Gaits of Heaven (Dog Lover's Series #17) by Susan Conant

From the Publisher

Enlisted to train an adorably free-spirited dog, Holly Winter gets sidetracked when the dog's owner- an over-medicated, over-analyzed, super-dysfunctional New Age wife and mother-is found dead following an accidental overdose. Accidental. Yeah, right.

Publishers Weekly

Not just dog lovers should enjoy Conant's carefully crafted 17th mystery to feature the Cambridge, Mass., dog trainer and amateur sleuth, Holly Winter (after 2004's Bride and Groom). Soon after Holly agrees to housebreak Dolfo, a golden Aussie huskapoo, for Ted and Eumie Green, quirky therapists as much in need of therapy as their patients, Holly finds Eumie dead of a drug overdose on one of her visits to their home. While the death appears to be an accident, Eumie's daughter from her first marriage, a reclusive, overweight Harvard coed, suspects murder. Ted's moody teenage son from his earlier marriage cares little that his stepmother has died. Plenty of interesting facts about Holly's favorite breed, the Alaskan malamute, coupled with the humorous portrait of the Boston-area therapeutic community, help make this a particularly delightful cozy. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

MEumie and Ted Green win free dog-training lessons at a raffle, and Holly Winter, dog trainer and writer extraordinaire, finds that Dolfo, a weird-looking mixed breed, is not housebroken and his owners don't believe in using a leash. Then Eumie dies of an overdose, and the police suspect she was murdered. Surrounded by dogs and an inordinate number of psychiatrists (the victim and most of the characters are therapists), Holly must make sense out of the Greens' strange lifestyle and find a motive for murder. Dysfunction is the norm here, and the delightfully witty and engaging Conant (Bride and Groom) is at the top of her form in the 17th entry in her "Dog Lover's" series. For patrons who enjoy canine cozies. Conant, three-time winner of the Maxwell Award for Fiction Writing given by the Dog Writers Association of America, lives in Newton, MA. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Trainer/writer Holly Winter learns yet more reasons why dogs make better friends than people. When therapists Ted and Eumie Green win some obedience lessons for their designer dog Dolfo, the challenge puts Holly's skills (Bride & Groom, 2004, etc.) to the test. The Greens believe in positive training. But Dolfo's lack of any training has led to messes all over the house and a string of short-term housekeepers. No wonder the humans in this wacky household-rounded out by Ted's son Wyeth and Eumie's daughter Caprice from former marriages-need regular therapy and extra helpings of prescription drugs. And no wonder Eumie is found dead of an overdose. Agreeing with the police that it's a case of murder, Caprice, a Harvard classmate of Holly's niece Leah, moves into Holly's home to escape her abusive step-sib. After nearly killing Ted and Dolfo when he throws his computer out the window in a fit of pique, Wyeth runs off to his mother, who buys him a Range Rover. He uses his new wheels to mow down Caprice, who'd helped Eumie dig up dirt on people but somehow missed the fact that her adored father's an online-porn addict. In a family meeting of children, exes and therapists, Holly hears a clue that helps her solve another cano-centric crime. Conant's amusing and informative tale of noble dogs and ignoble humans has something for both dog devotees and mystery-lovers.

Product Details