime fiction.’ – The Age
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I love all the Corinna Chapman books. Delightful escapism.
SPOTTED DOG
Puzzles within puzzles, but the most crucial is to retrieve the dog-partner stolen from a soldier still shocked from his time in Afghanistan. Reunion is necessary for the good of the dog as well as the man, a mission enlisting the help of the homeless and the police.
Between break-ins and computer hacks, Corinna and friends still manage to feed their loyal patrons tasty baked goods and deliver up bits of wisdom.
“Alas, the thing about weather is that it’s compulsory.”
“ . . . it’s never too late for a happy childhood. I was . . . awed to think that I was providing the means for him to have it.” I do love Corinna going to the rescue of those in trouble.
I enjoyed the Shakespeare references and also looked up calico embroidery. British/Australian calico is white. Embroidery would look much better on that than what I was envisioning.
I hadn’t thought of my Prius’ advantages in sneaking up on bad guys, though I’ve noticed I need to provide audible warnings for children playing in the street. 😉
I wish I could visit the residents of Insula and join them for potluck in the rooftop garden, but I’ll be content with literary visits and eagerly await the next.
Corinna the baker and her love, detective Daniel are off on another mystery. Corinna lives in a complex known as Insula with a lovely rooftop garden. She owns a bakery. But somehow, she always finds her peace interrupted. A vet appears at her back door, worn out and battered, but missing his dog. Then the apartments get broken in at Insula. Who took the dog and who is behind the attempted burglaries? Are they tied together? Corinna and Daniel strive to solve both.
This is the 7th book in this series, but each book is a stand-alone mystery. The same loveable characters return in this book. So glad to see Corinna return!
verbal-humor, situational-humor, law-enforcement, women-sleuths, amateur-sleuth, Australia, SCA, private-investigators, recipes
***** Come to the Earthly Delights bakery in Australia in a building named Insula where the baker, Corinna, lives upstairs with her ex Mossad/private investigator lover in one of the apartments and works with her apprentice who is an ex-heroin addict who likes to be a midshipman from Master and Commander or Hornblower. The other residents of the building are equally colorful, including the Mouse Police, and naming the roof garden the Parsley Forest. Throw in a lot of Shakespeare quotes, other local residents including Sister Mary, an frustrated police lieutenant, a real mystery regarding who on earth would kidnap a retired Scottish Army dog from a PTSD sufferer lately from Afghanistan, and you have the very best sort of read! It’s a laugh riot all the way through!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
This novel is another in Corinna, Daniel, the Insula inhabitants and the bakery series. it’s a pleasant and amusing jaunt with all our old friends.
Sister Mary sends a soldier to Daniel. He’s had a bad time in the army and was retired with his sniffer dog. Someone has stolen his dog and they must find it as the two are inseparable. Of course everyone is involved and it’s nearly a disaster, saved by the dog.
An amusing, thoughtful and pleasant read.
I knew nothing about this author before seeing this book offered as a special deal. My loss – she writes wonderfully! This is the 7th in the series, but the author gives just enough background that it can stand alone. The very engaging characters are quirky and fun, and though a confirmed dog lover, I enjoyed the cats take on things. The mystery is solved with a little help from everyone and a lot of humor. Corinna’s bread sounds absolutely fabulous. There are a couple of tasty recipes to try at the end of the book. If you like character driven stories, and good food, give this a read!
It was a light read but very entertaining
Have not finished, yet, but I love it. Really like this author. Australia. Good details and history.
Waited so long for a new Corrina Chapman mystery, but it was worth the wait. Wonderful book.
Somehow I missed reading this series. I knew about them but all of my attention went to her Phryne Fisher series. Time to set that right. This is the seventh in the series and I’m putting the previous six books on my must read list right now. The Spotted Dog worked well as a stand alone. Corinna turned out to be a character I really liked, the kind of person I would like for a friend. She has a big heart and is there to help when asked. Dividing her skills between running a bakery and working part time as a PI with her partner/partner, Daniel, she has very little down time. Soon she has another case to solve when a war vet shows up at her bakery, totally distraught over the theft of his service dog, also a war vet. Who would steal a dog? Corinne and Daniel set out to find the dog and along the way have to deal with the local police who wish the pair would stay out of their way. That’s not going to happen.
