The Barker Street Regulars (Dog Lover's Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Susan Conant (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Sherlockians especially will enjoy Conant's latest dog mystery (after Animal Appetite, 1997) featuring journalist Holly Winter in her most intricate case yet. Holly and her champion Alaskan malamute, Rowdy, who has earned his Rx.D. as a certified therapy dog, regularly visit a Cambridge, Mass., nursing home. There they meet Althea Battlefield and her two elderly admirers, Hugh and Robert, all three of whom are fanatic fans of Sherlock Holmes. Holly also meets Althea's wealthy younger sister, Ceci, who is actively mourning the death of her favorite dog. When Althea's grandnephew is found dead in the backyard of Ceci's home, Hugh and Robert jump at the chance to put Sherlockian technique to the test. Ceci, like many bereaved Cambridge animal lovers, has been swindled by an unscrupulous psychic. Even Holly finds herself reluctantly impressed by the psychic's apparent abilities until the fog parts during a late-night stakeout in Ceci's yard with her elderly cohorts. Conant cleverly incorporates Holmes and Watson lore into her plot and writes eloquently of what it is like to lose a beloved pet. Her story is further enhanced by her sensitive depictions of the residents of the nursing home Holly and Rowdy visit. Though their faculties may be failing, the elders' simple enjoyment of an animal's touch speaks volumes about the good a therapy dog can accomplish.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Conant's following will enjoy series sleuth Holly Winter's latest outing with malamutes Rowdy and Kimi. Rowdy's work as a therapy dog for a Sherlock Holmes fan at a local nursing home ultimately involves Holly in another case of murder.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (January 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553576550
• ISBN-13: 978-0553576559
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #253,762 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 11 in The Dog Lover's Mystery Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treat for dog lovers and Sherlock fans, May 17, 2000

By	Sheila L. Beaumont (South Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Since I am a Sherlock Holmes fan, "The Barker Street Regulars" is one of my favorites in Susan Conant's series of dog lover's mysteries. Holly Winter and her Alaskan malamute Rowdy, who has qualified as a therapy dog, visit the Gateway nursing home, where they meet a 90-year-old woman, Althea, and her friends, Robert and Hugh, all of whom are Sherlockians. Althea's sister, Ceci, is being conned by a woman who calls herself an "animal communicator" and who claims to be channeling messages from Ceci's dear departed Newfoundland, Lord Saint Simon. Then Ceci and Althea's grandnephew, Jonathan, is found murdered in Ceci's back yard. Holly and her Sherlockian friends set out to discover whodunit. In addition to the usual dog lore, this book is chock-full of references and allusions to the Sherlock Holmes Canon: Ceci lives on a gaslit street on Norwood Hill; the tall, evil man whom Holly thwarts in his attempt to drown a cat has a "bulbous forehead"; an obnoxious couple on the dog-show circuit are named Gloria and Scott. (Holmesians will notice one gaffe: Take a look at Holly's account of the plot of "The Copper Beeches" in Chapter 26. Oh well, she has admitted that she's no expert.) If you enjoy a good, humorous cozy mystery, and if you are a dog lover and/or a Sherlock Holmes devotee, you're likely to find this book lots of fun.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Mystery For Dog Lovers, March 12, 1999

By	N. Sausser "pucksau" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I enjoy Conant's unique style of writing...as if she is speaking directly to the reader. This was a very good mystery. The references to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries was fun and interesting. Of course, it's always the dogs that draw me back to Conant's stories, and in that respect, I was not disappointed in this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Multiple Animal Mystery Group winner takes it again!, January 9, 1999

By A Customer

I am a longstanding Susan Conant fan, mostly because I can always count on her books to teach me something new about dogs. I especially like the way she never resorts to cutesy anthropomorphic tricks to try and make her dogs more "interesting" to her readers -- she understands that few things are more interesting than the natural behaviour of living creatures. Holly Winter -- obsessive, pushy, and dedicated, always strikes me as the kind of person whose friends would alternately want to hug or shake her, but would never find boring.

With that said, I have to confess that recently, mainstream reviews of Ms Conant's work have made me very nervous as critics complain that her books would be more enjoyable if they featured less information on dogs. These critics certainly do not echo readers like me, who morosely note that there are already a depressing number of books out there that feature absolutely no dogs at all. If Conant gave in to critical pressure and turned her considerable talents away from dogs, where would I be?

Fortunately, after the enjoyable but sadly people-oriented "Animal Appetite," things appear to be back on track with what I humbly believe is her best work yet: funny, fast-paced, and filled with insight on people, dogs, and even cats (a bonus indeed!) I know nothing at all about Sherlock Holmes but happily followed Holly's lead through the maze of clues and Holmesiana. I was delighted to see Rowdy back on his best eye-batting, tail-wagging, woo-wooing form (my first dog was a male Siberian who would drop and roll over for tummy-rubbing as fast as Rowdy, who is practically a larger, dog-aggressive version of my late Pike). I laughed at Kimi's bossy ways; teared up over Ceci's grief, which echoed similar losses of my own; and muttered helpful advice to Holly in the matter of gaining the trust of her rescued cat (she took a long time to take my advice, but finally came around!)The only problem I have with this story is that I firmly believe that Byron's Newfoundland possessed "Strength without Insolence", not "Indolence" as written on page 113. But that is indeed a small and minor quibble.

In short, I was as absorbed in this story as I have ever been in any of Conant's mysteries, and consider it possibly her finest yet. It was certainly worth every minute I spent waiting for it to come out in affordable paperback.