Customer Reviews

The Barker Street Regulars (Dog Lover's Mysteries)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Since I am a Sherlock Holmes fan, "The Barker Street Regulars" is one of my favorites in Susan Conant's series of dog lover's mysteries. Holly Winter and her Alaskan malamute Rowdy, who has qualified as a therapy dog, visit the Gateway nursing home, where they meet a 90-year-old woman, Althea, and her friends, Robert and Hugh, all of whom are Sherlockians. Althea's sister, Ceci, is being conned by a woman who calls herself an "animal communicator" and who claims to be channeling messages from Ceci's dear departed Newfoundland, Lord Saint Simon. Then Ceci and Althea's grandnephew, Jonathan, is found murdered in Ceci's back yard. Holly and her Sherlockian friends set out to discover whodunit. In addition to the usual dog lore, this book is chock-full of references and allusions to the Sherlock Holmes Canon: Ceci lives on a gaslit street on Norwood Hill; the tall, evil man whom Holly thwarts in his attempt to drown a cat has a "bulbous forehead"; an obnoxious couple on the dog-show circuit are named Gloria and Scott. (Holmesians will notice one gaffe: Take a look at Holly's account of the plot of "The Copper Beeches" in Chapter 26. Oh well, she has admitted that she's no expert.) If you enjoy a good, humorous cozy mystery, and if you are a dog lover and/or a Sherlock Holmes devotee, you're likely to find this book lots of fun.

I enjoy Conant's unique style of writing...as if she is speaking directly to the reader. This was a very good mystery. The references to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries was fun and interesting. Of course, it's always the dogs that draw me back to Conant's stories, and in that respect, I was not disappointed in this one.

I am a longstanding Susan Conant fan, mostly because I can always count on her books to teach me something new about dogs. I especially like the way she never resorts to cutesy anthropomorphic tricks to try and make her dogs more "interesting" to her readers -- she understands that few things are more interesting than the natural behaviour of living creatures. Holly Winter -- obsessive, pushy, and dedicated, always strikes me as the kind of person whose friends would alternately want to hug or shake her, but would never find boring.

With that said, I have to confess that recently, mainstream reviews of Ms Conant's work have made me very nervous as critics complain that her books would be more enjoyable if they featured less information on dogs. These critics certainly do not echo readers like me, who morosely note that there are already a depressing number of books out there that feature absolutely no dogs at all. If Conant gave in to critical pressure and turned her considerable talents away from dogs, where would I be?

Fortunately, after the enjoyable but sadly people-oriented "Animal Appetite," things appear to be back on track with what I humbly believe is her best work yet: funny, fast-paced, and filled with insight on people, dogs, and even cats (a bonus indeed!) I know nothing at all about Sherlock Holmes but happily followed Holly's lead through the maze of clues and Holmesiana. I was delighted to see Rowdy back on his best eye-batting, tail-wagging, woo-wooing form (my first dog was a male Siberian who would drop and roll over for tummy-rubbing as fast as Rowdy, who is practically a larger, dog-aggressive version of my late Pike). I laughed at Kimi's bossy ways; teared up over Ceci's grief, which echoed similar losses of my own; and muttered helpful advice to Holly in the matter of gaining the trust of her rescued cat (she took a long time to take my advice, but finally came around!)The only problem I have with this story is that I firmly believe that Byron's Newfoundland possessed "Strength without Insolence", not "Indolence" as written on page 113. But that is indeed a small and minor quibble.

In short, I was as absorbed in this story as I have ever been in any of Conant's mysteries, and consider it possibly her finest yet. It was certainly worth every minute I spent waiting for it to come out in affordable paperback.

I received this book for my birthday, being someone who shows dogs, and I've read it four times since. The storyline is original without being too weird and the characters evoke many emotions. Susan Conant writes as though the main character is actually talking to you, not just normal first person, which is refreshing. Although I was sometimes confused by the hints to Sherlock Holmes, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to dog lovers. :)

As a long standing Conant fan, I can proudly say The dog owning methods of holly winter trained me how to raise my own dog. I picked up the later, Black Ribbon over two years ago, and deciede I too wanted a dog. personally i don't condone that type of influencial and spontanious pet buying. but that same summer I adopted my Golden, Murray from a local shelter. ILP'd him, earned a CGC, and so far have a leg torwards our CD. He eats Eukanuba, sleeps with me on a king sized bed, and lives the sweet life. thanks to Conants great books, murray isn't euthanized, I've got a great hobby, and lots of new friends, and learned to love the modern day mystery. Kudos, Mrs. Conant-whereever you are!

Holly Winter is proud of her two award winning malamutes. Holly currently wants one of her canines to be certified as a therapy dog, working with senior citizens. Her favorite elderly citizens are Althea, Hugh, and Robert, who live in a nursing home. The venerable trio share a grand passion for Sherlock Holmes and collect any related memorabilia.

When Jonathan Hubble, Althea's nephew, visits Althea's sister Ceci, he is murdered. The elderly threesome, Holly, and her two dogs investigate the murder. They soon learn that Ceci was seeing an animal psychic, who they feel is linked to the murder. As they get closer to the truth, the four humans and the two canines find they have placed their own lives at risk.

THE BARKER STREET REGULARS is the latest entry in one of the more genial amateur sleuth series on the market today. Besides dog lovers, mystery aficionados will enjoy the mystery with its interesting intellectual puzzle. The heroine and her helpers are all wonderful, warm characters. However, it is the allusions to Homes and Baker Street that makes this refreshing novel worth devouring.

Harriet Klausner

I love this series so much because of the dogs, and so this particular book was even more fun with all the allusions to Sherlock Holmes. I too am a big Sherlock Holmes fan, so really enjoyed this book as Holly works her way through a mystery that is very eerily familiar to Sherlock Holmes stories. In this book Holly also inherits a cat, so it's interesting to see how a dog lover learns to cope with a cat. And this cat is not making it easy for Holly to make friends. These books are a lot of fun, and I enjoy each and every one.

I'm sure sherlock holmes fans will love it. But if you read this series for the dog trivia, what you get in this one is tons of Holmes trivia. If you know nothing about Sherlock Holmes, you'll be bored through most of it. Either Conant was getting bored with dogs, or she decided to try and garner more readers through a little expansion. The ploy didn't work well with me. I also found the new characters in this book, Althea and Cici, tiresome and wordy. More dogs, please. Stay with dog clubs or an obedience trial and leave Holmes to non dog mysteries.

What's not to love about this book? Malamutes, a strong female character, therapy dogs and corrupt animal communicators all contribute to a fun, fast moving mystery. As usual, Conant communicates through Holly wonderful dog training tips and great information on responsibility to our Canine companions. I was very pleased that this book had more Kimi in it as she is one of my favorite characters. I'm certain I have Rowdy and Kimi's alter egos living in my house (except they are two Samoyeds).

I eagerly look forward to Ms. Conant's coming novels. What an escape...

"Mastifful"! The "Barker Street Regulars" is one hilarious read, especially with the added treat of Sherlock Holmes on top of the already funny canine humor. I'm sitting here laughing out loud at each page with the Holmsian clues, references, characters, and titles. What could be funnier than naming a cat after a famous Malamute or a Great Pyrenees impersonating a Newfoundland or a coded message? Or reference to numerous Holmsian titles, characters and quotes? I did not want this book to end and cannot wait for the next. And I cannot wait for this to come out in paperback so that I can buy it for gifts.