Customer Reviews

A Dog Among Diplomats

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A Dog Among Diplomats could definitely be enjoyed on its own, as a quick recap of the backstory is provided at the beginning of the novel--but it is a series after all, so I would still recommend beginning with the first book, A Dog About Town (which I also reviewed).

I called the first book a fun read--which it was, and this one is too (If you like Vespas, I think it's not spoiling the plot to say that one takes a prominent role in this novel. Has product placement $s begun for books now?). --But I would also add that these light-hearted elements give the book a deceptively simple air.

In this sequel, Englert introduces a whole cast of additional characters, and the plot (mystery) as well as the themes grow more complex. Englert's writing skill is seen in that the plot does seem to unfold so effortlessly (it's a quick read), when in fact he is juggling dozens of plot threads and characters at a time.

My favorite part of these novels, though, is probably not the plot itself but Englert's prose and his wry commentaries, such as his tongue-in-cheek defense of obvious distortions of history, filtered through a character who intends no irony, "Leopold was merely taking the ideal sentiment of human brotherhood and rescuing it from the sordid march of history." (This said just before a senseless murder occurs..)

One more philosophical take-away, filtered through, Randolph (labrador-cum-detective and avid reader): "Writing is the craft of the illusionist. A writer frames and reframes reality, and soon this mirror trick becomes the world."

A cozy mystery/amusing dog story about Randolph, an urbane black lab with human intelligence and the ability to solve mysteries. This book, the second in the series, has Randolph using his superior scent-sniffing and snout-controlled Internet surfing to unravel the mystery behind his mistress's disappearance, and murder with a United Nations connection. This book is not for serious, hard-core mystery fans, as they may find the doggie digressions tedious (what books Randolph likes to read, his tastes in food), but for me, the mystery story was secondary to the dog story--I was more interested in what Randolph was up to than who-done-it. The author's witty writing style, and the charismatic canine detective made this an enjoyable read, and I look forward to further adventures in this series.

The cover of this book makes it obvious it's the dog who is the brains behind the case-solving as he is also the narrator. Let me introduce you to Randolph, a portly black lab with a well developed knowledge of literature among other intellectual interests. Randolph and his owner, Harry, an artist, live in Manhattan.

A DOG AMONG DIPLOMATS is the second in the Bull Moose Dog Run series, the first being A DOG ABOUT TOWN. This story takes up where the first left off with Harry and Randolph both dealing with the disappearance of Harry's girlfriend, Imogene, who was Randolph's mistress before Harry was in the picture. The reader learns fairly early on that the mystery surrounding Imogene's disappearance involves some Australian land and uranium rights that are soon to be willed to Imogene and certain people are willing to kill for them. The steady flow of dead bodies turning up all seem to point to Imogene as the killer, even though there are several spies disguising themselves as diplomats from the United Nations lurking about. Through the course of the investigation Harry discovers that he didn't know his live-in girlfriend as well as he thought he did. He begins to question everything as the evidence piles up, which leaves Randolph even more determined to help prove her innocence. Randolph is able to learn a lot by filling in as a therapy dog for one of the diplomats. However, between the thyroid condition he is suffering from that leaves him easily exhausted and a murderer in close proximity, even his life is jeopardized.

When reading this book, its important to keep an open mind. There are parts of the book, that if taken too seriously could turn the reader off. It's not a serious, bite your nails kind of mystery. I mean, it isn't every day you read about a dog with his own email account or who orders his favorite books online. But with that being said, those are the quirky things about this book that make it entertaining and different. Basically, it's a decent story with interesting characters. There are a lot of them to keep up with, but Englert is able to blend them all fluently. I could find things about the book to pick at, but then I remember that it's a story about a dog trying to solve a mystery, so I choose to keep my perspective, sit back and enjoy the story.

The follow-up to last year's A Dog About Town comes out of the gate running. And it's a winner! Like the first book in the series, this one is written in the first person from Randolph's point of view. But I was now used to seeing through the eyes (and nose) of a dog by this time! :P

In this installment, Randolph and Harry are still pining after the missing Imogen, but now there's been evidence that she's still alive and in New York City. Though why she was last seen fleeing the scene of a murder, and is now nowhere to be found again, has the police, as well as Harry and Randolph, a bit baffled. Randolph has even been asked to play a part, by playing the role of "therapy dog" to a visiting diplomat who will be staying at the Bed & Breakfast from which Imogen recently fled. Now as a few more dead bodies turn up, Imogen's involvement in this string of murders is questioned, though she still can't be found and brought in for questioning herself. Is this just some elaborate hoax someone is trying to pull? Or is there a reason for Harry and Randolph to be worried?

This was another fun cozy and I look forward to reading more about Harry and Randolph in future books.

Randolph the Labrador is considering a post dinner nap once the Chinese spareribs settles in his abundant stomach as staying awake proves difficult because his master Harry is dozing while some narcoleptic butchers the narration of the life of van Gogh. However, NYPD Detective Peter Davis calls bringing both Harry and Randolph out of their TV induced comas when he mentions "her". Peter is the lead detective on the disappearance of Imogen, who rescued Randolph from the pet ship morons and introduced him to her beloved Harry.

Harry and Randolph quickly rush from their Upper West Side apartment to the East Village. Trusting but naive artist Harry and doubter Randolph are informed that their mutual significant other is tied to a homicide that is linked to the U.N. Randolph somewhat because he reads the Post and knows cops are either heroic, on the take, or idiots. Whereas Harry turns to a medium for guidance from the spirit realm, Randolph figures his buddy is acting too human. He goes undercover as a "therapy" dog to anxiety ridden U.N. diplomat Leopold Maranovsky of Near Upper Pilasia, a nation that is currently not annexed by its neighbors though Randolph knows that region keeps mapmakers employed. The canine must keep Harry safe as someone has to humiliatingly escort him when he does 1 and 2 and pick up the poop after him, and prove Imogen is innocent (hopefully alive too) by identifying the real killer; now he has a chance as he has broken through the sanctimonious U.N. dog run barrier.

