Product Description

Returning to Maine after a blissful honeymoon in Mexico, kennel owner Jack Field and his smart and sexy bride, chief medical examiner Dr. Jamie Cutter, are ready to fulfill a promise made to a new friend they met there. The daughter of retired general Lamar MacLeary asked dog expert Jack to help her father "rewire" his wired wire-haired fox terrier, Molly, whose incessant digging is driving the general crazy. But Jack arrives to find Molly's most recent excavation has unearthed something nobody expected: the bones of a human hand belonging to the general's wife, who supposedly ran off to Mexico twenty years ago.

The police think the distraught World War II hero killed her in a jealous rage, but Jack and Jamie aren't so sure. And in their dogged determination to dig up the truth, the newlyweds begin unearthing hints of corporate fraud, high-level corruption, the terrifying return of a cold-blooded killer, and some buried MacLeary family skeletons that could lead to more death . . . Jack's and Jamie's included.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #320833 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-01
• Released on: 2007-05-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
"A jolly good read for those who enjoy "escape" fiction." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A terrific story with equally terrific characters...don’t miss this one." -- Rendezvous Magazine

"A very clever canine caper." -- Romantic Times BOOKclub

"Both Lee Charles Kelley and his fictional detective are dog trainers, and it’s obvious they know their stuff." -- Dog World

"I loved this book!" -- Roundtable Reviews

"Like a Dog with a Bone is as charming and delightful as the previous books in the series." -- Deborah Crombie

"Smart and witty, fast-paced . . . the best of mysteries a la canine." -- Shirley Rousseau Murphy

"The best book yet by Lee Charles Kelley." -- Bestsellersworld.com

"The fun starts almost on the first page ...There’s action a-plenty, and lots of humor." -- Bookloons.com

"[A] cohesive, fun group of books to read." -- frontstreetreviews.com

Review
"Smart and witty, fast-paced . . . the best of mysteries a la canine." (Shirley Rousseau Murphy )

"Filled with quirky characters, devoted canines and a plot full of twists, this is a great read for dog lovers." (Mystery Lovers Book News )

"Like a Dog with a Bone is as charming and delightful as the previous books in the series." (Deborah Crombie )

"I loved this book!" (Roundtable Reviews )

"The fun starts almost on the first page ...There's action a-plenty, and lots of humor." (Bookloons.com )

"The best book yet by Lee Charles Kelley." (Bestsellersworld.com )

"A terrific story with equally terrific characters...don't miss this one." (Rendezvous Magazine )

"Entertaining . . . You'll enjoy these canine tales of man's best friend." (MyShelf.com )

"[A] cohesive, fun group of books to read." (frontstreetreviews.com )

"Both Lee Charles Kelley and his fictional detective are dog trainers, and it's obvious they know their stuff." (Dog World )

"A very clever canine caper." (Romantic Times BOOKclub )

"A jolly good read for those who enjoy "escape" fiction." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette )

About the Author

Lee Charles Kelley is a successful New York dog trainer whose critiques of the alpha theory and operant conditioning have made him a controversial figure in the dog world. The author of five previous novels featuring Jack Field—Dogged Pursuit, 'Twas the Bite Before Christmas, To Collar a Killer, Murder Unleashed, and A Nose for Murder—Mr. Kelley lives on the island of Manhattan with a Dalmatian named Fred.

Customer Reviews

4 stars
Just back from his honeymoon in Mexico, kennel owner Jack Field finds himself involved in another murder mystery as he simply tries to do a good deed and check in on a retired general and his dog who has a digging problem at the request of the general's daughter. But the dog has dug up a bone that belongs to a body, the body of the general's wife who supposedly ran off to Mexico twenty years ago. Suddenly government types are tailing Jack and bombs are exploding and one of his employees goes AWOL as Jack finds himself trying to uncover a U.S. Government conspiracy and the murderer before he becomes the next victim.

**** This was an interesting whodunit involving government conspiracy theories that is well written with humor and candor. It is a good read for dog lovers with interesting dog training theories though there are quite a few characters in the story to keep up with which hinders the reading a bit. ****

Barbara Stabler

digging for the truth
This book is a nice blend of suspense, mystery, and dog lore. I especially like the way Kelley integrates his theories of dog traing into the story itself, So many of the so-called "dog mysteries" are stories that feature a dog and otherwise have nothing to do with dogs. There is also a good deal of narrative detail that,although sometimes slowing the narrative drive,is often interesting. Secondary characters are developed well and appear as real people rather than props for plot development. All in all the book is an enjoyable reading experience that readers of Conant,Berenson,Benjamin,et al will enjoy.

How I Wrote this Novel

This book was the hardest to write because of some things going on in my personal and professional life at the time: first I lost my editor at Avon, Erin Richnow (she got a better job, which she deserved), and I had to develop a relationship with a new editor. Then my mother died, and I had a "heart attack" scare shortly afterward (which was fortunately proven to be just a scare by a stress test). I had cataract surgery on both eyes, then my dog was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (which unfortunately wasn't just a scare--he's 15). Yet despite all that agita (which was spread out over six months), in some ways this is still the best book in the series. There are some different elements to this story, a deepness, I think, and perhaps an emotional resonance that the others don't have. The comic elements are still there--that Jack and Jamie kind of happy madness, which is, I don't know, their ability to laugh at danger, their ready willingness to plunge themselves into madcap adventures? And of course Jack's all-or-nothing pursuit of the truth is here in spades, as well.

Underlying all of this is a simple truth, that actions have consequences. That violence only begets more violence. The thing that has always pleased and amazed me about Jack Field is the thread of human decency that runs through everything he does. (That's right; I'm often surprised by the behavior of a character I supposedly created!) Jack knows, for instance that you don't cure aggression in dogs by acting aggressively toward them, instead you find out what's making them uneasy and you try to help them fix it. He knows too, that the all-too-human impulse for revenge will only lead to tragedy.

Does he resist that impulse himself here? Or does he learn his lesson the hard way?

(Sorry, that's part of the mystery...)

Which reminds me: this book is hardly a dry character study or a dense treatise on morals. Far from it. Those things only lurk beneath the surface of what I think is a pretty damn good murder mystery, with some laugh-out-loud comedy, a lot of relentless, page-turning suspense, some unexpected twists and turns, and a knock-your-socks-off surprise ending as well.

I hope you like it.