Customer Reviews

Dog Day

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

 

 

I picked this novel up in an aiport bookstore before a long flight, and was very glad that I did. This is a fresh voice for American mystery readers. I've read enough police procedurals and "mystery thrillers" taking place in the familiar U.S. locations, peopled by the usual suspects - hard boiled American detectives and cops, crooks, killers, psychopaths, and the like. For fans of the genre who want a change of pace, I strongly recommend books that are recently hitting the stores, like Ann Cleeve's Raven Black (Shetland, England), or Miyuke Miyabe's All She Was Worth (Japan), or this great read by Gimenez-Bartlett, about a tough Spanish detective in Barcelona and her food-loving partner, investigating a mystery revolving around dogs.

This is a well-written novel with good characters and a fresh perspective, though the plotting is not the strongest I've encountered in the genre. For animal lovers, the descriptions are disappointing - the author has obviously not done her research. I won't give the plot away, but it does take the detectives awhile to catch on to what's afoot (modern readers will be a step ahead- the novel was written years ago and only recently translated). And again, the dog-related descriptions are off the mark, and for readers who know about dogs, that can be a distraction. This is not a unique problem to this author, however - I've read several books featuring dogs that have gotten basic facts about breeds or dog behavior wrong.

However, that did not take away from my enjoyment of this book. This is a strong, fresh voice for American mystery fans, and I have already ordered the next installment in this series. I'm also eagerly looking for other mysteries/procedurals written by non-American authors - it really does make for a terrific change of pace.

A final note - DO NOT READ the book jacket- it contains a major plot spoiler.

I love this detective. Inspector Petra Delicado is a wielder of barbed metaphors, a lusty heartbreaker, a crusty friend, and a woman with a brutally logical mind. Her sidekick-subordinate Fermin Garzón is exactly calculated to make her act out: an old-fashioned cop with vigilante impulses and a sentimental streak.

If you like your stories in chronological order, read Death Rites first. It tells how Delicado and Garzón got to be friends on their first case. But Dog Day can stand on its own, too.

Once again, these two unlikely teammates are given a case because it doesn't interest their colleagues, who are too busy anyway. A man from the dregs of society is found horribly beaten up and in a coma. He dies, and they have a murder case.

Identifying the victim, who has no papers and no friends or family, is a challenge. He is survived only by an ugly little dog, who Petra decides will help them track the killer.

As it turns out, the whole mystery revolves around dogs, dog thieves, experiments on dogs and other crimes against dogs.

The two detectives stay focused on the case despite their romantic adventures, which are pathetic and hilarious by turns. Alicia Giminéz-Bartlett is an extremely funny writer.

Incidentally, Europa Editions, publishers of Giminéz-Bartlett, produce really lovely paperbacks. I'll read any good book, no matter how cheesy the printing, but it's an added pleasure to handle a book of such fine quality.

Gimemez-Bartlett is one of Spain's premier crime writers. This is one of her books centered around Barcelona police inspector Petra Delicado. She is a strong, smooth character well-matched with her slightly rotund and bachelor partner. A cast of quirky characters, a glimpse of the underside of Barcelona through the investigation of a murder linked to a dog theft ring. What makes foreign fiction tough sometimes is the quality of the translation, and in this case the translation is solid and gives the text a sparse, noir quality. This book is 10 years old and just came out in English, and I hope we see more of her work in English in the future.

I enjoyed this book very much for a few different reasons. While I typically enjoy mystery fiction, I am often appalled at how poorly they are written - transparent characters being the norm - all narrative, no substance. What we have here are characters that are well drawn, experiencing their lives in a 3-dimensional way - with frailties, strength, grace, wit and confusion about their lives, among other pleasant and interesting qualities. The mystery aspect was intriguing, and although I had some ideas at to what was what, I didn't mind that so much because the characters kept me interested. It was a bit of a slow read at times, but that was fine with me too! I don't always need to speed through. And, several times I was really taken by a line - the author can be philosophical, wise and insightful - the rewards of a novel. A quietly enjoyable read. A few translation problems here and there, none too serious. I look forward to reading more in the series - so far above the usual predictable bestseller was this one.

I enjoyed this. I think of the mysteries I have read that were set in Spain, so far this is my favorite. Even though I really liked it, I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because even thought it was good overall, I thought there were a few places that had some technical problems, in the sense of developments in the plot or the relationships among the main characters that to me, at least, didn't quite make sense. Maybe they made sense, but I was too dim to understand. The main character was likable and interesting, as were the other characters. The final denouement was clever without being too out of left field. The book was good on atmosphere, though I can't say I am an authority since I have only been to Barcelona very briefly, and don't know much about the place. I am certainly looking forward to reading other books by the same author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It labored a litle through the middle section but all in all was a worthwhile read and informative as to todays world with regard to animals.

The fly leaf of this book says it is the first in a series. Let's hope it is a series of ONE because the detective in this book is only fractions smarter than her author. If detectives in Spain are anywhere near this stupid, they don't belong in a book. They belong on daytime television.
Nothing in this book surprised me. Every twist was clear 100 pages before it happened. I rate it 2 stars because the cover art is attractive but as a dog lover or a reader of dark mysteries, this book was a complete washout!