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In the Book Bar: JANE DOE by Victoria Helen Stone

Neither of our silly cats was in the mood to do book poses tonight, so it was sister Sofia to the rescue, even though this book features a cat character 🙂

We got this book as an Advance Reader’s Copy at the RT Booklovers Convention in Reno, which we just returned from and which was, as always, wonderful! The book will publish on August 1, 2018.

We packed this one in our carry-on and are so glad we did; we couldn’t put it down. It’s the story of a woman named Jane who has recently lost someone very dear to her. She knows who is responsible and is hell-bent on getting revenge, however she can.

Jane keeps calling herself a sociopath, and we have to say, she is the most relatable sociopath we’ve ever encountered! As the book goes on, we found ourselves so engrossed in her story, and really rooting for her. At the same time she is plotting revenge, she meets a guy, and adopts a cat, which, of course, we loved 🙂 And they kind of pull her back into life and help her overcome her pain.

JANE DOE is a really suspenseful page-turner with an engaging main character and strong secondary characters. We give it five bonito flakes!

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In the Book Bar: WISH ME HOME by Kay Bratt

This kitty seems to be reading a lot of dog books lately!

We found this book on Audible – it was an Audible book of the day – and we couldn’t remove the ear buds for practically the length of the book. It’s about a young woman, Cara, who was orphaned at a young age and was raised by several foster families with her sister Hana. At the start of the book Cara’s running from something – we find out what much later. Her car has broken down and she’s walking along the highway, when she finds a stray dog, who basically adopts her. She decides to go to Key West, as she’s a literary gal and has always loved Hemingway, and wants to see his house. (We could so relate – that house is one of our favorite places!) So, Cara names the dog Hemmy and off they go.

They meet many strangers along their journey – most of them good people who help her out, some of them horrible. Just like in life. The book is about finding home, and eventually, she and Hemmy do just that. A home that is perfect for both of them. And the kicker – and the part we so love – is that it is Hemmy who leads her there.

Kay Bratt is a new author to us, but she reminds us of Catherine Ryan Hyde, one of our very favorite authors. We will definitely read Bratt’s other books. WISH ME HOME deserves five bonito flakes!

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Sneaky Pie Brown Rules!

We are major, major fans of Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown in this household! Sofia poses with the very first in the Sneaky Pie series, Wish You Were Here. The best cozy mystery / cat mystery writer around, in our humble opinion. Brown’s cats – Mrs. Murphy and Pewter – and dog, Tucker, are all so smart and their personalities really shine through. And, most importantly, they help their human solve the crimes. So often, with the current crop of cat mysteries, the cats just sit around looking cute. They have a very minor, if any role. Cats are smart! Use them, mystery writers!

Anyway, our human is working on just such a cat mystery. And, inspired by Sneaky Pie’s Tucker, and our own dear little dog, Sofia, she has decided to add a dog sleuth 🙂

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Review: THE RIGHT SIDE, by Spencer Quinn

Because this is a book featuring a dog – and a black dog at that – we have graciously allowed our sister, Sofia, to model it 🙂

Witty kitty, being a cat, of course loves cat books, but she can most definitely enjoy a really good dog book as well. Especially because of that dog sister of hers… Anyway, Spencer Quinn is the author of the super engaging, comical dog / human mystery series, Chet and Bernie, and also the children’s series, Bowser and Birdie. This is not the same kind of dog book as those, in that the dog here does not narrate any part of the story, and for much of the story he does not have a name. But he does have a strong personality, strong opinions, and he helps his human, LeAnne, solve her mystery. So we love him! This book is also quite a bit more sobering than the others.

LeAnne has just returned from the war in Afghanistan, during which she lost one of her eyes. She’s angry, suffering from PTSD, and is trying put her life back together now that combat no longer seems an option. Her Army superiors ceaselessly interrogate her about the attack that disfigured her, wanting to find out who was behind it. But she doesn’t want to try to remember. Too painful. So, LeAnne flees the hospital and goes in search of the missing daughter of a friend she’s made while in the hospital, who died of her wounds. Along the way, LeAnne meets this mysteriously smart, knowing dog, and he helps her solve the missing girl mystery, and in his own way, helps her learn to trust again.

LeAnne was a very compelling character – as was the dog – and WK found herself really rooting for LeAnne to find the girl, figure out what happened in Afghanistan, come to terms with her past, overcome her PTSD and get a grasp on her future, and befriend the dog 🙂

WK gives THE RIGHT SIDE five bonito flakes!

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THE MOURNING PARADE

Can’t wait to read this novel, especially after hearing the author, Dawn Reno Langley, speak about it tonight The Poisoned Pen, our favorite mystery bookstore. The Mourning Parade is about a female veterinarian who, after her two sons are killed in a school shooting, tries to work out her grief by volunteering at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. There she meets an elephant, Sophie, suffering from PTSD due to abuse. There’s no story we love better than one about human and animal mending each other.

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Review: DOG LOST, by Ingrid Lee

I saw this book in my local library and was immediately drawn to the title and cover. Written in 2008, and based on a true story, it’s a powerful tale of a pit bull puppy, Cash, who, in protecting her best friend, MacKenzie, angers the boy’s father, who hauls her off to the middle of nowhere to fend for herself. At first everyone is scared of the dog, since she’s considered a “dangerous breed,” but Cash is no vicious predator. Not only does she refuse to fight when she is captured by the leader of a horrid dog-fighting ring, but she ends up saving the lives of more than one human, as well as that of a cat used as bait by the dog fighters. Written by a Canadian writer, Ingrid Lee, the book was published at a time when Ontario was considering whether to ban the breed, which would have led to the euthanasia of entire shelters. Cash is a shining example of the ludicrous cruelty of such a law. And yet, I know from the Best Friends documentary, “The Champions,” about the rehabilitation of the Michael Vick dogs, that Ontario does have such a ban, so, sadly, it passed. I remember Montreal was deciding whether to enact something similar a year or two ago. It was put on hold then. This book reminds me to check up on that. I really hope it never passed. As “Dog Lost” shows, it is people who are the villains, not the dogs.