Normally, I don't read Nora Roberts, (although I do really like her alter ego J.D Robb), but this particular book was about search and rescue dogs so it had a good bit of appeal to me. It always amazes me what dogs are capable of, and I'm convinced we don't give them near enough credit. We keep them around, mostly in the back yard, ignore them, feed them whatever cheap food is easy to get a hold of, and regardless, they want nothing more than to be our best friend. They can, and will do, whatever we ask and teach them, and are capable of doing important things...like finding missing people, but we often don't invest the time to let them. However, I'm getting off track and on my soap box again...back to the story..Fiona Bristow lives alone on an island with her 3 lab retrievers that are search and rescue dogs, she is also the only survivor of a serial killer, who is now serving several life sentences in prison. She's tough, successful, and refuses to be a victim. Enter Simon Doyle, a handsome, tough, brutally honest, rugged woodworker with a feisty and fun loving puppy, (given to him by his mom), in desperate need of training. Simon doesn't necessarily want the puppy, but is determined to make it work, and Fiona thinks the puppy would make a great S&R dog, and takes both owner and dog on. Things are happy, and Fiona and Simon are getting to know each other. However, as in all mystery stories, things can't stay that peaceful, and soon, the police show up to tell her that a body was recently found with all of the same signatures that her attempted killer used. A copy cat who knows not only what the press told the world, but also what they didn't. Fiona once again has to fight for her life, and learn to let others fight with her as her and Simon figure out where their life is going.
It's a sweet story, and anyone that loves dog can relate, and will laugh, at the antics of the puppy and the frustration that goes with having one. As I once heard on Veggie Tales..."I laughed, I cried, it moved me Bob".
The Search
2 comments:
I haven't read Roberts or even her Robb books, which would normally be more up my alley. I do like writers who manage to do animals well, though. It's usually a writer who treats the animal as just another character in the setting. Iris Murdoch is good in that way, and I remember a Ngaio Marsh mystery that had a cat that figured in. It takes a good bit of observation of their lives to get animals right.
Yes it does, and I have to say, Roberts about had lab puppies nailed. I laughed very knowingly at the antics, and, as icing on the cake, no dogs in the story died...I hate it when the animals have to die.
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