Hair of the Dogged Detective
599116
With this collection of six short stories involving a werewolf private-eye, I find myself wishing there was a Saturday morning cartoon adaptation for it. Granted, the subject matter might wind up psychologically scarring little children, but I don't have children so that's not my problem.

Roman Dalton is the kind of world-weary gumshoe you might find familiar if you read a lot of hard-boiled fiction, but the werewolf aspect sends him into that realm of urban fantasy that I have grown to love most. It's gritty, grimy, and gratifying.

Individually, each story might feel like more of a teaser than anything. They are each as quick as a hiccup, but the economy of words shows of Brazill's ability to not muddy up a story with heavy description and introspection. As a collection, each story bleeds into the next, with a cavalcade of some of the most weirdly suited characters you're likely to find in the genre. If the lycanthropic detective isn't a big tipoff, how about the zombie muscle, voodoo kingpins, or even femme fatale witches.

I want more of Roman Dalton and my knock on this book is that it's just so brief. There are more Roman Dalton stories out there on the Kindle Store though, penned by an assortment of writers using Brazill's brainchild, so I have those to look forward to, but I could really go for a novel-length story. Maybe in time, but for now fans of urban fantasy noir should check out these stories to see if they leave you hungry for more.
2489059
Sleeping Dog, a crime novel first published in the '80's, introduces a precocious and persistent teen, a jaded detective who disdains kids in general, and tells how they become an effective crime fighting team in spite of the awkwardness and miscommunication that ensues when they meet. Author Dick Lochte uses the Same Story/Separate Perspectives technique to tell the whole story as it unfolds.

Serendipity Renn Dahlquist lives with her grandmother, a key cast member of a popular soap opera. Her dad is deceased; her mother has a series of men in her life and long ago ceded the care of her child to her own mother, actress Edith Van Dine, aka Aunt Lil Fairchild. Serendipity enjoys a great deal of independence. She loves her grandmother and Groucho, the dog her dad had given her so long ago. She is of course distraught when she returns home from school to discover that Groucho is missing.

Leo Bloodworth is a seasoned private investigator. The local police department detective gives Serendipity his name, admitting that the missing dog will never be a priority for them. His real motive is probably to annoy Bloodworth, but regardless, Serendipity is not to be put off.

The plot twists and turns, introducing several interesting characters from seedy business people to Mexican gang members to local tv personalities who may not be all they seem to be.  The book snagged several nominations for mystery book awards and, at the onset of a new millenium, was named one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Millenium by  the Independent Mystery Booksellers of America.

Fun to read, with interesting characters who experienced Life Before Cell Phones and still managed to solve some crimes! There is a second in the series, Laughing Dog, which sounds like a promising read as well.
431334
A missing doctor and missing dogs challenge small town police chief Samuel Craddock. when the doctor's mangled body is found, it appears that he fell victim to feral dogs. but craddock suspects something more nefarious is afoot. He fears that the purloined pets have been stolen by a dog fighting ring and used as bait. Instead of looking the other way, Craddock goes deeper.there are suspects aplenty and it seems that the physician had some dark and deadly  secrets. In the meantime, Craddock has his heart stolen by a puppy and encounters challenges in his love life.

Craddock is an engaging and honorable lawman. He is likable if not the most efficient or effective. the small town Texas atmosphere is nicely conveyed. Overall the mystery is pretty good and resolution satisfying. I liked the angle with the puppy and Craddock's disgust at the viciousness and cruelty of dog fighting. My problem with this book is the pace. It is too leisurely for my tastes. The suspense is significantly slowed by the many cozy mystery elements. If you prefer stories that are more focused on character and atmosphere than suspense and action, you will enjoy this more than I did. It is a relatively short book but the languid unfolding diminished my enjoyment.
3638316
A rich man, well known in high society, is found shot to death in a cab on the coldest night of the year. The taxi driver has no idea how the corpse got there or who shot him. Was it the classy woman in a fur coat that engaged his cab at the station, then mysteriously disappeared?

