Putting on the Dog

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Sophomore Effort
Review: Amateur sleuth, and full-time Veterinarian, Dr. Jessica Popper, is somewhat reluctant when she is asked to fill in for a fellow Veterinarian, Dr. Marcus Scruggs, at a charity dog show, where she will be manning the "Ask the Vet" booth. However, the lure of Long Island's East End quickly draws her in, and has her hitting the road with her faithful pooches, the one-eyed Dalmation, Lou, and the rambunctious, tailless Westie, Max. When she arrives, she is greeted by movie stars galore who are eager for their pups to take home many blue ribbons at the dog show, as well as luxurious mansions that would make anyone's jaw drop. However, on the first night, while attending a $500-a-plate fund-raiser, a celebrity photographer, Devon Barnett, is killed when a giant ice sculpture depicting LADY AND THE TRAMP falls on him. Soon Jessica is investigating the hated paparazzo's death, and finding it hard to narrow her suspect's down. As if that weren't enough, she's dealing with the affections of a gorgeous Hollywood heartthrob, as well as attitude from her on-again off-again PI boyfriend, Nick Burby. Not to mention that her investigations are quickly leading her to become the killer's next victim.

Cynthia Baxter has done it once again, and created an extremely enjoyable, laugh-out-loud funny mystery that would please anyone. PUTTING ON THE DOG is uttery unstoppable, and hard to put down, while the characters are all filled with crazy quirks, leading you to think that absolutely anyone could be the killer. Loaded with tons of pop culture references, as well as an exclusive peek at how the rich live, this is sure to be an absolute hit with all.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Rating:
Summary: fun who-done-it
Review: During the month of June, Jessica does a favor for a fellow veterinarian by managing the "Ask the Vet" booth at the society fundraiser to raise money for the SPCA in the Bromptoms, a rich enclave on Long Island. Since her office is a large trailer, she will also treat pets as well as offer advice. She is staying at the guest house of famous movie star Shawn Elliot who shows that he is interested in her even though her boyfriend Nick, a private investigator is staying with her.

She also meets paparazzi Devon Barnet the most hated person attending the fundraising because he has no ethics, stalking the celebrities to take embarrassing photos of them to sell to the tabloids. When an ice sculpture falls on and kills Devon, the police conclude it is an accident, but Jessica thinks it is murder. The ice sculpture was held to the gazebo with strong wire and she doesn't believe that the wire could come loose by a dog bumping into it. She starts her own investigation to prove someone got away with murder and she intends to find out who it is.

Jessica is PUTTING ON THE DOG, especially her own pets who she loves beyond measure and are an integral part of the plot. She has a tailess Welter and a one eyed Dalmatian who she lavishes with love; this endears her to any readers who has an animal companion. The mystery is simple but hard to crack because the victim had so many enemies with a motive to kill him. Cynthia Baxter knows how to write a good who-done-it complete with red herrings and enough twists and turns to keep the reader's interest.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Think before you Put on the Dog
Review: I read Cynthia Baxter's first book in the series,"Dead Canaries Don't Sing" and found it enjoyable. I liked Dr. Jessica Popper, her rescue dogs and boyfriend, Nick. In "Putting on the Dog," some of the jokes from the first book returned and just sounded stale. How many times do we have to hear people making softdrink jokes about Dr. Pepper/Dr. Popper? Jessica's on again--off again relationship with her boyfriend is once again at one extreme or another, both in love and in detection. I guess what bothered me the most is that, in constantly trying to justify her reasons for investigating the mureder, Jessica impressed me as being just plain nosy. I didn't like her as much as I did in the first book. That said, I did enjoy Jessica's love for her animals, in fact, just about all animals. The plot also had some fun charectors. Not a bad read, but I hope the next one is better.