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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great characters, but what the heck?, July 8, 2010
This review is from: The Dog Park Club: A Mystery (Hardcover)
I picked this up looking for a light hearted, funny read. Given the cover and the title, that seemed to be a pretty safe bet. Unfortunately, I found this novel to be a rather frustrating experience. The first part of the novel is spent in character development, and man these are some great characters. Max Bravo, our narrator extraordinare, is an insufferable snob. He is a middle aged, arrogant, gay opera singer who finds himself a member of this dog park club by way of his friend Claudia, a vain, hyper, self centered, ad executive. They meet a varied cast of characters at their local dog park, hence the title. Gator, Ed, the lesbian couple, Jordi the Spaniard, and Amy round out this strange crew of misfits and mysteries who get together at the dog park, drink beer, and gossip about each other. This takes up about half the book. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading about these guys. I really liked Max. He is such an over the top jerk, he's actually pretty endearing. His devotion to Claudia was also a great part of his character. I appreciated his humour and his vocabulary. I especially liked his frustration at people who continuously expected him to "declare a team". All of the other characters were interesting as well. The author did a good job with every one.
I was ready for something to happen, and then Amy disappears. We are then treated to the efforts of the club to find her or "nail her killer". Amidst all this, we learn more secrets about all of our characters, including the missing Amy. The author is mildly successful at creating a bit of intrigue, but it never reached the level of actually being compelling. The tone goes from over the top funny, to really dark, to sad, back to funny and finally ending up at "what the heck?" I won't spoil the ending, but I felt it was just a matter of a lot of work that ended up at nothing. Be forewarned; there's a ghost in this book. What she was doing here besides helping the author move the story along, I don't know. File that ghost firmly under the "what the heck?" category, along with about the entire last third of this novel.
If your'e looking for a lot of doggy fun, there are some great dogs in this book, but they don't play a very huge role. There is some really funny stuff though; the author has a gift for dialogue and she's created a very memorable character in Max Bravo. I just hope she gives him a better story next time. This one left me feeling annoyed. Not a recommend.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Unsolved mystery is unsettling; readable and funny, February 25, 2011
This review is from: The Dog Park Club: A Mystery (Hardcover)
As a "mystery," it doesn't work. I read through to the end and thought, wait, did I miss something? Am I supposed to know what happened? Thinking back through it, this is clearly what the author intended, which unsettled me.
I picked the book up because I am from Berkeley and used to live directly across from the dog park. The descriptions of the park and of Berkeley were laugh-out-loud funny (even if you are not from the Bay Area). I also enjoyed the character development, especially the mix of sexual orientations, resistance to gay/lesbian stereotypes, and the acknowledgment that not everyone can be easily classified.
As a book, it was satisfying and I read it through in a single evening. As a mystery, no. The author has talent and the characters are complex and interesting. But she needs to decide if she is a "mystery" writer, or not.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't come up with an original plot?, March 3, 2011
This review is from: The Dog Park Club: A Mystery (Hardcover)
Spoiler alert! This author didn't have the imagination it takes to come up with an original plot idea, so she took one of the most over-exploited news stories of the last decade, threw in a few twist, created some quirky characters, and there you have a fictionalized version of the Lacy Peterson murder. I haven't finished this book yet, so I am hoping for some devastatingly ingeneous plot twist at the end... but I'm not holding my breath.
I will admit that the writing style is fun at times and somewhat humorous. However the main character, Max Bravo, the sexually confused opera singer is just an annoying, catty queen! He is unlikable, rude, and treats his best friends as if they were doormats. Not someone that I really care about or want to read about in any sequel that may or maynot be forth-coming. (I'm thinking some re-hash of the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping perhaps... And obviously, at some point the author heard that paranormal mysteries were the newest craze, so out of the blue in pops grandma's ghost. A cigerette smoking, beer guzzling gypsy who adds NOTHING to the plot at all.
I would say if you are still interested in this book, get it from the library. It isn't worth the money to own as it is at best forgettable the second you are finished with it.
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