Customer Reviews

Ruffly Speaking (Dog Lover's Mysteries)

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

 

 

A dog in the story is no longer a "gimmick". Conant has presented a dog serving a real purpose, and the usefullness of this task is an integral part of the story. I have passed on copies of this book it is so relevant, and a darned good read, too

Ms. Conant once more brings a tale of suspense and murder. As well as bringing into play another purpose for dogs in Ruffly the hearing aide dog. Thouse of us who love dogs appreciate her efforts to help educate people who thing "Rover" is just a pet!

Morris Lamb dies suddenly of what appears to be plant poisoning: his plants. When his house is sold to an Episcopalian priest and her deaf dog companion starts to have seizures, Holly Winter, dog writer and lover, starts to investigate.

I have enjoyed this series that takes place in Cambridge, Ma.
I'm definitely a dog person and these are definitely dog lovers books, filled with all kinds of tips and tidbits on dog companions.

I was extremely disappointed in this one, however. The writing is choppy. The characters that haven't already been introduced in previous books are underdeveloped. Conant often seems to babble. I didn't really understand how her opening statements about aliens and ufo's had anything to do with dogs.

The Dog Lover's Mysteries have been a favorite of mine so I'm going to give it another chance and read the next one, but I wish someone had told me earlier not to waste my time on this one.

I was really impressed. This was my first mystery by Susan Conant and I think I'm hooked. The only problem I see with her subject is that she's limiting her fan base. If I wasn't was what Holly Winters so aptly put it, a "dogaholic" (trainer, groomer, smoocher, dog show groupie, etc.) I wouldn't have understood a lot of the book. But since I am......these are just wonderful and I hope she keeps writing for a long time. The story had a good amount of important information concerning assistance dogs, but it also had a great story line that kept your attention. She slips many other things in her story too; animal health tips, training tips, showing tips. I learned several things I've never even heard of. I know now that there are two types of Mals, what CHD probability means and many more. I stopped a couple times while reading and did quick searches on Google to keep me up to date. I even bought a rare book by Bernie Brown. Leah would be proud of me. Thank you Ms. Conant, my compliments to the chef.

I loved this one, the dogs, the new characters, Winer and Lamb, Rita and her psychological ponderings, the hearing dog Ruffly and her owner, and just the wealth of detail about all of them. this was a nicely constructed mystery, plenty of meaty characters, plenty of side plots, plenty of dogs to enjoy. If I were a dog, I'd beg for more like this one.

This series just gets to be more and more fun. I love Holly Winter and her two beautiful Alaskan Malamutes. This book delves into the world of working dogs, more specifically hearing aid dogs. Dogs are wonderful aids for people with all kinds of disabilities. Ruffly is an adorable little mixed breed that lives with a woman who is hearing impaired, and believe me, he takes his job seriously. And we also have a murder to deal with. A murder that it seems only Holly thinks is a murder. The denouement of the murderer is also fun because we have Holly backed by her trusty Rowdy who do the unmasking. This series is definitely for dog lovers, but even those who aren't as fascinated by dogs as some of us will enjoy this warm and wonderful series.

I'm on page 186 out of 284 pages and still haven't gotten to the "mystery". There are some "hints" but nothing to peak a continued interest. Up till now, it's all about dogs and showing them. Not bad if it's "part" of the book but not the whole book. I've read a number of mysteries with "themes" that I've truly enjoyed and have continued to buy the sequels but I don't think this will happen with Ms. Conant's books. Once I start a book I do read it to the end, as I will with this one, hoping that shortly the "mystery" will show itself. I guess you have to be a dog lover and into all that goes with that to enjoy this book.

humorous entertaining story love all the dog references once you start reading you can't stop great ending.

Better than Bloodlines, but still not that great. Poor character development, and the fact that Conant has a tendancy to ramble make this book less than what it could have been.

I'm also getting rather irritated with the author's constant free advertising plugs for Eukanuba, Iams, and some other major brand names in the pet industry. Are we reading an novel, or an informational brochure by Iams? Is she getting paid to do this, or does she really believe that Eukanuba is the best dog food on the market? (If she does, she's very ignorant on the subject of dog foods.) I don't like my novels to tell me how I should be training or what I should be feeding.

I probably will not ever purchase any books written by Conant again.