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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Murder Unleashed, May 3, 2005
This review is from: Murder Unleashed (Jack & Jamie, Bk 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book a year ago and was revisiting Amazon recently when I read the review by "booklover" ("Good Dogs, Bad Books") and was very surprised to find someone who obviously hasn't even read this book writing a review of it! How does this happen? Why?
I can understand differences in taste. "booklover" recommends Susan Conant and Laurien Berensen in place of reading Kelley's dog mysteries. I've read one book each by these authors and found them to be below average -- actually not much better than a third grade level compared to Kelley's electric writing, at least IMO. Meanwhile I love Kelley's characters, his storytelling style, and think his writing is fresh, first rate, and far above a third grade level, which I suppose if you hadn't read Hemingway and Faulkner you might not appreciate. I doubt "booklover" would agree with me on this, even if she had read "Murder Unleashed", though she clearly hasn't: I had the pleasure of re-reading this book over the weekend, just to be sure I was right about some of the nonexistent plot points she mentions.
First of all, no one has framed the lead character, Jack Field, for murder in this novel, especially not Sheriff Flynn. In fact, nobody at all is framed for murder! It's not part of the plot! I have no idea where she'd get that idea if she'd actually read the book.
Second, while it's true that Jack and Sheriff Flynn were antagonistic toward one another in the first novel, they actually like each other in this book, and work together to solve one part of the mystery.
Third, Jamie, the state medical examiner, who is Jack's love interest, is not his "married lover", as this so-called reviewer states. Yes, she was legally separated in the first novel but was waiting for her divorce to be finalized. In "Murder Unleashed" she is finally divorced, which gives Jack an opportunity to propose to her. (Does he? I won't say!)
As I said before, I understand that different readers have different tastes. I'm sure that Susan Conant and Laurien Berensen sell more novels than Mr. Kelley, despite the fact that he's the better writer. What I don't understand is why someone would want to "review" a novel they haven't even read!! Please!
This is a funny, suspenseful, intelligent, and superbly written novel. Five stars.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dogged Pursuit of Justice, April 1, 2004
This review is from: Murder Unleashed (Jack & Jamie, Bk 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
A prominent Judge is found dead in his car, his throat ripped up, and his daughter's dog his only company. The police point the finger at the dog, a boxer named Roark. Jack Field, kennel owner and former cop, believes that there are no vicious dogs and that behavior problems can be solved with liver treats, a tennis ball or a good game of tug-o-war. He immediately takes Roark under his protection. Jack doesn't really want to get involved in the investigation, but he can't stand by while a dog is accused of murder! With the help of Jamie Cutter, medical examiner and love of his life, he dives into the tangled webs surrounding the murder. It's a race to the finish, as Jack and Jamie dodge bullets and search for clues.
The banter between Jack and Jamie is lively, and their romance adds extra interest to the story. The supporting ensemble is made up of shallow caricatures, but the main characters have complex histories and relationships. The plot gets a little too busy at times; it doesn't twist so much as become cluttered with numerous side adventures. There is a small logical flaw in part of the plot involving a diary that I found jarring, but not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book.
Dog lovers will definitely get a kick out of the canine characters and will probably be interested in Jack's training techniques as well. Author Lee Charles Kelly has been a professional dog trainer for 10 years. Murder Unleashed is a quick, entertaining read and does not depend on having read the first Jack Field novel, A Nose for Murder.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How I Wrote This Novel, September 20, 2005
This review is from: Murder Unleashed (Jack & Jamie, Bk 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
I actually wrote the first novel in this series in 1997 but it wasn't until almost five years later that I finally got a publishing deal. That deal was eventually signed in mid-November of 2001 and included deadlines for two more books, and the first had to be delivered by February!
Luckily I'd written a basic outline for MURDER UNLEASHED (which I originally called BEAGLE TROUBLES), and even had five or six chapters under my belt. Still, it's one thing to leisurely write your first book with no deadline and no pressure and to be able to allow yourself the luxury of taking nine months (or six years) to do it, and it's something else to suddenly have to finish your second novel in less than three months!
Needless to say, once the deal was signed and the advance check was in my pocket, I worked non-stop on MURDER UNLEASHED. I wrote chapters on subway trains, on buses, on park benches (when the weather was nice), and took my powerbook with me everywhere I went. I remember very clearly writing one very funny yet suspenseful chapter where Jack and a couple of local cops are trying to apprehend a fugitive who's fleeing down a fire escape. The final scene of that chapter was written while I was riding the M-57 bus, crosstown to Sutton Place. The ending cracked me up so much I was laughing out loud, almost uncontrollably, in fact, while all the other passengers were giving me strange looks and wondering, "What's WRONG with that guy?"
A substantial portion of MURDER UNLEASHED was also written over the Christmas and New Year's holiday, while I was dog-sitting for one of my training clients' dogs, Achille, a blue Dane, who lived in Chelsea. (His owners were in Paris.) I remember the long, quiet afternoons spent at their kitchen table, between his morning and evening walks, when I sat looking out over 23rd Street, with Achille snoring on his bed in the living room, and how the character of Hooch, a Dogue de Bordeaux, magically showed up on my computer one day and wouldn't leave.
At any rate, I completed the manuscript on schedule and was glad to learn that I still had a chance to make further revisions during copy-editing and galley-proofing. (I was a novice to the publishing industry and I'm still not sure if those are the correct terms.) I was just glad to have finished the thing but felt, quite honestly, that it was nowhere near as good as my first novel. Imagine my surprise when my editor said she thought it was a lot better.
"You've really grown as a writer," she said.
"Yeah?" I wanted to say. "Tell that to those people on the bus!"
I've since come around to her point of view. I think it IS better than A NOSE FOR MURDER. I hope you enjoy it!
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