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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great mystery, April 2, 2002
This review is from: Give the Dog a Bone (Mass Market Paperback)
Allie Babcock is used to dealing with eccentric people in her profession as an animal therapist. Rudy is about the strangest pet owner she has come in contact with. He is convinced that his golden retriever Maggie is possessed by the spirit of his ex-wife Mary. He lives in a run down trailer park, yet he convinced that he is incredibly wealthy. Well, the dog needs help, so Allie takes on the case. While working with the dog at Rudy's trailer, she gets away and comes back with a human arm bone. Rudy is brought in for questioning, and Allie takes care of Maggie while he is at the police station. He is released in the early hours of the next morning and wants his dog back. Allie promises to return him early in the morning and goes back to sleep. She arrives at the trailer park to find him murdered and herself a suspect. It turns out that Rudy was rich, his ex isn't dead, and he left all his money to the dog with the condition that Allie find a suitable home for her. I have been looking forward to the next book in this series and I was not disappointed. Although Allie's romance with the dog phobic Russell detracted from the story somewhat, it was an excellent addition to the series.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Move Over, Barbara Woodhouse!, April 29, 2002
This review is from: Give the Dog a Bone (Mass Market Paperback)
In addition to rock-solid plotting with an always-involving premise, Leslie O'Kane has a rare talent for creating delightfully feisty heroines whose unusual occupations provide additional dimension and interest to her novels. It's always a pleasure to share freelance fax/greeting card designer Molly Masters' world, but when Ms. O'Kane introduced canine therapist Allida 'Allie' Babcock in PLAY DEAD, this dog-lover found herself completely caught-up in the technicalities of behavioral modification that Allie employs during the course of her investigations and loving every minute of the time that we were spending together. Allie's third adventure in crime GIVE THE DOG A BONE may well be her most intriguing and complex outing to date. Off to a rather rocky start, her consulting business is finally solidly in the black; her somewhat up-and-downish relationship with her dogaphobic office-mate Russell seems to be working itself out nicely, and her datebook of problem pooches is satisfyingly full. However, when eccentric millionaire Ken Culberson and his charming but utterly undisciplined golden retriever Maggie arrive in her office, she finds herself trying to cope with "six impossible things before breakfast". Ken is absolutely convinced(encouraged by an unscrupulous psychic)that Maggie's misbehaviors are occuring because she is possessed by his dead ex-wife Mary whom he's equally convinced that he's killed, albeit by accident. A threat that Maggie's running wild in his trailer park may lead to her incarceration by the Animal Control League achieves what neither his psychiatrist nor his social worker have been able to accomplish and brings him to Allie, begging for help. Dubious about Ken's sanity but a [turkey] for a dog in obvious trouble, Allie agrees to make a site visit where she discovers that the bones that Maggie's been gleefully draging home recently probably aren't animal bones and calls the police. Before he's taken to the station to discuss the matter, Ken asks Allie to assume temporary charge of Maggie and emends his will (which names Maggie as sole heir to his millions) making Allie her legal guardian. While the police are still investigating the matter, Ken is released and then murdered. Suddenly Allie is confronted with a plethora of equally unsavory claimants to Maggie's paw and fortune...one of whom is probably Ken's killer. Finding out which puts her own life on the line in the chilling denouement to this thoroughly satisfying, delightfully whimsical whodunnit.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For amateur sleuth and animal lovers, March 31, 2002
This review is from: Give the Dog a Bone (Mass Market Paperback)
Dog psychologist Allie Babcock practices in Boulder Colorado, a city that is very tolerant of unusual professions. People are so willing to have Allie help their pets behave properly and responsibly that her business is actually making a profit. She insists on working with the owners and their animals which is why her results are so spectacular. Her latest case involves Ken Culberson, an eccentric elder man, who needs his irresponsible golden retriever to properly function in the world. Allie isn't too sure of Ken's sanity but she can't resist the challenge of re-training a dog that has been taught to behave badly. When Ken is murdered, Allie becomes the guardian of Maggie who is the beneficiary of a vast estate. The dog psychologist has to find, according to the terms of the will, a proper home for Maggie but somebody is willing to kill her to prevent her from doing it.
Amateur sleuth and animal lovers will enjoy reading about Allie Babcock and the trouble she gets into because of her love of dogs. She is an admirable woman who stands by her beliefs even though they may cost her life. Her latest tale is fun as Allie tries to do the right thing for her canine client while simply trying to remain alive. Leslie O'Kane captures her spirit and heart while giving readers a great mystery in GIVE THE DOG A BONE. Harriet Klausner
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