A hit-and-run accident in the Scottish Highlands, which only a frightened cocker spaniel survives, followed by a bloody murder, leads dog-breeder Captain John Cunningham to a showdown with a heartless psychopath when he investigates the case.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Hammond offers readers more death and dog lore in the latest adventure (after Give a Dog a Name ) of Scots kennel owners, Falklands veteran John Cunningham and his wife Beth. A hit and run claims the life of a petty thief on a remote road on New Year's Eve. The incident leaves a spaniel pup abandoned. Another pup is found at the scene of a brutal killing in nearby Dundee. The Cunninghams are a soft touch when it comes to dogs in distress; their largesse extends to John's army friend Angus Todd, who is suspected of the hit and run and looks to have been expertly framed. Soon the Cunninghams are hunting down a killer. Hammond, in this series and his Keith Calder mysteries, gives us quintessential Scots: dour, pragmatic and tight-lipped to a fault. Though readers might wish for fuller development of his characters' psyches, especially regarding John's recurring illness and melancholy, Hammond doesn't scant plot or canine lore. Overall, this series continues to deliver, especially for dog-loving readers.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
John and Beth Cunningham live in the Scottish Highlands, where raising a newborn son and breeding and training hunting dogs keep them busy and happy. When an old Army buddy of John's is accused in a mysterious hit-and-run accident, John agrees to help prove his friend's innocence. But the hit-and-run isn't the only crime occupying the local constabulary--three other vicious murders have taken place recently, and the only clue seems, strangely enough, to be the presence of a black spaniel pup at each murder scene. Since dogs are right up John and Beth's alley, they decide that their expertise in matters canine makes them the perfect pair to help solve the crimes, but their detecting very nearly gets both of them killed. An unusual but engaging story with a nicely original plot, gentle humor, and plenty of Scottish country ambience featuring dogs, guns, waterproofs, and Wellies. Emily Melton
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Just mediocre; does this author even LIKE dogs?...,
By
This review is from: The Curse of the Cockers (Mass Market Paperback)
As I've recently been discovering various dog-related mystery authors (Sue Henry, and the excellent David Rosenfelt), I picked up "The Curse of the Cockers" with interest.
Unfortunately, this was something of a disappointment. It's a bit simple-minded. SPOILER ALERT: The climax has the protagonist listening to, and cogitating about, the psychopathic murderer's lengthy confession while he lies semiconscious under a contrived deadfall; but I've read a lot worse. This certainly qualifies as Light Summer Reading. And I've lived in Britain, so I wasn't put off by dialogue and phrasing that some Yanks might find confusing. What bothered me was that this writer was unable to convince me of his affection for DOGS. (Or if he DOES like them, he was unable to balance that with simultaneously creating a suspense-driven storyline.) There are no loving (or even admiring) descriptions of his breed of choice (springers); no mention of the main character's personal pride in them; little personalization of them at all, really. On page 1(!), he mentions his breeder-hero "disposing of" unwanted non-show-quality puppies at his kennel. I thought, "He can't mean that they're destroyed," assumed clumsy phrasing and read on; but later he mentions casually that his kennel NEVER sells pet-quality pups. (And why on earth not, once they're neutered?) And: Our Hero would sell a "valuable" springer pup to the killer-in-disguise, without so much as a home check, or even an ID verification? This pretty much undermined my belief in a responsible breeder's "care" for his dogs, despite his boastfulness about theirs being a "quality kennel." This was all definitely very off-putting. The dogs never seemed more than a practical consideration for the (oft-drunken) main characters, or a plot-device for the writer. While I find the flip-side of dog-mystery writing (cutesy anthropomorphism) equally distasteful, it would have been nice to feel that this author (and his protagonist) had as much affection for dogs, as the audience he was plainly attempting to reach. I get the feeling that some publisher said to this author, "Stuck for ideas? Well - the Brit public is dog mad, you know that. Take your little mystery and try rolling some DOGS into it." This book wasn't terrible; because it's short, I read it through to the end; but overall, it was a "miss"... This dog won't hunt, folks.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just mediocre; does this author even LIKE dogs?...,
By
This review is from: The Curse of the Cockers (Hardcover)
As I've recently been discovering various dog-related mystery authors (Sue Henry, and the excellent David Rosenfelt), I picked up "The Curse of the Cockers" with interest.
Unfortunately, this was something of a disappointment. It's a bit simple-minded. SPOILER ALERT: The climax has the protagonist listening to, and cogitating about, the psychopathic murderer's lengthy confession while he lies semiconscious under a contrived deadfall; but I've read a lot worse. This certainly qualifies as Light Summer Reading. And I've lived in Britain, so I wasn't put off by dialogue and phrasing that some Yanks might find confusing. What bothered me was that this writer was unable to convince me of his affection for DOGS. (Or if he DOES like them, he was unable to balance that with simultaneously creating a suspense-driven storyline.) There are no loving (or even admiring) descriptions of his breed of choice (springers); no mention of the main character's personal pride in them; little personalization of them at all, really. On page 1(!), he mentions his breeder-hero "disposing of" unwanted non-show-quality puppies at his kennel. I thought, "He can't mean that they're destroyed," assumed clumsy phrasing and read on; but later he mentions casually that his kennel NEVER sells pet-quality pups. (And why on earth not, once they're neutered?) And: Our Hero would sell a "valuable" springer pup to the killer-in-disguise, without so much as a home check, or even an ID verification? This pretty much undermined my belief in a responsible breeder's "care" for his dogs, despite his boastfulness about theirs being a "quality kennel." This was all definitely very off-putting. The dogs never seemed more than a practical consideration for the (oft-drunken) main characters, or a plot-device for the writer. While I find the flip-side of dog-mystery writing (cutesy anthropomorphism) equally distasteful, it would have been nice to feel that this author (and his protagonist) had as much affection for dogs, as the audience he was plainly attempting to reach. I get the feeling that some publisher said to this author, "Stuck for ideas? Well - the Brit public is dog mad, you know that. Take your little mystery and try rolling some DOGS into it." This book wasn't terrible; because it's short, I read it through to the end; but overall, it was a "miss"... This dog won't hunt, folks.
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