This American crime novel appeared in 1921, and it made me think of a mystery published in the previous century, The Mystery of the Hansom Cab. But instead of a horse-drawn hansom as the scene of the crime, we have a modern cab. Although the cab does seem to lack a heating system, still a luxury in the early 20s.

In the history of detective fiction, Midnight is a transitional mystery, no longer Victorian in mood, but not yet in step with the hard-boiled crime novels of the 30s and 40s. The investigator, David Carroll, is rather soft hearted. He doesn't believe in making hasty arrests or exhorting confessions with the third degree. He's tremendously polite, especially to women. He gets people to "spill the dope" by inspiring trust. The novel, by the way, is peppered with fun slang from the era and antiquated cop jargon. "Soft pedal the blarney!" says Carroll to his friend the chief of police, when the chief raves about Carroll's detective skills.

My favorite character is a teenage flapper, a fluffy blonde who talks incessantly. Evelyn has a crush on Carroll and finds him "simply adorable" despite his advanced age (38).  Her gossipy, frivolous chatter is Carroll's best source of information about the people involved with the victim. And quite amusing.

I found this novel charming and recommend it to lovers of vintage mysteries. The Resurrected Press edition is nicely produced and offers a short but informative introduction.
2459991
When I saw this book for sale and that it combines two of my interests, mysteries and senior citizens, I decided to buy it and I enjoyed it. The main character is Stanley, a pensioner of about 68, who is incredibly bored in his recent retirement. Mowing the lawn is a main activity, which he finds tedious beyond description. In desperation on a whim he puts up a notice in a shop window that his Old Age Pensioner Investigations (OAPI) business will solve crimes, big or small. He is amazed when he gets his first case, a dead man whose body disappeared. Stanley hires his daughter (recently divorced and job hunting) as a partner and they are off to solve  mysteries. He didn't know what to charge so said ten pounds per hour, very low. Plus expenses. But this is their very first case. I look forward to reading the second in the series. I think the book was rather short, but quite worth reading. Oh, and the black labrador on the cover is Stanley's dog, Roobarb.
1963508
Having now read several of James's Adam Dalgliesh police procedurals -- a couple of earlier ones and a couple of the far superior later ones -- I decided it was time to dip into her non-Dalgliesh work. This is the first one featuring Miss Cordelia Gray, private detective. Isn't not a long story, only a bit over 200 pages, but it's not bad. Cordelia, having been taken on by Bernie Pryde as an apprentice detective, suddenly finds herself the sole proprietor when Bernie offs himself because of terminal cancer. Bernie was an ex-Met cop, fond of quoting methods and principles learned at the knee of then-DCI Dalgliesh (who later had him sacked for lack of basic competence), and who had drilled those same principles into Cordelia, . . . who wonders sometimes if her boss's old boss is a mythological creature. Now she's been invited to Cambridge to look into the suicide of the son of a nationally known microbiologist; or, actually, Bernie was invited, but Cordelia now has the case. Young Mark, an idealistic university student, hanged himself for no discernible reason and his father wants to know why. Cordelia, of course, soon has reason to think Mark actually was murdered. The narrative follows her through her investigations as she comes up with reasonable hypotheses, and reasonable ways of determining their validity (or not). She owns a gun (illegally) but she's not about to use it, so she has to rely on her considerable wits. Cordelia is an appealing character, filled with idealism herself, and somewhat more interested in justice than (necessarily) in truth. And she eventually discovers some of the truth about Dalgliesh, too.
2066555
A BAD HAIR DAY is the third title in Sophie Dunbar's Eclaire Mystery Series.  In A BAD HAIR DAY Claire agrees to join other New Orleans hairdressers in a special hair day promotion being put on by a good friend.  Little does she know that what is to be a fun day for all will be the final  day for one.  The promotion takes place in October so in the mist of  solving two grizzly murders Claire and Dan are invited to a lively  Halloween party. Those coming back from the previous mysteries are, Marcel  who is putting on the special promotion; his most recent love,  detective/model Nectarine and Dan's parents.  Ms. Dunbar unique  talent really stands out in her writing.  In each mystery the first  chapter/page sets up the story line, yet does not really give anything  away, other than Claire's feelings sometimes. I like the way she sets the  reader up for each chapter.  And the ideas she has come up with for doing  away with her victims, I think I can safely say most if not all of them are  original ideas yet to be thought up by others.
