Creature Discomforts (Dog Lover's Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Conant (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dog Lover's Mysteries | Publication Date: February 27, 2001

A dogged killer...

When Dog's Life columnist Holly Winter regains consciousness atop a cliff in Acadia National Park, she has no idea who she is. Not even the arrival of two beautiful and oddly friendly dogs, who happen to be her own Alaskan malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi, is enough to jar her memory.

Instinct tells her that her fall was no accident and she'd best keep her amnesia a secret. Yet when she follows the clues back to the guest house of Gabrielle Beamon, a charming woman surrounded by an eccentric band of preservationists, all she finds is more questions.

What was a dead man, who reportedly hated exercise and the outdoors, doing hiking in the first place? Why did Holly have a file filled with information on arsenic? And why does the charismatic founder of the Pine Tree Foundation seem so hauntingly familiar? As Holly gets closer to the truth, not even her faithful dogs may be able to save her from a human who is ruthless to the bone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most people who regain consciousness after falling down a mountain would think to call a doctor, but not Holly Winter, the bumptious heroine of Conant's 13th Dog Lover's mystery (after Evil Breeding). Of course, since Holly is suffering from amnesia, figuring out who she is initially occupies all her energies. Then she has to concentrate on appearing normal at a clambake given by wealthy socialite Gabbi Beamon, who has invited the intrepid journalist and her two Alaskan malamutes, Kimi and Rowdy, to Maine's Mount Desert Island. At the clambake, guests lament the passing of curmudgeon Norman Axelrod, who fell to his death while hiking the same trail Holly was on around the time of her "accident." Gabbi's guests are all investors--as was Norman--in the Pine Tree Foundation, a philanthropic organization that seeks to combine charity with high returns. Those returns, however, are suspiciously high. And why was Norman, notorious for his disinterest in exercise, climbing a mountain in Acadia National Park in the first place? Conant keeps plot to a minimum; the corpse and any medical or police authorities remain offstage. Such economy allows ample room for this lighthearted romp's real stars to shine--Holly's dogs, who are rivaled in the personality department only by her mooselike father, Buck Winter, whose antipathy to land developers brings the action to a head. Dog lovers will cheer Kimi and Rowdy as they help expose the killer, and even those not partial to canines will want to bark with pleasure at a good animal mystery in which the animals aren't portrayed as humans with fur.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Canine-crazy sleuth Holly Winter is back to solve another crime--that is, if she can remember who she is. Waking up to find herself hurt and on the edge of a cliff, Holly has no memory of what or who caused her fall. In fact, at first, she can't even remember her two Alaskan Malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi. As her memory comes back bit by bit, Holly realizes that she almost met the same fate as a man who died from a similar fall just before hers. Helping her investigate what happened are her blustery father, Buck, and the ever-charming dogs. It's easy to find faults with Conant: her stilted descriptions of Maine's Acadia National Park sound as though they were lifted from an old Fodor. Likewise, the indigestible trivia about breeds and training she drops into the text land like stale dog biscuits on the basement floor. Still, Holly remains an extremely likable protagonist, and the supporting characters are consistently interesting. And, most important, dog lovers will love the canine costars. Jenny McLarin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (February 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553580590
• ISBN-13: 978-0553580594
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.6 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,903 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best yet in this beloved mystery series, April 19, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creature Discomforts: A Dog Lover's Mystery (Hardcover)

When she regains consciousness, Holly Winter has no time to worry about not knowing who she is or the names of the two malamutes standing nearby that she knows is hers. Her first concern is to find a way back up from the side of the mountain that she apparently fell from. After escaping her harrowing situation, Holly learns that she is in Maine's Acadia National Park as the guest of Gabrielle Beamon.

Holly finds out that another guest Norman Axelrod also fell off the same cliff at around the same time she did, but he died. Holly knows that the killer will want to complete the job by murdering her. As she struggles to regain her memories, Holly and her two canines Kimi and Rowdy begin to investigate the accidents.

CREATURE DISCOMFORTS is an engaging canine mystery that focuses on the charcaters. The story line clearly has GONE TO THE DOGS and Holly as they investigate the two accidents while hiding her amnesia from everyone. Susan Conant does not clutter her tale with litter as she concentrates on her stars and their relationships with other characters. RUFFLY SPEAKING, amateur sleuth fans and canine lovers will relish this tale and trace the BLOODLINES of the Dog Lover,s mysteries.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conant's best yet!, June 4, 2000

By 

Melissa Hunter-Kilmer (Mayland, VA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creature Discomforts: A Dog Lover's Mystery (Hardcover)

How does she do it? How does Susan Conant keep turning out such entertaining mysteries with great characterizations? I don't know, but thank you, Ms. Conant! These books are a boon to dog lovers and mystery lovers, especially those who are both!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't wait to see how the mystery came out -- and I *really* couldn't wait to see how the relationship part came out. No, I'm not going to spoil the surprise. Let me just say that I hope the next book comes out very soon!

When Booklist says "It's easy to find faults with Conant: her stilted descriptions of Maine's Acadia National Park sound as though they were lifted from an old Fodor. Likewise, the indigestible trivia about breeds and training she drops into the text land like stale dog biscuits on the basement floor," well, the heck with that publication. I liked the descriptions and I **loved** the bits on dogs, because they ring of truth -- and great love for all dogs.

It's a delight to read this stuff. It's also given me some obedience ideas. Hmmmm . . . Katie, come!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I love the dogs but what's Holly's deal?, May 10, 2000

By 

Christi (Fairfield, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creature Discomforts: A Dog Lover's Mystery (Hardcover)

I have read every one of Susan Conant's books in the last two weeks, so maybe that's why I am so disappointed with her latest effort. Rowdy and Kimi are as intelligent and beautiful as ever but what happened to Holly? I understand that she's had head trauma but what's with the bitterance she seems to be displaying? I miss her old dog absorbed happy self. I also miss the old Steve. That whole Steve storyline just isn't believable, it's too farfetched for his in control character. I found myself wanting to reread her first book so I could remember the good times.