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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed but an enjoyable read nevertheless, September 26, 2004
This is one of those books that you understand as you're reading it that it's really not very good in some respects but you keep on reading it anyway because it's not so bad, either, and entertaining. But -- the characters are stereotyped, the detective-heroine is not so much spunky as reckless to the point of stupidity (refusing to take seriously the numerous signs that she's making a murderer very unhappy with her), there are some technical errors in the veterinary part (which really are extraneous to the plot anyway), and it's all so improbable.
But -- Baxter is a skillful enough writer that it's a pleasant read -- great for an airplane -- escape reading. The plotting is fairly good, but the series of interviews detective method is improbable and the main character has virtually no reason to get involved in finding the killer. When citizens get involved in murder investigations, I think it works best when there is a plausible reason why (like brother has been falsely accused, that sort of thing).
The plot involves Dr. Jessie Popper, mobile veterinarian (she has a traveling vet clinic), who discovers a body on her way to make a house call on a horse. There's a dead canary beside the body. For reasons that never are clear, Jessie decides to solve the murder and proceeds to do so by presenting herself (using various lies) to anyone she can find who knew the deceased. Her ex-boyfriend is a private investigator, although all he does is try to protect her. There's a fair amount of romance and a couple of very amusing scenes involving the men in Jessie's life.
There's also a lot that should have been edited out, like all the stuff about her landlord neighbor, which never quite works, and the vet visits, which have nothing to do with the plot. Given the way she uses her vet status to lie her way into interviews, Dr. Popper should be worried about losing her license.
I think Baxter has some good writing skills, but this mystery is clearly a first. I hope she will improve over time.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
An Uncertain Start to the Series, February 23, 2005
I like amateur sleuths and regional mysteries; throw in the fact that the hero is a vet with a menagerie of animals seemed like a perfect match. Then again, while Jessica Popper may be good with animals, she's definitely not a people person. And I don't mean that in a good way. Instead of eccentricities that would make her an entertaining character, Jessica packs so much emotional baggage she needs to see a shrink. I have no clue what her ex-boyfriend sees in her neurotic behavior; then again, I have no clue what Jessica sees in him, either.
The mystery elements to the story are fairly good, but the author is heavy-handed about doling out clues. Jessica is a lousy detective; she gathers good information that enables the reader to solve the crime long before she figures it out for herself. There's just the inevitable wait for Jessica to fall into the arms of the murderer and finally realize her mistake. The whole damsel in distress angle. How dull.
All this said, I yet may decide to read the second book in the series. I like amateur sleuths and regional mysteries...
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A crowd pleaser, February 3, 2004
Veterinarian Jessica Popper has a very unique practice called Reigning Cats and Dogs. She has a clinic on wheels and travels allover Long Island meeting her clients in their homes. She just broke off with her boyfriend, a private investigator who she still loves, because he wants to marry her and she wants no part of the institution after seeing all the fights that happened between her parents. One day while driving along the back road of the Atherton Farm to treat a sick horse, her two dogs find a dead body. When Jessica looks at the murdered victim she sees a canary with his neck broken lying next to the human victim. Jessica wholeheartedly throws herself into the investigation determined to unmask the killer. Although she has never done such a thing before, she gets very close to getting some answers but also almost gets herself killed in the process. This amateur sleuth novel has plenty of action and enough romance to appeal to readers of both genres. The heroine has two rescued dogs, an arthritic cat and a parrot that repeats back anything he hears. Jessica is a smart, independent and clever woman who works the case as well as a private investigator and readers will find her actions very believable once the audience overcomes the initial doubt that is part of any first time amateur sleuth voluntary involvement in an investigation. Cynthia Baxter's DEAD CANARIES DON'T SING is a mystery lover's delight. Harriet Klausner
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