A Dog About Town (Mass Market Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Harry is a man still mourning the loss of his beloved girlfriend, Imogen, who left him suddenly without a word. He’s also the owner of a plump, poetry-loving Lab, Randolph. Like most Manhattan dogs, Randolph spends his days sifting through a world of scents, his owner’s neuroses, and an overcrowded doggy run at the American Museum of Natural History. But now a bereft Harry has drifted into a circle of would-be occultists. Which might not be so bad if one of them wasn’t also a murderer.

But which one? With 100,000 times the smelling power of a human being, Randolph can quickly detect the scents of guilt, anxiety, and avarice—and he has no lack of suspects, from a seductive con woman to an uncouth professor of the decorative arts. Now, to protect his hapless owner’s life, Randolph might have to do the unthinkable—and start training Harry to catch a killer….

About the Author

J. F. Englert, a writer of fiction and nonfiction for both book and screen, lives in Manhattan with his wife, P. Englert, daughter, C. Englert, and dog, R. Englert.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dell (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440243637
• ISBN-13: 978-0440243632
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #336,164 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Canine Sherlock Holmes , June 25, 2007

By	Bluestalking Reader "Bluestalking Reader" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

A mystery narrated by a Labrador retriever. Alright, sounds a little off-beat if that's all you knew about it, but imagine a character with a mix between the logic of Sherlock Holmes and the human failings of Dr. Watson. That's what we have in Randolph, the narrator of the first in this series of mysteries by J.F. Englert.

Writing from a dog's perspective (an intelligent, Dante-loving dog at that), allows for an interesting take on humans. Looking at the things we do through the eyes of another species is occasionally very funny, and Englert's very clever in that way. Randolph, not being your standard dog, sometimes disdains even the things dogs do naturally, discriminating between dogs who relieve themselves just anywhere, and dogs like himself who prefer the sanctity of sheltering bushes.

When A Dog About Town opens, author Lyell Overton Minskoff is dead. Randolph's owner, Harry, is deeply depressed at the loss of his lady love, Imogen, who's left him suddenly about a year before. One of Harry's strange, new acquaintances is a murderer, but he hasn't figured that out yet. His dog intends to do something about that, and sets out to lead his owner to solve the mystery. And so it begins, a delightful, beautifully written mystery that's charming and funny, with a main character so endearing you'll want to scratch him behind the ears and give him an extra treat, though you know what he could really use is a long run in the park...

A Dog About Town is just a delight, all around.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From a different perspective, September 27, 2007

By	Martin Mulcahey - See all my reviews

This is a great between books book, which is a quick and enjoyable read. As a dog person the cover caught my attention first (yes, I know don't judge a book by.....) but was hooked by the outlined premise and intriguing lead dogtective. The cast of characters was good, and the author hit the right notes on how we treat and look at our pets. I am not the type who reads a mystery to figure out who done it before the final chapter, I like to go along for the ride. This one was good, with enough twists and humorous moments to get me to a ending that was not formulaic, nor unbelievable. The epilogue and parts of the final chapter give us hope for a follow-up that I will purchase immediately.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nimble and New, June 20, 2007

By	C. Nisaragi (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed this book so much, from the cover portrait of Randolph to the author portrait, not to mention J.F. Englert's--or is it Randolph's--nimble use of the English language.

Mainly, it's the story that's fun. Just when you think there's no such thing as "new", here J.F. Englert comes, inventing a new world of scent and sloths and Alpha-bits.

I recommended it to my writing critique group. I'm sure the book is winning Randolph fans all over the place, and they will certainly line up for the sequel. I know I will.