Wow- the cover and title of this book are highly misleading. I thought I'd be getting an amusing cozy geared toward animal lovers. I was very, very wrong. This book is just flat depressing, and more a suspense story than much of a mystery. It's not actually a bad book for what it is- but I don't have any desire to read this kind of book. BAD marketing IMO.(view spoiler)[There's (non-graphic) animal torture, doggie euthanasia, and a sadistic killer who I was hoping the heroes would just shoot in the face and wrap things up rather than angst around about how they couldn't prove jack. I was just glad Dixie didn't actually own any pets of her own, as they'd undoubtedly have ended up tortured to death.Just so I recall how much I REALLY didn't like this book:* Main character's husband and child had been killed in a senseless accident prior to the start of the book- that pretty much sets the tone!* First killing, killer broke a kitten's legs and tossed it in a hole to lure the victim into the woods. The body was left on top of the kitten, smothering it. I want to read this why?* The Dachshund in the title? Dixie takes into the vet because its quality of life has so declined. She's understandably upset the owners would leave her in this position- at which point the vet informs her the elderly couple were members of the Hemlock society and most likely wouldn't be returning from their trip. I mean- seriously. WTF. How is this at all necessary to the story? It's just piling on the angst for no good reason. Jeebus.* So Dixie used to be a cop. Her brother's boyfriend is a cop. The sadist is clearly out to get her and there is basically nothing they can do about it. Why did no one say 'Oh- we COULD just shoot the SOB's'? That annoyed me. (hide spoiler)]
I did not like the first Dixie Hemingway book at all; I scored it 1 star on goodreads. Reading other folks' reviews of that book, several readers said that the series gets better. That's what I like about goodreads, info like that. I'm glad I moved ahead with Book Two, as it is so much better than Book One. Almost everything Blaize Clement gets wrong the first time out, she gets right now. A better story, but just as important, far better characters. The main character, pet sitting sleuth Dixie Hemingway, is both more likeable and more interesting this time out. This collection of bad guys and their victims are better. Even the animal characters are drawn with more skill. Instead of a whodunit puzzle that falls flat, this book has none, but is a thriller in which we know who the culprits are from the go. Several other reviewers said they didn't like the ending, but I did. Still, with all its improvements, it's far from a perfect book. Once again, the book title and packaging makes it look like a PG-rated "cozy" mystery, but it is not; it's R rated.
Do You like book Duplicity Dogged The Dachshund (2007)?
In this installment, Dixie is walking a dachshund when the dog finds a body. Dixie is once again in the middle of the case, at times alongside Lieutenant Guidry who is handsome and a bit mysterious. Dixie, not able to fully escape her law enforcement past, begins asking questions and ends up in the sights of a psychopathic killer.I enjoyed this book a bit more than the first. I felt like Dixie's character was changing a bit and for the better. She was becoming more aware of how she was running away from people emotionally. Toward the end, there were definite improvements in her outlook on life. I hope that this positive change carries on to the next book.
—Amy Palmer
Fun little beach read, found among my dad's books.. Interesting characters, kept my interest. The main character, a persisted, gets involved in the murder of a client (the owner not the animal) and finds herself. Target. The book takes place in the Florida keys with lots of descriptive beach scenes, her house is a cute little apartment on the beach over her brothers garag. The brother cooks for her and her house is always clean. A tragedy in her past makes her wary of men but starting to come out of her mourning period so she's tempted by the handsome detective and her prior job as a cop gives her a perspective civilians would not have plus she's an expert marksman. Will she have to shoot somebody? Why isn't she clever enough to keep A phone charger in her car? That's about her only flaw but she's nice to old people so what's not to like. If I see another book by is author I will pick it up.
—Kathy jenkins
Dixie is a former cop, now pet-sitter. While walking one of the dogs she is sitting, the dog discovers a dead body. Not only that, the dead body is also someone Dixie has done some pet-sitting for. Even worse, before she found his body, she saw his vehicle speeding away, though it was him and waved. Now, she's afraid the killer might think she saw him and come after her!This is the second book in the Dixie Hemingway series and I really enjoyed it. Of course, the animals make the book extra fun for me to enjoy.
—LibraryCin
