The Wrong Dog
A Rachel Alexander Mystery
-
-
4.5 • 12 Ratings
-
-
- $3.99
-
- $3.99
Publisher Description
From former detective turned noted author and dog trainer, Carol Lea Benjamin, comes the fifth book in the critically-lauded Rachel Alexander mystery series, for the first time in mass market.
Sophie Gordon didn't let her epilepsy get in the way of her life as a teacher of deaf children. But without her trusty canine companion, an indispensable service dog named Blanche, she wouldn't be nearly as well-off. A service dog that can perform the difficult tasks that epilepsy requires--sensing when a seizure is about to occur and fetching life-saving medication--is extremely rare, so when a veterinarian's office promises that they can clone Blanche, Sophie jumps at the opportunity. Her former worries can now be put to rest, knowing that now she'll have a replacement for Blanche when the time comes.
But the puppy they provided didn't have what it takes to be a service dog, and when Sophie visits the vet to alert them of the problem, none of the staff is anywhere to be found--they've disappeared without a trace. To get to the bottom of this clone-by-night operation, Sophie hires P.I. Rachel Alexander and Dash, her pit bull partner. And two days after meeting with Rachel, Sophie is found dead, apparently of a seizure, but it didn't take Dash's sensitive nose to tell that something doesn't smell right, and that the missing vets definitely need further examination.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this fifth outing for Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dashiell, Benjamin continues the vivid prose, breakneck plotting and concern for contemporary issues that brought her the Shamus Award for 1996's This Dog for Hire. When Rachel agrees to meet Sophie Gordon in Washington Square Park, Dash has a ball playing with Sophie's young bullterrier, Bianca. Rachel's afternoon is far less simple, as Sophie's hard-to-swallow tale unfolds: she's an epileptic who lucked into a seizure-alert dogDone who can warn Sophie in time to take medication. Two years earlier, a woman approached Sophie at the park, saying she represented a charity that could clone Sophie's dog, BlancheDbut it had to be kept secret. Sophie would get one puppy and the others would help other epileptics. Bianca is that puppy, and she's the exact image of the aging Blanche, resting on Sophie's lap. But Bianca can't tell when Sophie is about to have a seizureDand Sophie can't find the agency to report that Blanche's lifesaving ability didn't pass to her clone. The day after their meeting, Sophie is murdered and Rachel and Dash are propelled into a dangerous search for her killer with help (or is it?) from Sophie's odd dog-walker. Rachel's New York savvy and big heart are appealing, and there's nothing coy or anthropomorphic about how Benjamin, a dog-trainer herself, portrays animals. There's almost too much action at the end, but overall this is a crackling good story even non-dog-lovers will enjoy.