It's a funny, entertaining  series.
3121818
Good story, interesting mystery, and a perplexing family feud make for a few hours of entertaining reading. I absolutely loved the dog! He truly lived up to the adorable image of him on the cover.
4067464
I enjoyed this book very much. It was light hearted and yet serious enough for the crime committed. And  I am a sucker for a dog character.
1823259
I bought the Vera boxed set, and when the supplemental season 6 came out, I had to have it also.  I have learned so much about the United Kingdom since I began watching all their detective stories, including Vera.  One common variable among all of the detectives seems to be that the people, especially the youth, of all ethnicities, have absolutely no respect for police officers.  In the US, anti-police sentiment is more confined to certain ethnic groups in city neighborhoods.  I wonder if that's because our police are armed.  Oh well.  Vera is a down to earth frumpy detective, and the plots are very interesting.  I highly recommend it.
687988
I groom dog  for a living  it work for a look alike
2764336
An entertaining murder mystery with a charming Golden Retriever as one of the main characters. The story teller is an out of work author wannabe who learns that his sister has been charged with homicide in the death of her husband, and he is given the duty of solving the crime. The book is light reading, comical, and entertaining.
4223824
The main character is a washed up old Inspector Jack O"Neill who has had many good years. Yet becaucse of some personal problems has let become pretty much the Precinct drunk but not drunk enough to get rid of yet. The Assisant Police Commissioner decides to give him one final case and send the old boy on his way. He has been relegated to the records department after being in the Homicde division and solving almost 40 murders. His new assistant is a new Detective Frank Carr. So one last murder case to solve and Jack is battling the booze but has young detective to show the ropes. The murders keep happening and race could be a factor but clues are few. Will Jack hit the bottle or hit the bricks and show detective Frank how to work a murder case ? Read it enjoy!
1108609
Good mystery series.  Enjoy the pets and how they are woven into the plot.  The end wrap up was a bit quick.  Looking forward to the next installment.
3986501
The mystery in this book is very easy to figure out, but the storyline is still entertaining. The scene of the novel is also wonderful. Dartmoor is where Conan Doyle situated his famous Hound of the Baskerville story. This almost mythical spot in England is one I would love to visit one day. What I didn't enjoy about this book and why I gave it only 3 stars, is the short shrift the authors gave to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There are a lot of people, including me, who hold this man's detective fiction in almost mythical esteem. The Alberts seemed to portray him as a blundering buffoon when it came to solving this "real" crime.
This story is set around the Dartmoor Prison that was in this country in the early 1900's. It focuses around a prison escape, and when a local lord is found dead, it is automatically assumed by everyone except Charles that the escaped prisoner murdered the man. Katherine and Charles dig deeper and find a number of skeletons in the family closet, and then, when these are brought to the light of day, the murder is solved.
4631021
If you like stories in the 1880s about police using intuition,and how they used to have to prove the science behind solving crimes because they did not have the tools they have now, then you will love this show.  It is a man ahead of his time with a story and secrets of his own.  He is an honorable man which was hard to find during that era.  Many of the police there in White Chapel on the East End of London have great background stories, and it keeps you interested in the show.  The show starts off immediately after the Ripper murders, and is pretty accurate with how the police blamed every murderer caught afterwards for the Ripper murders and tried to tie them in.  Great show.
3047426
This is the latest Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn.  I am a big fan of Chet and Bernie Mysteries, so I was looking forward to this book, and I wasn't disappointed.  The plot has several twists and turns to keep you interested, and the characters are likable.  As with the previous books in the series, it is "written" by Chet, the dog.  Mr Quinn has a knack for seeing things from a canine perspective, and this makes his books a lot of fun to read.  If you're an animal lover, or if you just enjoy a good mystery, I think you would like this book.