Not only Corrine and Daniel but all of the other people who make up her friends/family made me want to read the pervious books. Add to the fact that this was a satisfying cozy mystery with enough twists, turns and red herrings to keep me guessing, I had no hesitation to give The Spotted Dog a five star rating.
The Spotted Dog by Kerry Greenwood is the seventh book in the Corinna Chapman series. I’ve read the Phyrne Fisher series and really enjoyed the mysteries. I would never have guessed this book was written by the same author. I like the character of Corinne and loved the early morning ambiance of her Earthly Delights Bakery. I could imagine the smells of the bread, muffins, and biscuits..The varying cast of characters are likable, but the story just did not seem to blend well. Trying to twist and link drug runners and differing religious beliefs together just got ridiculous.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review The Spotted Dog.
I haven’t read any of Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman mysteries before, but this can be read as a standalone fairly easily. I did have momentary problems with learning all the various quirky characters living in her apartment building, Insula; there were a lot of names thrown at me. But it didn’t take long to figure out the who’s who of Insula.
There are many strong points.
1. Corinna’s voice
She’s the queen of the deadpan understatement. Her tone is wry, with a hint of snark coupled with genuine affection for others. Well, most other characters! This works well, as many of the other characters are over-the-top, with high levels of passion for their interests and equally high levels of quirkiness. They are quirky with a capital Q.
But even with the deadpan humor, Corinna throws in archaic terms and references to ancient history. Only a certain type of person can use these words with such flare, and Corinna’s that type. I enjoyed meeting her.
2. The other characters
If you like quirky characters, this book is for you. There’s Jason, ex-addict and Corinna’s faithful midshipman/apprentice. Dion Monk, a retired classics professor, and Mrs. Dawson, a retired society hostess, who might be romantically involved. A group of young actors rehearsing The Tempest in their apartment. Meroe, Insula’s own benign “witch.” Goss and Kylie, the almost interchangeable cafe helpers addicted to their phones. Uncle Solly, Daniel’s “uncle” who might be a local rep for Mossad if only it existed.
And then there’s Philomena. Injured in a mysterious accident, she’s confined to a wheelchair and cannot speak though she’s plainly trying to tell others her story. Her struggle is one of the mysteries in this novel.
And if you’re a cat lover, there’s plenty of those chasing mice and purring and demanding the full attention of their slave–er, human.
3. The food.
Greenwood goes overboard with the food descriptions. I did tire of this after a while.
But Corinna’s life revolves around baking, so it makes sense that she’s always thinking or fixing or eating food. Some of the descriptions are enough to cause weight gain just by reading them. A word to the wise: don’t read The Spotted Dog on an empty stomach. You may find yourself looking in your cabinets, hoping for Corinna’s muffins and breads to magically appear, and be sorely disappointed.
I started this book a few days ago and have baked a batch of muffins and a loaf of bread, and I’m making homemade pizza dough later today. No, I’m not sharing. But if you need some recipes, Greenwood supplies a few in the back.
There are weaker points, though.
There are multiple discrete mysteries in the story, and some are more interesting than others. Alasdair and his faithful service dog, Geordie, is interesting, though Alasdair needs more development than a Scottish accent. The dive into a Vatican conspiracy/coverup theory about a lost gospel? Not so interesting.
Add to this a mysterious ransomware attack on a local cafe’s computer system, two burglaries, and Philomena’s mysterious assault, and it’s hard to keep everything straight. Moreover, for most of the book, the various crimes don’t appear connected. Even after Corinna links them together, the connections seem tenuous.
I’m also not keen on the occasional jumps to Philomena’s point of view. After spending several chapters in Corinna’s head, the leap to a minor character’s voice is disconcerting. While her subplot should be compelling, the violence in her tale feels out of place with the other comedic, often over-the-top story pieces.
There are many sweeping generalizations made about various ethnic groups. Jews. Greeks. Italians. Russians. Maori. I’m uncomfortable with these. They’re cliched and sometimes offensive, even when they’re intended to be humorous.
Overall, though, this is a decent story. It’s a fun, enjoyable read, perfect if you want to while away a summer afternoon.
Thanks again to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of The Spotted Dog in exchange for an honest review.