The Dogfather (Dog Lover's Mystery) [Hardcover]

Susan Conant (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dog Lover's Mystery | Publication Date: February 4, 2003

Holly Winter gets an offer she can't refuse: dog trainer to the Mob. Specifically, teaching an Elkhound puppy to behave. Its owner is another story-a wiseguy who's killed so many people even the FBI's lost count. And now Holly's caught in the middle of his newest vendetta...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susant Conant is a three-time recipient of the Maxwell Award for Fiction Writing given by the Dog Writer's Association of America. She lives with her husband, two cats, and two Alaskan malamutes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425188388
• ISBN-13: 978-0425188385
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,324,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. The best friends of my childhood were pointers named Stuffy and Nonny. I had imaginary companions as well: a cat named Thirsty Melirsty Medrinkable, a family of dogs, and parents called Mommy and Daddy Suh. Thirsty and the dog family slowly faded away. The Suhs, however, perished suddenly; they ate fish guts and died. My career as a mystery writer thus began in early childhood: I invented animals, and I killed off fictional human beings.

Now, many decades later, I live just outside Boston. My husband is a clinical psychologist with a private practice in Cambridge. Our daughter, Jessica, who is also my coauthor, lives in New Hampshire with her husband and their young son. My husband and I have an Alaskan malamute, Django (pronounced 'Jango') and two Chartreux cats, Kansas City (K.C.) and Shadow Celeste. The malamutes in my Holly Winter books are composites, but the cats in Scratch the Surface, Edith and Brigitte, are portraits of my own Chartreux.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dog trainer to the mob?, February 9, 2003

By 

Moe811 (New York USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dogfather (Dog Lover's Mystery) (Hardcover)

Holly is assisting the local capo, Enzio Guarini to train his beautiful Elkhound puppy. The customs and lifestyle of a mob boss is totally alien to her. When one of his associates is murdered while holding Rowdy and Kimi, things really start to go out of control.

I really enjoyed this one. Ms. Conant has returned to the dog aspect of her first mysteries and the novel is all the better for it. The characters as usual are quirky and interesting and the mystery is very good. I am also glad to see Steve easing back into the picture. It is about time one of Rowdy's puppies appeared in a book also! Great and very quick read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down (especially if you love dogs), March 11, 2003

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dogfather (Dog Lover's Mystery) (Hardcover)

Once again, Susan Conant delivers a masterfully written mystery featuring Holly Winter, dog writer/trainer living in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

When Holly agrees to train a mob boss's new puppy, she doesn't count on getting involved in a mob murder. Interrupting the session to search for dog treats, she returns to find a dead body. The mob quickly removes the evidence, but Holly remains nervous, with good reason. Another shoot-out gives her a fright and lands her neighbor in the hospital.

Holly doesn't track clues and the murderer's identity is a surprise, although a clever one. While I kept turning the pages, I felt a little cheated of a true mystery. Holly's dog savvy remains unquestioned but I wish the author had given her a murder that drew on her unique skills and talents. A spoof? An author who can't resist the "dogfather" pun?
Regardless, I most liked the stories where Holly speaks the language of dogs to uncover the murderer. Here Holly turns over the stage to the ...well, Dogfather.

Holly's training tips are valuable as always (bits of roast beef work well as treats!) and we can welcome back her former lover, Steve the veterinarian. The author has created a quandary for herself: Mystery heroines with romantic interests tend to lose their allure, and Steve is such a terrific catch that Holly's resistance makes no sense.
Even Holly is beginning to realize he's a prize.

And Holly's cat Tracker needs to mellow out. She needs to consult a cat therapist! I have one dog and two cats and everybody needs attention, every day.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, good dogs, good mystery. A fine read, March 19, 2003

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Dogfather (Dog Lover's Mystery) (Hardcover)

Mobster Enzio Guarini loves dogs. So when his new puppy doesn't behave, he sends his henchmen out to bring him Holly Winter, dog trainer and fellow dog lover. Holly knows enough about the mob, and about Guarini's reputation, to accept the job, but when one of Guarini's assistants is killed during a training session, Holly knows she's in over her head. And Guarini's attempts to help her, including intimidating an A.K.C. judge and possibly blowing up her car, let her know that she's in trouble. Of course, for Holly, trouble is a given. As if the mob weren't bad enough, she's got hostile FBI agents camped out front and an ex-boyfriend who seems to want to reconnect but somehow keeps missing.

Author Susan Conant writes a funny and entertaining mystery. The dogs are well integrated and are real dogs (not super-dogs who talk, solve mysteries by themselves, and otherwise dominate the story). Holly continually uses her dog training insights to 'help' her deal with people, adding to the humor but also increasing Holly's depth of personality. Of course, her problems with boyfriends, the FBI, and the mob increase the author's sympathy for Holly as she tries to figure out the right thing to do.

Conant's writing is funny and highly readable. THE DOGFATHER is perfect light reading, a cute mystery, and will appeal even to readers who don't care much about dogs (dog fans will love it).