Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews
Page Four of FiveA Hell of A Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin
Walker & Co., October 1998.Hardcover, 260 pages.
ISBN: 0802733255.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
With her background as a dog trainer, private eye
Rachel Alexander is perfect for her latest assignment:
going undercover at a dog training symposium to
keep a lid on the notorious acrimony that always
erupts when advocates of the various dog training
methods (shock collars, psychic divination, food rewards,
strict discipline and many others) get together to discuss
dog training. Besides, the digs are posh -- the Ritz in Manhattan --
and her canine companion, Dashiell, has all the free gourmet
dog food he desires. When she gets to the Ritz, it quickly
becomes apparent that someone has more than dog training on
his agenda; the dog trainers begin dying off, one by one, in
bizarre circumstances. Rachel and Dash must find the culprit
and make sure that the symposium is a success in the meantime.
Her task is not made any easier by the squabbling panelists,
or the fact that she really would rather avoid her ex-love who
is also at the seminar.
This is the third entry in this series that no canine lover should miss (See, This Dog for Hire and The Dog Who Knew Too Much). The insights into the fiercely competitive world of dog training are interesting, and the characters of the panelists are especially well-done, from those who have made it, such as the Barbara Wodehouse-inspired character Beryl Potter, and those that have not, such as the trainer who believes chanting is the way to success. Readers who are not especially fond of dogs, or those to whom the very idea of a dog being in constant attendance has them reaching for an antihistamine may find the doggy world a bit peculiar, but to dog lovers, it all makes perfect sense.
--Claire E. White
Murder in the Holy City by Simon Beaufort
St. Martin's Press, Dec., 1998.Hardcover, 280 pages.
ISBN: 0312195664.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
In 1100, the city of Jerusalem seethes with discontent.
After the brutal siege by the victorious Crusaders,
the inhabitants are subdued, but harbor a hatred
for the brutal knights who slaughtered so many
people, both soldiers and innocents alike, looting
and pillaging as they went. Sir Geoffrey Mappestone,
a hardened Knight of a more intellectual bent, is happy to
be alive, but longing for the green fields of England
when he discovers the body of one of his Knights
murdered in a young Greek widow's house. Ordered
to investigate this death and the deaths of other Knights
by Prince Tancred, his liege lord, Geoffrey soon realizes
that the deaths are bound to land him in the middle of
the political intrigue between the various factions
vying for power of the conquered city in which
nothing or no one is quite as it seems.
In the first of what this reviewer, for one, hopes will be an ongoing series, Simon Beaufort has crafted an intriguing tale set in the turbulent surroundings of the Holy Land just after the Crusades. The behind the scenes look at the daily life of a real Knight is portrayed vividly, bringing to life these figures heretofore encountered most often in a dusty history book. With political intrigue, great action scenes and a wealth of interesting historical detail which never overwhelms, Murder in the Holy City is a welcome addition to the genre.
--Claire E. White
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