Animal Appetite (Bantam Crime Line Books) [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Conant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 1998 | Series: Bantam Crime Line Books

Dog's Life columnist Holly Winter, challenged to write about human behavior, sinks her teeth--and those of her beloved Alaskan malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi--into two mysteries.  Eighteen years ago publisher Jack Andrews succumbed to poison in his coffee, leaving two suicide notes--and his golden retriever chained to the desk.  His backbiting family swear he was murdered--by a crazed business partner.  But they're no model of sanity either: a strident widow with well-chewed nails; a bodybuilder daughter with rottweiler tattoos; and a deranged son who forages in garbage cans, ranting about rats and relatives.  What can they reveal about Jack's canine-obsessed double life?  What did Jack know that was dangerous enough to get him killed?  And what on earth could his death have to do with the tale of Hannah Duston, who was captured by Indians in l697, escaped, and lived to tell the tale?  But even more to the point, can Holly, Rowdy, and Kimi muzzle a killer before he attacks again?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA. To win a bet with a friend that she can write about something other than dogs, Holly Winter begins in-depth research into the life of Hannah Dunston, a local 17th-century heroine who turns out to have been a murderer. Clues into Hannah's past lead to the murder of Jack Winter Andrews 18 years ago and the mysterious circumstances of finding his golden retriever tied to his desk at the crime scene. Holly diligently searches through libraries and other people's cluttered basements to discover the identity of Jack's killer, the location of his illegitimate son, and Holly's own tie to Hannah Dunston. Conant adeptly weaves Andrews's murder together with the legend of Hannah Dunston, resulting in an intriguing mesh of converging facts. The author keeps readers entertained between major breakthroughs in the story by relating all sorts of pointers about dogs in general, and more specifically Holly's own malamutes, who play a role in solving the crime. Holly comes across as self-assured, independent, and knowledgeable, and all of the other characters are precisely drawn through subtle details and expertly manipulated facts. During the last chapters, the suspense and tension build rapidly, although the twist at the end is somewhat convenient. Readers who enjoy the dogs in Virginia Lanier's series will also enjoy Conant's mysteries.?Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The 18-year-old murder of a book publisher interested in showing dogs sidetracks Holly Winter from her research into the life of a New England woman abducted by Indians. She finally solves the case but nearly gets killed in the process. For all those dog-loving readers.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Crimeline (January 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553571869
• ISBN-13: 978-0553571868
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,364,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. The best friends of my childhood were pointers named Stuffy and Nonny. I had imaginary companions as well: a cat named Thirsty Melirsty Medrinkable, a family of dogs, and parents called Mommy and Daddy Suh. Thirsty and the dog family slowly faded away. The Suhs, however, perished suddenly; they ate fish guts and died. My career as a mystery writer thus began in early childhood: I invented animals, and I killed off fictional human beings.

Now, many decades later, I live just outside Boston. My husband is a clinical psychologist with a private practice in Cambridge. Our daughter, Jessica, who is also my coauthor, lives in New Hampshire with her husband and their young son. My husband and I have an Alaskan malamute, Django (pronounced 'Jango') and two Chartreux cats, Kansas City (K.C.) and Shadow Celeste. The malamutes in my Holly Winter books are composites, but the cats in Scratch the Surface, Edith and Brigitte, are portraits of my own Chartreux.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just OK, August 21, 2002

By 

Beth Guynn (Hillsville, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Animal Appetite (Bantam Crime Line Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Holly Winter, dog writer extraordinaire, is trying to write about a person, colonial heroine Hannah Duston, who, in another age would have been known as an ax murderer. She is also writing about an 18 year old murder, because the victim's dog was the proof it was not suicide. The two pieces would seem to be world's apart, but there are puzzling connections.

I am a fan of Ms. Conant and I cherish my friendship with Holly and her malamutes, but this is not up to her best writing. The story seemed oddly flat, and my favorite non-series character was murdered after one appearance.

Those who enjoy the series will certainly want to read this, but if you haven't met Holly and company before, don't start here!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An addictive series!, November 26, 1998

By 

Kimberly Borrowdale (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Animal Appetite (Bantam Crime Line Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Holly Winter, a writer for DOG'S LIFE magazine, makes a bet with her friend and neighbor Rita (a psychotherapist) that she can indeed write something that has nothing to do with dogs whatsoever. Thus, Holly begins research on Hannah Duston, who, in 1697 was captured by Indians--then killed her captors and returned home. At the same time she is learning about Hannah Duston, however, Holly is also finding out about John Winter Andrews, who died eighteen years ago (was it suicide or murder? the case was never solved)--and owned a Golden Retriever, the same breed of dog Holly's family has bred for decades. Surely there must be a kinship link of some sort, and Holly is determined to find out what really happened.

Holly is a fun person to hang out with--smart, smart-mouthed, and with a smart choice of companions: her two Alaskan Malamutes, Kimi and Rowdy. Think Kinsey Millhone transplanted from Santa Teresa, California to Cambridge, Massachusetts and immersed in the world of dogs. Holly's other friends--her lover (and vet) Steve, her next door neighbor (and homicide detective) Kevin, and Rita--are almost as engaging as the assorted canines who show up in the novel.

Be warned: the Holly Winter series is addictive! This reviewer read ten of them (of which this is number ten) in ten days. All are stronger on dogs than on the mystery elements--which is not to say the mystery elements are weak, they aren't--but that's just fine by me. It isn't necessary to read these novels in order, so grab the first one you can find (and all the others you can put your hands on) and dig in for a tour of New England, dog shows and obedience trials, colonial history... and, oh yes... rats.

Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dogs and colonial history--Yeah!, June 14, 2001

By 

Gray (midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Animal Appetite (Bantam Crime Line Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Susan Conant has written a series of books in which murders are solved by a very unlikely person. The "detective" in Ms. Conant's books is a dog lover with the unlikely name of Holly Winter. Holly makes a living writing for a dog magazine. Holly's life centers around her two Alaskan malamutes. I am not a "dog lover" but I have enjoyed meeting the malamutes and I have enjoyed in other books reading about the strange world of dog shows.

In Animal Appetite, Holly investigates the murder of a pubisher who died at his desk 18 years before the start of the tale. Concurrently, Holly is researching an actual historical event in which a woman who had been captured by native Americans managed to escape (killing several of her captors in the process). I enjoyed the combination of colonial history and wry humor aimed at dog fanciers and Harvard professors. I read Susan Conant because I enjoy the world she creates and the vivid way she brings dogs to life on the printed page. Don't expect the wild humor of Susan Evanovich or the well crafted puzzles of vintage Agatha Christy; expect an enjoyable romp with two wonderful malamutes.