Customer Reviews

Wolf at the Door (Annie O'Hara & Claudius Mysteries)

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

 

 

WOLF AT THE DOOR marks the debut of Annie O'Hara and her partwolf, part canine companion, Claudius. Annie is always coming to someone's aid. First she adopts (temporarily) Claudius, who belongs to Annie's soon-to-be-ex sister-in-law, who abandoned both her husband and her dog without a backward look. Then Annie agrees to drive to Roswell, New Mexico, during her vacation so she can nurse her aunt after she undergoes surgery. Annie does all this cheerfully enough, although she does have some qualms about providing a home for Claudius who has proven to be headstrong, demanding and aloof.

Once in Roswell, Annie is overwhelmed by the UFO mania. In fact, her aunt and uncle belong to a UFO cult/church, along with most of their neighbors. While walking Claudius, Annie stumbles upon the murdered body of their pastor, and his death is soon followed by that of a sex-crazed neighbor who tried to blackmail the killer. As the local police zero in on Annie's uncle as the prime suspect, Annie investigates the case, along with a local reporter she's considering dating.

I wasn't able to correctly guess the identity of the killer, but I felt the author kept the one vital clue to the killer unfairly hidden, as it was a visual clue never described in words. The reader never has all she needs to know to solve the case; hopefully in future books the author will play fairly. After all, the mark of a good/great mystery author is to provide all the necessary info while distracting the reader from the vital clue.

All in all, I very much liked WOLF AT THE DOOR, as there were lots of fun, quirky characters who really came to life under the author's pen. Annie's relationship with Claudius (a true alpha dog) is a delight! This is a great summer read, and I look forward to future books in this series.

Annie O'Hara prefers to never have a serious relationship with a man ever again. The Lee, New Hampshire resident rents rooms to boarders in the Old Thurston Inn where she also lives. She also owns an antique shop that she runs out of the Inn. Annie does not want to be responsible for anyone but her self. However, when her sister-in-law dumps Annie's brother and abandons their dog, she welcomes the canine, Claudius, into her home. The half Husky-half German Shepherd dislikes Annie as much as she dislikes him.

The odd couple travels to Roswell, New Mexico together to assist Annie's aunt after her relative recently underwent bunion surgery. As the New England duo walk around town, Claudius suddenly goes wild near a dumpster. Annie looks inside to find the corpse of an assistant pastor of the nearby church. Suspicion falls on Annie's uncle. Annie and her uncle soon find another body in the desert that further substantiates the police's belief that her uncle is the killer. An irate Annie begins her own inquiries to prove his innocence even as she does not yet realize the danger she is in from a cold-blooded murderer.

The new crime fighting team of Annie O'Hara and Claudius is a hysterical surreal experience that canine lovers and amateur sleuth fans will adore. The relationship between the hero and the heroine runs the gamut from disdain to trust, which leads to jocular moments that ease a serious story line. UFOlogists are also going to enjoy the satirical scenes that Ann Campbell augments her plot with. WOLF AT THE DOOR is a charming mystery starring amusing charcaters who deserve future appearances.

Harriet Klausner

Annie and Claudius have to learn to get along with one another while in the wilds of New Mexico. He's loyal to another, and she doesn't quite know how to handle this very smart dog. Three murders and mayhem happen all around them and they are the aliens in Roswell. I've read a lot of dog mysteries, and this is one of the best and funniest! I'm looking forward to another book by Ann Campbell.

