About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

LIKE A DOG WITH A BONE
by Lee Charles Kelley
Avon, May 2007
272 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 006073230X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

It’s a reluctant Jack Field who goes to see retired general Lamar MacLeary about training his wire-haired fox terrier. Molly likes to chase squirrels and dig in the side yard. It’s the digging that MacLeary wants to discourage. He’s a tad taken aback when Jack asks him what kinds of games Molly likes to play. Jack, on the other hand, considers this an important question and quite relevant to his training program.

Jack is reluctant to go to the general’s house because he thinks this whole thing is about a lot more than a dog. A drunken woman accosted Jack and Jamie while they were at a resort in Mexico and asked them to check on her father, the general, and train his dog. Jack thinks this is far more about the family relationships than a dog that digs.

Of course he’s right. Reggie Durban is the general’s daughter, the drunk one. Sister Connie is emotionally detached. The general hasn’t spoken to Cord, the brother, in decades. The general’s wife ran off, presumably to Mexico, some 20 years ago and nobody speaks of her.

On Jack and Jamie’s initial visit to MacLeary’s house, Molly digs up a bone. It’s a human bone, buried about 20 years ago. It’s not difficult to see where this story is going, and it naturally goes there. Is the buried woman his wife? How did the woman die? Who killed her? Does any of this have any bearing on who has or has not been smoking dope in Jack’s vintage automobile?

For those who haven’t read Kelley’s mysteries before, he’s good. He knows how to plot. He writes about interesting people in unpleasant and sometimes dangerous situations. He manages to pass along some dog-training tips in each book, usually without getting pedantic about it. His minor characters are not just scene dressing; they matter to the story. Kelley’s books are a quiet pleasure.

Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, August 2007

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]