Randolph continues to be A DOG ABOUT TOWN as he investigates the East Village homicide by infiltrating the U.N. Once again Harry assumes some spirit is guiding his canine as Randolph follows the clues. Readers who appreciate a different type of whodunit will want to read the tale of a genius dog living in a human world especially inside the U.N. where prejudicial diplomats from Near Upper Pilasia and Near Lower Pilasia interact with scorn.

Harriet Klausner

If you love dogs and love mysteries/suspense novels, this is a great book for you!

A really worthy successor to A Dog About Town, this further account of a portly Labrador's adventures leads to spies, the UN, murder, a knife-wielding chef and the thrill of ordering books on the internet. Randolph, the aforesaid Labrador, is the narrator of the book and is still worried about finding his vanished mistress, Imogen, and protecting and communicating with his somewhat gormless human companion, Harry. Harry and Randolph's adventures are sometimes terrifying, sometimes hilarious, and always a great read.

Randolph and Harry are back for more!

A great follow-up to A Dog About Town, J.F. Englert picks right up where he left off with A Dog Among Diplomats, keeping the pace going and the characters strong.

Imogen's story is moved forward as the motives behind her disappearance become clearer. It appears that she is involved in much a much bigger picture than first thought possible, and this time it's possible that she's involved in a murder. It's Randolph's job to put the pieces together to help Harry find out what's going on and clear his mistress' name.

I really like the fact that Harry and Randolph's characters are clearly growing both emotionally and as individuals. They both are coming to terms with Imogen's disappearance, possible betrayal and what that means in their lives and how they need to move forward. Jackson returns to give Harry some much needed focus in a new art project, and Zest Kilpatrick is back to try to lead Harry's heart astray. I like to see Englert moving forward with these aspects of the story, and not letting Harry and Randolph wallow in misery. The characters are clearly becoming their own. There is also the addition of a great new cast of characters, including Harry's sister, Iberia, her husband Tony, and their daughter Haddy McClay.

There is a murder, of course, and Randolph is up to the challenge again. Englert leaves Randolph to his own devices this time and creates new ways for him to communicate with Harry, and even lets his more doggie attributes take over, helping him gather the clues through his own cunning. I think Englert has paid attention to his own dog in creating Randolph; there are so many doggie attributes (the snout stamp, for instance) that I can see in my own dog. I like seeing Randolph handle things in a very doggie-fashion (surfing the net and reading aside). It's an original idea that Englert handles perfectly.

The ending is left wide open for another, and I can't wait to run off with Randolph and Harry for more adventures.

Here we have the second episode in the Adventures of Randolph Manhattan, an overweight, underactive, sentient Labrador owned by the hapless Harry, whose fiance Imogen disappeared almost without a trace in the first book in this series. In this installment, a body has been discovered in a room where Imogen may have been staying recently, and the police consider her to be the prime suspect in the murder. Harry gets involved in the investigation, of course, and so does Randolph, whose powers of detection are naturally superior to those of mere humans, but who has difficulty communicating his findings to the dim species that walks upright. In the previous book, we learned that Randolph was able to compose messages for Harry by spelling things out with Alpha Bits cereal. Harry being a bit of a gull, Randolph was able to implant the suggestion that these messages were from the "other side"---from Sherlock Holmes, no less.

Randolph continues to survive on the worst sort of people-food, and is beginning to feel more than usually lethargic, until a practitioner of alternative medicine suggests he may have a thyroid condition, prompting Harry to contemplate actually taking the poor creature to a vet. At the same time, Harry himself is pronounced to have a wheat allergy, which leads him to rid his apartment of every potential trigger, including Randolph's essential communication tool, the Alpha Bits. From here on, the story line totally disintegrates. I had misgivings about the Dog as Detective bit when reading A Dog About Town. But that book was a frolick--well-plotted, imaginative, and humorous. Far fetched, but not "Aww, c'mon" unbelieveable. I don't mind being asked to believe that a dog can think, read, even shift Alpha Bits around on the floor or table to form words. But Randolph now has the ability to manipulate a keyboard, a mouse or a scroll wheel to go on line, create an e-mail account, and compose messages. It's all a bit much. Especially as he never quite manages to get a message completed and sent, not because of his doggy limitations, but because of human interruptions.

I will give Englert the benefit of the doubt and concede that he's aiming for farce, here. But I am utterly put off by Harry's disregard for Randolph's well-being, and it strikes a sour note over and over. It seems that days go by when no one bothers to take Randolph out to "do his numbers" in the doggie park. Harry makes veterinarian appointments, but forgets to keep them, and turns his obviously ailing dog over to a complete stranger--one of the diplomats of the title--who needs the company of a dog to calm his nerves (the PLOT needs the dog to be "among the diplomats", and this is how it is accomplished). A mad chef with an array of cleavers and hypo's wants to fillet Randolph and pass him off as yak fricasee in the U.N. dining room. (These are not spoilers, by the way.)

As a parody of cloak & dagger thrillers, the book does have its moments. I could envision Peter Sellers as Leopold, the dapper press secretary from Near Upper Pelasia, and Hugh Grant would make an excellent Harry. But I've really had enough of this too clever dog, his clueless owner, and Imogen's dark secrets. I'll make A Dog Among Diplomats my last Randolph adventure.