New Hampshire antique dealer Annie O'Hara finds herself the reluctant owner of the unprepossessing German shepherd-"huskie" (Siberian husky) mix Claudius, a bossy, poorly trained alpha dog who eats books when he's feeling vengeful. She takes the dog with her when she drives out to UFO capital Roswell, New Mexico, to help her aunt, who's having foot surgery. Aunt Hortense and Uncle Ira belong to the ufologist Neighborhood Church of the Celestial Spheres. After the philandering assistant pastor is murdered, Uncle Ira is the prime suspect (once Claudius has been exonerated), so Annie must find out who the real killer is. "Wolf at the Door" is a light, humorous, entertaining cozy mystery, with rather outlandish characters, and would easily rate 4 stars if it weren't for the fact that Annie twice leaves Claudius in her locked car on a summer day while she attends a funeral. That's hazardous to the dog, even in a shady spot with the front windows partly open. So enjoy the mystery, but don't follow Annie's example when it comes to dog care. Maybe by the time the promised sequel, "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," comes out, she will have done some reading up on the subject. I hope so, because this could be a very enjoyable series.

Yes it was funny, well plotted, interesting characters. But I was confused by either my blindness to satire or the author's ignorance of social behavior at protestant churches. The plot centers around a church that is the main religious center of the small town. Somehow they manage to financially support an extravegant life-style for at least two full time ministers. An after-funeral church dinner is called a pot-luck but it features salad, baked chicken, lasagna bread-rolls, all prepared by a crew in the church kitchen. The dog Claudius seems to be the classiest person in the book.

Anne Campbell has created memorable characters in Wolf at The Door. Annie and Claudius, as well as Aunt Hortense and Uncle Ira reminded me of people I know, or would like to know. I especially loved her description of Jan Stalker...a meonpausal Buster Brown. Anne Campbell kept me guessing to the very end...A great Summer Read.

Annie and her irascible dog Claudius are a refreshing new addition to the genre of dog mysteries. The setting of Roswell, NM only adds to the fun. Great murder mystery with wild characters.

Annie O'Hara travels to Roswell (as in UFO's) to help her Aunt and Uncle while her aunt has surgery. While there a local pastor is murdered and her uncle becomes the "person of interest". Annie tries to clear her uncle by trying to find who the real murderer is. The mystery is okay but pretty predictable, almost too predictable. I didn't care for the dialogue; can't understand where the title came from because there is no wolf in this book and the dog that I thought was part wolf is rarely seen in the story.
If what you are looking for is mysteries featuring canines, try Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series or Susan Conant's Dog Lovers series. Even Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan series features her dogs more than this and are much better mysteries.

Wolf at the Door, by Ann Campbell is not of a caliber to be compared with Susan Conant or Carole Lea Benjamin, and certainly not Virginia Lanier. Her knowledge of dogs (if any) is not displayed in her cliche-ridden writing. I'm not even sure, after reading every word, that she even LIKES dogs. Why did I read every word? I was looking for some redeeming quality....some reason to like the protaganist, even a little bit, or at least some understanding of why Signet may have thought this book worthy of being published. Mis-titled and poorly written, not only was I unable to eek out an iota of sympathy for the main character, a distinctly non-dog type person, who remains non-dog to the very end, but there was not one likeable soul in the book, save the poor, misunderstood dog, Claudius. Absolutely no one appreciates anything about this dog. His actions and body language, as described, are summarily misinterpreted and punished, when praise is called for. It is a gut-wrenching experience for any one into dogs, to see this sort of thing in life, but to encounter it in pleasure reading, takes away any chance at finding pleasure in this book. Do not read for pleasure, but only to satisfy your morbid curiosity.

If you are cynical about Christianity, think people living in small towns are almost without exception ignorant bumpkins, and believe it is okay to jerk a dog around by its neck with a prong collar and leave it in a locked car in the heat of Roswell, New Mexico, then you'll love this book.

The Christian characters are portrayed as gullible, hypocritical, rude and ignorant. While not a Christian myself, I found this very offensive. As a dog lover, owner and trainer (member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers), I was appalled at the way the dog in the story was treated. Prong collars and choke chains are no longer part of the trainer's toolkit if he or she is using positive training methods. Yet these type collars were clearly acceptable to the trainers depicted in the book.

Finally, the writing and plotting were very simplistic and the so-called humor mostly depended on portraying anyone other than the lead character as an idiot or sleaze ball.

Don't waste your time with this one.